Getting Started
Mark Twain once said, “The secret to getting ahead is getting started.”
All too often we allow our plans or projects to get repeatedly pushed into the background. We justify it to ourselves by saying we’re “too busy” or “tired”. Yet we manage to find the time to binge that show on Netflix or waste an hour of our life mindlessly scrolling through social media just waiting for that next hit of dopamine.
There’s plenty of ways you’re wasting time, and you know this to be true. You feel it when you’re doing it. Why do we keep lying to ourselves? Let’s take just 20 minutes and dedicate that to some practice or undertaking we want to begin. That doesn’t seem like much, right? I’ve taken showers longer than 20 minutes! I’m sure you have too. If not, then I’m sure you’ve sat on the toilet using your phone for 20 minutes doing nothing productive. And hey, fair enough, I’m not holding that against you (I’ve also done that). But just imagine taking 20 minutes and dedicating it towards whatever that thing is you want to start. Maybe it’s learning a language, or building a deck, or reading that book, or even writing a book. Perhaps it’s something as simple as replying to those emails you’ve let get away from you or going through that stack of papers on your desk. Just by taking 20 minutes a day over the course of 2 years is over 243 hours of time you can put towards whatever you want. That’s over 10 days! Or to really put it into perspective, 6 straight work weeks. Think about how much you can do in this time. If you increase the daily amount of time to one hour, then you have 730 hours (18 work weeks or four and a half months of working) to put towards whatever it is that you want to do!
You need to start though. You need to actually get down and do it. You don’t need to finish whatever it is in one sitting. But how will you ever finish if you don’t even start? Perhaps we’re afraid of failure so we don’t bring ourselves to begin. Can’t fail if you don’t start… Although never starting is probably a deeper form of failure that stings the longer it ferments. Maybe we don’t think we can do that thing, so we never try. We wouldn’t want to prove ourselves right that we are too incompetent, stupid, and clearly below whatever project or endeavor we wanted to begin. Maybe we just like having something to “look forward to”. Having that project you’re “someday” going to start keeps people motivated. But in this case, you’re exploiting something that could be pure and wholesome. The fact you’re interested in whatever that endeavor is indicates it is appealing to you. You’re interested in it. Odds are, you could derive satisfaction and fulfillment from this. Perhaps you’ll even discover a passion of yours.
Is it right to milk whatever this thing is to keep you going from week to week? Just start the thing. Even if you don’t have a lot of time, 20 minutes is all it takes. I’m willing to bet some days 20 minutes will turn into an hour. Most things take as long as you let them, and when you organize your priorities to include those things you want to start doing, everything else falls into place around it. You’ll always find things to occupy your time and most of them you’ll justify as important. Stop lying to yourself. They’re not as important as you think they are. And if they are, then they’ll get done after your 20 minutes of whatever that thing is. Stop telling yourself “someday”, because last time I checked, “someday” is not a day of the week. “Someday” will never arrive. Make that day, today. Start that thing, today. Get started, no matter how small the steps you take. That is the secret to getting ahead.
Good luck and happy beginnings to you.
