Making yourself be a more productive, more successful version of yourself is not something you plan for, prepare for, train for, and when the big day comes, you execute the goal like a well-oiled productivity machine. You can make lists, make plans (and should!), but ultimately, when the clock hits 0.0, you aren’t going to magically “be” that person you are dreaming of.

The clock never hits zero because it isn’t counting down to some imaginary moment when you are going to magically become the person you have always wanted to be. The clock is always ticking, and the zero it is counting down towards, isn’t an ideal person, but a dead one, so why are you wasting any of that precious time not being the person you want to be?

No one is inherently born doing it all right. Someone isn’t born getting up early, brushing their teeth, washing their face, working out, showering, dressing (correctly), eating a healthy breakfast, packing a healthy lunch, tidying up from the morning, posting content to encourage their side hustle, commuting safely to a job they love and possibly created for themselves, kicking ass all day at said job they love, smiling, being the person everyone is hoping to see, being the best version of themselves, coming home on time to a home they themselves already cleaned, making a home cooked, healthy meal, clean up, spend time with family, whatever that means for them, working on side projects…Then doing the morning routine in reverse to go to bed.

None of us were born being able to be the exact best person we have always wanted to be. We had to spend plenty of years defining what that person even was, and redefining what it was when we realized how stupid our first set of ideas may have been. The above picture may only represent one persons idea of who they want to be, and who you want to be can always change. The key is discovering who you want to be, then, we have to plan for that person.

Look, I am NOT one of those people who will say “You can’t spend all your time planning, you have to do do do” First of all, that person said “do do”, so, no, do not listen to them, and two, as much as I appreciate the sentiment, you need a plan, if nothing else, to make sure you know what you want.

If you want to be a writer, you need to plan for reading and writing.

If you want to be an athlete, you need to plan for stretching and working out, as well as a balanced diet for that workout.

If you want to be educated, you must plan for education, whatever that means for you, you still must do it.

These are not opinions to encourage you to buy some workshop of mine that I am hawking for extra money, these are just factual statements.

You also must actually *do* the things you plan for. However, (And this is where the other people have it right) you cannot spend all day planning, because all the bullet journals and washi tape in the world will not make you be the person you want to be, it will not make you happier at your job, it will not make you have more control of your life. It will spend your money and your time doing little more than day dreaming.

If you have been following with my blog series, about me slowly trying to be a not lazy P.O.S., I have been ‘making changes to have changes’ happen in my life, and that has included planning, but also, lots of doing. I planned to wake up earlier, and then I DID it. I have been planning to do yoga, but because I haven’t done it, I haven’t done it.

No, this isn’t some super clever Yoda type quote, just facts. You can plan and plan and plan but until you get off your lazy ass, stuff isn’t going to change. I can plan and plan, but until I put down my phone, put down the bong, whatever I am doing at the time, and go do some damn yoga, I will continue to not do the damn yoga. That isn’t my bullet journal’s fault, either, just like when you plan yet fail to do something, it isn’t the planners fault. Your to-do list did not fail you.

You failed you.

So get off your ass and get to work, we need you out here being you, doing you, and being your very best self.

So, what does getting off your ass have to do with momentum? No, I promise I won’t quote laws of physics at you, but it is noted that it is much easier to keep doing something once you do it.

If you recall from my last blog post, getting up early has proven to be a good habit for me, and stopping it just made me miserable. Thankfully, I was early enough in the habit forming and so relieved to not feel so sluggish (see that post for details) that I was able to gain my momentum back, and get up by 6:00AM every day this week, but sometimes closer to five. Had I gotten up on time over the weekend, it stands to reason my average for the week would be closer to five than six, instead of awake but laying in bed snoozing until six. It stands to reason I would have gotten a blog post or two prepped as well, versus me working on number four right now. I may have also finished my short story, currently called “Spring Break”.

I am not lamenting my lost time, but I do want to serve as a lesson for you all, please don’t lose your own momentum.

My next big mission, other than getting control of my time, is to implement the master goal: find my perfect career path and doing that thing. I have some ideas on how to increase my chances of the life I want, for example, starting a blog, as being a writer is a big part of my passion. I am also trying to figure out what my day to day content is, or, more specifically, what other passions in my life I want to focus my attentions on. I love writing, but the content of that writing matters as well. I love my fantasy/magic type writing stuff, I love musicals, I love all my characters and I love writing all of their stories, but one needs to also write about other passions, which I do have. I must build enough momentum, however, because we all know creating a life where you are truly happy, doing what you want, takes some work.

Sure, if you want to be happy with a simple job, that I can do it now, however I have creative desires and I also have other interests, and I want to chase the dream where you do the stuff you love every day and that is your job. That is an impossible dream to many, and requires a bit of momentum, so I am building mine, and I hope you are building yours too. This is a big, crazy world, and if watching other people follow this process has taught me anything, its that if you all reach out, great things come back to you, so I hope you are building momentum so the world will visit upon you all the great stuff it wants to throw at you, but it can only throw at you if you are matching its velocity.

I will omit the physics joke here, as well, but only because I know there are better people than I to make those jokes.

For now, I am working on continuing my momentum, and making more, and I really do hope you are too, because frankly, why shouldn’t we all? It all helps.

To build momentum as a writer, I read often, and I put out more writing, and another writer, who needs to read, gets something to read, and puts out more writing. And the person who needs something encouraging to read before taking a big risk, or because they are having a bad day, gets it, and they build their own momentum, for their own dreams.

When an athlete wishes to achieve their momentum, they work out, and they use trainers, and fellow athletes. If these people are all following their momentum, they are all encouraging each other to be their best self.

Momentum builds, not just for the person in motion, but for those around them. Just like the plague, smiles, productivity and momentum is contagious. Thankfully, these last three are worth spreading.

Tomorrow, I will wake up, and I will continue to build my momentum. I got up early all week, and have plenty of writing to show for it. I hope to keep and build my momentum, and I hope you do too. We all need you out there, so we can all be our very best.

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❤

Abbi

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