Yesterday I put a new recurring item on my to-do list: “Make money.” That’s right, I have to remind myself to make money.
I suppose that’s part of the problem of doing something you’re passionate about and working for yourself. I enjoy writing and communicating with folks, so it’s so easy for me to spend all my time doing that, then neglect to actually make money doing it. So I added this.
But I also added this to-do item to my list because I need to remember one fundamental thing. I need to remember to think about big picture things.
It’s so easy to think my job is writing ten or twenty different things each day. It can feel very routine and even boring. But I have to remember to leverage my platform for bigger things. It’s not just about plugging away in my writing. It’s about supporting myself so I can do it more and get even better at it.
I could easily procrastinate, not write, and get by like that for a couple weeks. Nobody would care. So even though that’s what I love to do…writing is the least important part of what I do.
But if I don’t get new advertisers and find ways to make a living from this, I can’t continue to do the things I love. And if I get so focused on the small picture—writing many posts each day—I’ll quickly lose my big picture thinking. It will become laborious.
But as I develop the business side, I remember how incredible it is that I get to write for a living. As I spend a few moments on the less fun side of things, it helps me appreciate the things I do that I love.
Find a way to remember the big picture of what you do. Whether you’re self employed or work for a company. Whether you’re a graphic designer, writer, accountant…anything. Remember the big picture items in everything you do. Set a reminder if you need.
