How I’d Work on Self-Progression Projects Along with My Day Job (And It Works!)
I eat my own cooking
I am ambitious.
And lazy.
I mean, I am, in the grand scheme of things. No one loves to work and work and work and pass out in bed by midnight. No one is enthralled by that idea (except Elon Musk?).
But I recognize one dilemma.
I cannot spiral forward if I do nothing outside my day job. There must be time for,
- Learning new skill sets
- Practicing and attaining mastery of existing skill sets
- To think — How I want my life to look by the end of next year
These are all good things. And good things in life require time.
If you happen to be lazy and ambitious like me, read on.
1st Recommendation — Avoid Pushing Against the Wall
My running coach parrots the above all the time. And it’s true.
With running, we train with progressive intensity. And then, there are breaks in between. If you are unfamiliar with run training, here’s what one schedule would resemble.
- Base training 1 — Run more frequently
- Base training 2 — Run longer distances
- Intensity training 1 — Run shorter, run faster
- Intensity training 2 — Run longer, run faster
- Break week — Jog, swim, gym, cycle, eat
The cycle repeats itself using the same skeleton structure after the break week.
Here is the funny thing.
Many runners failed to comply during the break week. Instead of cutting back, we pushed on. We got too caught up with anxiety.
What if I lose my precious speed and stamina is a question that plagued us throughout our do-nothing-7-days.
Once, I decided to follow the schedule by the i’s and t’s. I ate heartily, swam, and walked. That was it.
I thought I would perish when training resumes.
The reverse happened.
I came back faster than before. More importantly, I was ready to push. I felt strong mentally too.
If you struggle to continue — Listen.
Don’t push against the wall.
Rest. Relax. Come back. You will do better in the hustles of your choice.
2nd Recommendation — Reverse the Theory of Broken Windows
This is the theory in brief.
The criminology theory of broken windows was implemented by 2 American sociologists: L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson. These scientists were trying to figure out the reason for the increasing crime rates in New York City in the 80s. They came to the following conclusion: minor offenses like scattered garbage or graffiti actively affected the crime level in general.
- 9 Psychological Laws That Control Your Actions Against Your Will
Fascinating, right?
It is a testament to the following observations happening all around us.
- Everything we know starts small
- Small things lead to big things
- People influence us
Be a practitioner of this theory in reverse.
Take your larger-than-life ambitions and slice them into onion peels. Every onion peel is an individual line item on your to-do list. Endeavor to strikethrough at least 1 every evening.
Let us assume that you plan to write five online articles this week. Your onion peel list may look like this.
- Decide on those five topics you want to cover
- Draft five headlines to get a rough idea
- Sketch out the skeleton structure
- Research writing materials
- Write for 60 minutes daily
I call these work items onion peels. They can make us cry when we work on them late in the evening.
Here’s the thing. Bite-sized work items feel actionable. You can see yourself completing them before closing the night.
And.
Inspire yourself with crazy productive people. Watch what they do and promise you will hit 50% of their output.
Study your favorite online content writer.
Does he (or she) write 1 article daily?
Then you write every other day.
You will achieve something.
3rd Recommendation — Spend More Time on What You Naturally Gravitate Towards
The reason is simple.
You are swimming with the tide.
I used to spend 2 hours every evening researching digital marketing, search engine optimization, content reach, impression maximization, web traffic, and the whole 9 yards.
The trouble is, I got nowhere.
And it is not that I achieved nothing. I learned a truckload of new stuff. But what I was working on did not resonate with me. My side project became a day job I dreaded.
Now I had two shitty day jobs.
Today, I know myself better. These are my focus.
- Running my 1-Man consulting practice
- Pursue bigger-sized consulting deals
- Attend Toastmasters to pitch better
- Learn to write better online
- Publish articles consistently
That’s it.
And here’s why it works.
I am excited to do all these things, no matter how tired I am. Chances are, self-progression projects happen after 8–9 hours of work. We will get to the start line feeling tired.
Thus, we must enjoy our projects to press on.
Otherwise, we get stuck in a death spiral.
Parting Keynotes
We need to work on ourselves daily to spiral forward.
I know this sounds obvious. But that does not make it easy. It is when we have figured ourselves out.
Hence, working on self-progression projects along our day job requires the following.
- Avoid pushing against the wall
- Reverse the Theory of Broken Windows
- Spend more time on what you naturally gravitate towards
A healthy dose of self-awareness goes a long way.
As a content contributor, I write my observations from daily life and my business exposure. Because our life experience is the bedrock of our unique perspectives.
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