Writing and the Importance of Knowing What You Want
Our minds are always going at 100mph. We jump from one idea to the next letting it pour out of us. We can talk with people and forget within a moments second what we just said, what we just agreed to.
How many times have you agreed to do something for someone but you tell them “Hey, just make sure you text me that because I’m going to forget it.”?
We’re all guilty of it. Sometimes we’re guilty of receiving the text but then forgetting to look back at it because our focus is only pulled to the little red notification number in the corner of the app. We click on the text message, read it, and tell ourselves “Oh, I’ll do that when I get home” then forget all about it because the little unread notification is gone.
You need to get organized, and writing will help you get there.
Whether you choose to create a special note in your Apple Notes, download the “Any.Do” app (a personal favorite of mine) to create lists of things to do, or create voice memos, it needs to be written somewhere. Now for everyday activities and short reminders my personal go-to is the Any.Do app. I use this app because I’m able to link it with my Amazon Echo. At home I can say “Alexa, add milk to the shopping list” and BAM it’s there for me, don’t have to worry about it. A great as-I-go tool. I’ve also told Alexa to remind me to do things as well. Such as reminding me to call Banfield to set up a vet appointment or to take the chicken out the fridge to thaw. Simple things to help me get through the day. Then I can easily go into the app and mark it as completed and go on about my day. Do you know how hard it would be to go grocery shopping without a list? One, you most likely wouldn't stick to your list or budget for that matter. Two, you would most likely forget something because your mind space is preoccupied with so many other things going on, work, relationships, bills, and the list goes on. But we’re not here to talk about your daily to-do list.
I’ve really begun to notice that writing is very powerful; not just for myself but for others too. I understand that writing can be a form of self therapy. Many young women I know journal or blog. Some use writing prompts to get them started. We all know how popular vision boards are too. In it’s own sense, it’s a form of “writing” through pictures. A collection of thoughts all in one central location; most often used for goal setting. Whether you're writing electronically or physically, the important aspect here is to get it out of your brain and make it concrete.
My personal preference most days is physically writing. I like this a bit more because it’s different; almost foreign to my senses. Technology has made me desensitized. I Google any and everything I want. I text and call people from my phone, create captions for Instagram and write out 280 characters for Twitter on an almost daily basis. My phone is always in my hand and I’m always busy on it. So, something about taking the time to get a pen and paper out, to sit and write in a notebook or find a hard surface makes the process stick a little better for me.
I think that a different type of processing happens when you sit down and you write out your goals or your plans that you are trying to accomplish.
Let’s start small. Every Monday for the past three months now I have been texting a good friend of mine my goals for the upcoming week. I find it helpful to have an accountability partner so to speak, and to be able to think and clearly establish what I am aiming for outside of the usual run of the mill: take the dogs out, go to work, grade papers, go home, figure out food, maybe exercise, play video games/watch tv, go to bed, and REPEAT. Where inside of that usual routine did I do something that helped me get to my goal? Nowhere. With this established weeks goal in mind I can begin to deviate from my routine and add in where necessary. On Tuesday, I might need to cut down on some time to focus on designing a new logo. On Thursday, I might need to carve out some time to look up event venues for the next ExplorHER event. Or maybe on Saturday, I need to make sure I study for that upcoming exam, or in my case as a teacher create that final exam for the Poetry unit.
You see how I was able to manipulate my schedule to allot time to complete my goals for the week? I believe if I had not written down my goals than I would not have completed them. I could have. I could have remembered at the last minute that I needed to do that logo and now I’m stuck having to stay up until 3am completing it, rather than creating a pace more suitable for me. I could have.
"Be Specific About Your Goals"
Let’s go bigger. For the month of April I asked what your biggest goals were in life and where you were in completing them.
Have you ever taken the time to write down your life goals and come up with a multilayered outline on how you’ll accomplish said goal? Let’s take my goal of becoming a business owner of sorority paraphernalia. That’s the large goal, the umbrella covering up all the steps that have to happen underneath it. What are all the things I think I’m going to need to do? I can only imagine:
Own my own company
Come up with designs
Get a business loan
Create a business brand
Decide on what I want to sell
Decide on how I want to sell; online only or in person like a vendor at conferences
Research!
Go back to school to learn proper graphic design techniques
Learn about screen printing versus direct to garment vs embroidery
Look into licensing for selling Greek paraphernalia and costs associated with it
Consider investors
I’m sure I could add more to this list but look at it! Look at all the work that I understand at its most basic level that I’m going to have to accomplish. Also, this list isn’t even in any particular order. It’s not done based on what needs to get finished first. But it is an outline of all the different avenues I understand that I need to explore.
Now if you were to compile a list similar to mine, based off your own goal, then I’m sure you could then take these categories and begin to prioritize them the best you can. You can begin to categorize them based off what you believe to be inside of your realm of power and understanding. And trust me “research is going to appear more than once”.
That’s the beautiful thing about writing your goals down. You can move and adjust them. You can see where you need help and where you don’t. You can begin to create an execution plan; even at the smallest levels. I know one of the most important things for me and most likely the first thing I will do is to go back to school. So if my mini plan is to go back to school guess what that list looks like?
Go back to school for graphic design
Research
Do I want to get a certificate, associates, or another bachelor's?
What price range am I trying to stay in?
What schools offer what I’m looking for?
How am I paying for school?
Will FAFSA cover the costs?
Will I need to take out a personal loan?
Where do I qualify for a personal loan from? A bank, Sallie Mae.
Maybe I don’t qualify. Are there any scholarships I can apply to?
Decide
After having done all that research it’s time to make some final decisions and apply to different schools.
Graduate from school/program
I’m sure we all know what it takes to complete school so I won’t go that detailed, but hopefully you get the point.
That was just one out of the ten things I said I needed to complete. In addition, don’t think you have to tackle them one by one. No, many of them can be completed simultaneously. You just have to go into each one and break it down to it’s core. All the way down to what can be done this week.
Some things I want you to take with you this week and consider are:
In five years, where would you like to live?
What would you like to be doing?
Will you have obtained at least one of your biggest goals by then or will you have only partially fulfilled your goal?
Take time into consideration. In 5 years do you plan to have 50% of your goal? 25%? 100%? Make it realistic.
The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it. – Michelangelo Buonarroti