So based on my own experience, I believe there’s a phenomenon that exists for most people, of a limit of their reservoirs of focus and effort.
What I mean by this is that it appears very difficult to stay focused on a task or project over a prolonged period of time, as attention, motivation or confidence in the project wanes.
If you put it into context of something familiar like a new exercise program.
The first month is hard simply because it’s new, but you are brimming with motivation and the incentives of success, so you push on eagerly.
Month two is where you begin to adjust to the program and you may get a bit of a leap of progress as you become more familiar with the program, your body gets out of Netflix mode and you gain a bit of proficiency.
Morale is still good and the routine sticks.
Month three is where things can suddenly start to change and often from only the smallest of nudges.
You’ve settled into a more monotonous grind, rewards aren’t as attainable and the reality of true progression begins to feel further away than you had naively thought.
It’s here that there is often a wobble. A busy period of work, sleep issues, a family crisis, any life event big or small can knock the routine. A day or two are missed and that’s enough for many people to fall off track, never to return until January 1st looms.
The brutal truth is that anything truly rewarding, an achievement you feel proud of, or any skill that elicits admiration from others is fundamentally slow and gruelling to achieve.
A year ago I tool an active decision to become unemployed and commit to a career change. I’d tried every iteration of the role of a chef I could find, but never found one to satisfy a viable longevity. I was frustrated, unhappy and my right arm was so aggravated from the elbow down, it constantly throbbed and would simply drop things.
Over the past year I’ve had to face the brutal reality of what is actually involved to initiate career change. The time it really takes to up-skill in a new field and the cyclical nature of optimism, despair, struggle and progress along the way.
The task I’ve given myself is hard.
Over this past year I’ve embarked upon grasping a potential career somewhere in Tech. This has begun with learning the basics of HTML, CSS, PHP, Javascript and currently Ruby. I’ve also incorporated learning a working proficiency of various software tools and interfaces such as the Terminal, Git, WordPress and Adobe Creative Cloud.
Many times I’ve questioned whether it’s too hard.
Maybe I’m being unrealistic with my goals….?
Sometimes days can go by with seemingly no progress whatsoever. Just a clammy arse from sitting staring at a screen all day long trying to grasp a concept, whilst maintaining a safe distance from the Nespresso machine.
To avoid meltdown, despair and the urge to quit I’ve found myself adopting a complementary learning strategy to try to sustain a consistent degree of progress.
The first element has similarities to the concept of ‘always fall forwards’.
If you imagine having to navigate a swamp of quicksand to get from point A to B. After a given amount of time in any one spot you can get stuck. At that point before you get sucked into a sandy abyss, you have to initiate a move, preferably in the right direction. The idea is that even if the route isn’t a straight line, you keep moving to prevent getting stuck and continue to make some degree of progress.
In parallel I’ve also taken lessons learnt from practicing Crossfit, a multi-skilled and multi-disciplined approach to fitness. Whilst the rate of progression in any specific area or skill in Crossfit, is depressingly slow. Throughout the process you are constantly becoming a fitter, stronger and more physically functional version of yourself; even if you still feel useless when it comes to executing a proficient olympic snatch.
This strategy of shifting across complementary subjects has evolved through my need to sustain a sense of accomplishment, despite constant obstacles. It maybe dilutes progress but it feels that so long as the subjects are curated with consideration, it still pushes in the right direction.
I’ve found that having these multiple avenues helps to maintain my morale when I fatigue or get stuck somewhere (which seems to be most days). If I grind to a halt for too long, or find my enthusiasm is lacking, I can switch tasks and try to progress there.
Climbing a mountain simply requires that you start and that you find ways to stay motivated and keep moving. Routes to the top will vary but they will all ultimately reach the summit.
You just have to keep climbing.
My curated subject list:
- Learning to code – Currently Ruby.
- Learning to touch-type – To make writing code easier. Uses the brain differently; still painfully frustrating but in a different way.
- Blog writing – Practices touch-typing and gives a creative outlet to express thoughts and vent frustrations.
- Blog maintenance – Sustains practical awareness of HTML, CSS and PHP.
- Photography/Video – Provides content to complement the blog writing and provides an escape from text based input.
- Photo/Video editing – Provides an alternative medium on a laptop and improves competency in software that is used across digital applications.
- Fitness, nutrition, fat-loss – Another challenge to focus on, provides blog content and a means to prevent a slow death by desk and chair.
