A Fun Idea Isn’t Always a Good Idea
Sometimes we fall into foolish behavior.
“Let’s all do a challenge!”
This month, Shaunta Grimes is hosting a challenge to blog your own book. Immediately, I thought this was a fun idea. Not that I have been struggling with writing a book and needed a reason to get it done, but because I love a good challenge.
And so, like that friendly golden retriever, I jumped on board the wagon.
At the end of last month, I planned out the different parts of the book for different days. My original plan was going to shoot for a small book. And each day I would write 500–1000 words.
Well, turns out I have a hell of a lot more to say on the topic.
Oh, and did I mention that I didn’t want to give up my regular content calendar for this… (I just shook my head at this idea as I wrote it)
So, here I am, five days in and I will be one of the first to forgo the rest of this challenge. Not because of its a dumb idea or even a bad idea. It’s just not the best idea for me at this point in my writing and work.
But, I have a couple of lessons learned from this…
Lessons Learned From Quitting A Challenge After 5 Days
Lesson №1—If you have a plan already, don’t mess with it.
I have a plan to publish five posts a week under a variety of categories, including the one that I was trying to write a book under. This is probably the best plan I have had as a writer yet.
Most importantly, I have been keeping to it for the last 60 days.
However, today, I find myself behind on my plan. Trying to write a bunch of other posts, and trying to give an opinion. Now, if I got to spend more than 2–3 hours writing every day, this probably would be just fine.
But, I don’t have that time. So adding in this challenge was a fool's errand.
Lesson №2 — It’s okay to do something on a whim too.
Two years ago, I did 30 posts in 30 days as a challenge. This was written around the beginning of my time writing on Medium. And it was a fun challenge that stretched me a ton.
It helped me develop a daily writing habit.
It also burned me out on publishing regularly. And I had to jumpstart my writing a little bit. However, when I did the challenge, I also found a topic that would later turn into my first book!
So, its okay to start something without much planning.
Lesson №3 — It’s also okay to quit something that isn’t working out.
This isn’t the first time I have done this. I did a writing challenge last year I had to quit too. Though, that was because I had crazy things going on in my life and my writing time was super sporadic because of it.
Quitting keeps things real though.
Sometimes, like this time, I realize there are other things that are more important than doing something that is a fun idea. Sometimes, we just need to quit things that aren’t working out.
When we can learn to quit the wrong things, we can learn to succeed in the right things.
Final Thoughts
So, what am I going to do with this book idea? Well, I am going to add the outline to my regular writing routine. However, this means these posts will be spread out over the next few months.
Sometime next year, I will have a completed first draft.
But, it will be a heck of a lot better than if I tried to do what I was trying to do in a month. That first draft will be strong and much more thought through. Instead of being slammed into my already busy writing plan and mind.
You can still follow along on these posts here. However, as for today, I want to encourage you to learn from my foolishness:
- Stick to your plan if you have one.
- Start something fun if you don’t have a plan.
- Quit something that isn’t working out.
If you can do these things, you will save yourself a lot of trouble, heartache, and exhaustion.
What was something that sounded fun to you, but in the end it wasn’t a good idea for you? Share in the responses below.
Jack Heimbigner loves to see people’s lives change and see them chase their dreams. Check out his Maximize Your Morning email course to start chasing your dreams today!
Here are a few more of his stories here on Illumination: