July 19, 2011

Shipping costs

In the book Linchpin, Seth Godin recommends in order to ship a major project every year, you should set aside one hour every day to complete three tasks aligned with completing the project. Leo Babauta, the author of Zen Habits, calls these tasks your Most Important Tasks (MITs).

It may not seem like much, but you can create remarkable art that is most important to you with only one hour of focused energy every day.

The question then becomes, is it worth it to you? What are you willing to give in order to achieve your dreams and to ship something that changes everything?

If shipping meant getting up an hour earlier every day, would you do it? Would you stay up an hour later? Are you willing to spend the time focused on completing (not just doing) tasks that move you closer to achieving what you set out to accomplish?

This might mean shutting off the television, putting down the novel, and avoiding the temptation to browse the internet. It could also include not doing the things which at first glance appear to be related to shipping something remarkable, like checking email, analyzing the usage of your site, or invoicing customers.

The extra hour is all about completing tasks directly aligned with shipping great art every year, not about the things you are already doing every day. They are small steps in the right direction.

If you aren't willing to give up an hour a day to create your art, then find something worthy of giving an hour a day to. Or, perhaps you are afraid if you give an hour a day to completing something monumental, you might actually succeed?

Be conscious about what it is you want to achieve, be focused, and be selective about how you spend your time.

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