Note: This is the twentieth in a month-long exercise called Reverb10, where bloggers reflect on the year before and think towards the year ahead. The idea is to post daily, based on the day’s prompts; let’s see how well I do.
Further Note: I decided that yesterday’s prompt – “what healed you this year?” – was something that I just couldn’t answer. Not that I have that much of a problem airing personal business online (clearly), but frankly, I just hate questions like that in a public forum.
Prompt: Beyond avoidance. What should you have done this year but didn’t because you were too scared, worried, unsure, busy or otherwise deterred from doing? (Bonus: Will you do it?)
See note above re: hating questions like this. I also tend to have a policy against “should haves,” as they’re dangerously addictive, and completely counterproductive.
The way that “should haves” work is this: you start with something relatively innocent, like “I should have gone after that client last year.” Then you start thinking, “I should have made more calls this year” or “I should have gone to more networking events” or “I should have Tweeted more” (trust me, you shouldn’t have). Eventually, your mind is spiraling downward into this nasty shame spiral which somehow, for me, always ends with “I should have lost weight.” BECAUSE IT ALWAYS ENDS THERE.
So frankly, I don’t have any “should haves.” What I do have is many, many ideas, and a system in place for managing those ideas so that I go after the ones that are worth going after and let go (or save) the ones that aren’t quite ready yet. The system evolves over time, but it generally results in a large portion of the better ideas being acted upon and/or tried. In 2011, one of my goals is to better systematize the trying – which will be interesting given the time constraints posed by work and school. But frankly, I’m used to working hard, and life isn’t fun without new challenges.
AND SPEAKING OF SYSTEMS! The pretty{functional} Etsy store is now LIVE, with the first bunch of handmade notebooks ready to be purchased. There’s blank books that are just beautiful, and dot-grid books that are the next evolution of the abovementioned system – designed to let you keep both your work notes and your personal journal entries in ONE BOOK. I’ve been using one of the dot grid versions for about a week now, and I can’t tell you how handy it’s been. I can add a to-do list if I want to, but I don’t need one at all, and I can use it for a diary entry, then sketch a logo design, and then play with type, all in one journal! I swear I’m in love.