Findmeraw

Getting a post onto this blog is a small thing until you’ve spent weeks struggling to get it there.

I’ve been trying to get my books ready, keep FindMeRaw moving, and fit all of that around work. I’ve also been tired. Recently, I admitted how long it was taking me to put everything together. Wanting to do something and actually getting it published have turned out to be two very different jobs.

But there are posts here now. I’ve introduced my upcoming book, written about starting over at 55, and admitted that procrastination and stubbornness have been getting in my way. That’s a real change I can point to.

The next step is keeping it manageable. This is a seven-day plan for that next step, one you can use alongside me. It isn’t a report of a magically productive week I’ve already finished. I don’t need to invent a success story. I’ve got enough work to do with the actual one.

Give the week one job

For me, publishing is the example. For you, it might be making an appointment, finishing an application, or sorting the pile of paperwork that has apparently become a permanent resident.

Choose one thing with a finish line you can recognize. “Get my life together” doesn’t tell you what to do on Tuesday. “Read one chapter and mark the corrections” does.

A seven-day plan for starting over

Day 1: Pick one unfinished thing

Write it down in one sentence. Keep it small enough to fit into the life you actually have. You don’t need to add a second project just because the first one looks modest.

Day 2: Decide what done looks like

Give the task an ending. A post is ready when the wording is checked, the links work, and it has been previewed. A phone call is done when you’ve made it and written down the next step. Deciding this in advance gives endless tinkering less room to operate.

Day 3: Give it ten minutes

Open the document. Read the page. Find the phone number. Ten minutes is a starting point, not a promise that every problem can be solved in ten minutes. If that’s all the time you have, use it and leave yourself a note about where to begin next.

Day 4: Name the snag

Be specific about what’s stopping you. If moving a draft into WordPress is the problem, “try harder” isn’t much of an instruction. Getting help with that exact step is. If you’re exhausted after work, choose a smaller task or a different time.

Day 5: Finish the step you chose

Check the things that matter, then complete the task. With a post, that means making sure it says what you mean before you publish it. You can improve your next piece without holding this one hostage forever.

Day 6: Let someone see it

If you’ve published something, share the link with a short introduction. If your task is private, you might tell someone you trust that you finished it. Keep the size of the announcement appropriate to the task. A completed application doesn’t require a press conference.

Day 7: Look at what actually happened

Write down what you completed, where you got stuck, and the next useful step. If you missed a day, carry on from where you stopped. Turning one missed day into a verdict on your entire character takes energy you could use elsewhere.

The short checklist

• Choose one task.
• Write down what done means.
• Make time for a small first step.
• Get help with the specific snag.
• Finish and check the task.
• Share it when appropriate.
• Choose the next step.

Where I’m starting

I wrote about the bigger picture in Starting Over at 55: What Nobody Tells You About Rebuilding Your Life. Then I wrote about the changes I keep putting off. This plan gives those thoughts somewhere practical to go.

I still have a book to get published. I still have a blog to learn how to run. Today, getting this post here is one finished step.

What’s one change you’ve been putting off? Tell me in the comments, and name the smallest step you could take this week.

— Jim