List-en Up!
Published November 26, 2019
The last couple weeks have had me thinking about how to stay motivated and productive now that I don’t have the structure of a 9-5 job. It’s been a little over 60 days since I quit work and left the U.K. During that time I had plenty of things to occupy my time - the road trip to Spain, receiving and unpacking my items from London, home improvements, finding the local version of whatever thing I need, etc. For a good 5-6 weeks that was what mostly occupied my time. And admittedly enjoying some pool days, sleeping late and reading a couple books, luxuries I haven’t had in years. But now that the initial excitement has worn down, how can I stay productive and focused on my big objectives? Well, List-en Up! (I love a good pun) and I will tell you what I’ve been doing so far. Jury is still out on whether this will work for me long term but I think it’s a good starting point.
I make lists. I give myself chores. I give myself goals to achieve that are small steps toward my larger objectives. Some of the tasks on these lists might seem quite mundane and definitely far from inspiring but they help me be productive each day. I allow myself to have “me” days where I may do none of the things on my lists. I am decompressing after 25 years of work after all. But I try to maintain focus on why I’m doing this in the first place.
I would bucket my lists (or list my lists?) into the following themes.
Major Life Objectives - this is primarily about building a foundation that allows me the freedom to live and travel where and when I want. There’s a lot to unpack here and it can often feel overwhelming. I don’t know about you, but when I feel overwhelmed I procrastinate because it just feels like too much to manage. So what do I do? I break it down into smaller steps and list those out in ways that make the bigger goal more attainable.
Dependencies - these are those smaller steps mentioned above that I need to achieve in order to insure I am moving toward that ultimate objective. This includes things like sorting out residency in European countries as a US citizen. Schengen rules are pretty simple - you can be in the totality of the Schengen area for 90 days out of 180 days. But what if I want to stay in Spain longer than 90 days for example? And how do I plan for moving around while I’m still beholden to Schengen rules? Lists!
Personal Growth - areas that I am interested in and want to learn more about that may or may not be directly related to the above two categories. Several years ago I had given myself a goal to read at least one classic novel per year. I had stuck to it for quite awhile but lost track of this along the way. I would like to put this back on my list. Other topics include finding/watching online videos on photography subjects that will help me continue to refine my art and setting photo challenges to get me out shooting and growing my craft.
Specific Tasks - this includes everything from household cleaning to packing lists for upcoming trips. The boring stuff that needs to get done and won’t if I don’t assign it to myself. Or the things that I need to remember to bring along when traveling thousands of miles away. Not sexy, but annoying when I forget. Case in point - I took a road trip through Scotland a couple years ago with the dogs. We’d rented a camper van and I was so excited for an adventure. I had all the dogs’ gear loaded, food, etc. but I forgot my own clothes and toiletries. All I had were the clothes on my back. Luckily Scotland is a civilized area and I found a department store where I was able to purchase what I needed. But what if I’d been heading into more remote areas? Major face palm moment! So now I list all the things I will need for a trip. I do this weeks before I leave which gives me time to add/subtract items. See below for my upcoming trip to Croatia (edited for modesty, LOL).
That friends, is where I am at 60+ days into this journey. Learning as I go and making lists to keep me on track. What tricks do you use to stay motivated and on task? Would love to hear your suggestions, please comment below.