#JustStart — Today!
As I read through my project work on Sunday night, the same day I had received it, my eyes fell on the words ‘Just Start’ and I groaned. Being a procrastinator, and a very good one at that, the two words ‘just’ and ‘start’ together seemed like a mountain I was too tired to climb, even before taking the first step.
Anyhow, I managed to complete my course and jot down my SMART goals a few days in. Thankfully, my first goal was self-explanatory in many different ways, but most importantly, the tasks to start working towards the goal right way were already written down for me.
Here is my goal:
I will do research on 30 universities for my Masters in the next 3 months (2–3 each week)
One of my main professional goals is to pursue a higher degree. It has always been my dream to have a Masters degree, and I believe it would help me acquire a good job in a field I am passionate about.
Ever since I graduated, I keep thinking of doing research on potential universities I can apply to. However, the biggest hurdle I face is my very best buddy: procrastination. I am otherwise a proactive person, especially when it comes to my job and work. But there are instances and situations like these (and some aspects of project works haha), that really make me the queen of procrastination. But Amal has come up with the perfect way to get me on track!
So what do we say to procrastination? NOT TODAY! (insert Arya Stark meme)
My goal is to thoroughly research a total of 30 universities in the span of 3 months. This means I need to be researching around 2 to 3 universities each week. And that easily, my 3 tasks had been set out for me.
I took this on as a challenge this week (although technically, I only had 2 days to do this). It was hard to get into at first, there were so many distractions!
A new Netflix release? WhatsApp video call with my sisters? A new CBA review? The much-awaited new Kurulus Osman episode? And what not!
But I persevered nonetheless. I added that Netflix movie and CBA video to my watchlist, told my sisters I’m preoccupied and told my parents they’d have to wait for me to be done with this before we watched Kurulus Osman together.
And I did it! I sat down, dug into my research and successfully added 2 new beautiful rows into my new-born excel file. And it felt so good!
It was such a small move, but it made me feel like I had done something huge! After months of putting this task off for another day, and saying ‘Kal kar loon gi’ every other day, I had finally taken out a few hours to do the research. I divided my research on the 2 days that I had, and was able to get it done.
This taught me a valuable lesson. Instead of delaying the deed, I need to be more proactive towards things that are important to me. Just like Liz mentioned, I need to stop being lazy. And when we have that drive in our heads, and the very vital factor of accountability, we can do wonders!
I need to have this drive each week, and be responsible enough to add 2 to 3 new rows in my excel file every 7 days. It would not just bring me closer to my goal, but it will also make me responsible. Once I achieve my goal of doing research on 30 universities, I will be able to shortlist them and eventually start sending out applications when the time is right. I still have a long way to go, but this is a big start for me!
The most important takeaway from this activity has been knowing how to say ‘Not Today!’ to procrastination, and shouting ‘Today!’ to the tasks I need to perform.
So don’t #juststart, #juststart today!
