So two weeks ago I posted about making good use of your time and the challenges that go along with it, which a lot of folks seemed to appreciate. (A sign that maybe we’re all struggling with the same problems??)
One of those folks happened to be my old board-game playing cohort Darryl Parker, web designer and self-employed entrepreneur who opened up Schoodac’s coffee shop in my hometown of Warner, New Hampshire back in 2015. He wrote some wise words down in the depths of the comments section about how he manages his time, and I found it way too thought-provoking not to share as its own post:
Be constantly in a state of improvement. So what does that mean?
To me it means to do something, at least one thing, sometimes dozens of things, each day that are improvements to your quality of life or your pursuits or interests.
Feeding the animals, as I call it, involves the day-to-day tasks like eating and washing clothes and making beds. Those all need to be done and should be done well, but I mean to be selective with choosing one or two or three (I shoot for three) things each day that compounded over time will have a major impact on your life direction.
Imagine if you did three improvements or developments each day! That would be 1,000 steps by year’s end. So, for example, today involves continuing my studies of Python, connecting in a meaningful way with a new person I’m seeing, and getting an order put in for lumber for a project for the coffee shop. Those are new steps that are outside of the routine. I may add a few more.
Some days I unfortunately only achieve one or two. Some days I achieve dozens of incremental improvements. But each day I do something.
The rest of the day is allowed to be what it is and how it unfolds around me. The world I’ve chosen to live in, the world I’ve created, the people I associate with, the foods I eat, etc. are all products of these steps taken each day.
By accomplishing these improvements, I feel much better about the mundane nature of some of the tasks I face each day. I do cook for myself each day. I do make my bed each day. I do try to clean up a certain part of my life or my finances or my businesses or my building each day—think maintenance. This is all feeding the animals. Keeping life on a solid footing, not allowing chaos to emerge. And it is a full life.
I find myself seeking some new direction lately and a new path is revealing itself to me as I work on steps forward each day. I have a general idea of the shape of the mountains ahead. They get clearer as I approach.
Well said.
I found this really insightful for a few reasons—most importantly because I LOVE the idea of dividing the things you do into Feeding the Animals vs. Actual Improvements. In my case, I tend not to separate the two when I chart out stuff on my To-Do List, so on any given day I’m plowing through some combination of run-of-the-mill-chores and actual Big Picture stuff that moves me toward the future. This unfortunately means that if I’m not careful I can get bogged down in the day-to-day Feeding the Animals (doing laundry, washing dishes, etc.) and lose touch with bigger goals like finishing my novel.
However, by separating the two and charting out three actual, for-serious improvements every day, you’re prioritizing the bigger-picture projects and making sure they don’t slip by the wayside. Even if you can’t schedule time for three improvements, even one is better than none, and it’ll help you keep moving in the right direction.
I also like how Darryl specifically points out that the improvements you’re making will actually lead you toward a better life—which is the whole point of making them in the first place. Seeing your smaller steps becoming tangible life changes is one of the best feelings in the world, both because things are better than they were before, and because you can feel a deep sense of fulfillment because it was you (yeah, YOU!) who made them that way.
Finally, I also really like how Darryl admits that not every day’s perfect and that he doesn’t always achieve everything he plans, and that’s OK. Since we’re all real people with real life challenges that take up REAL time and energy, it’s really important to be honest about how things are going, both because it helps you measure and plan your own progress, and because it builds closer connections between you and the people around you. Life’s a lot more complicated than a world of Winners and Losers, and the clearer we can be about that, the more everyone can benefit.
If you’re interested in how to better turn your goals into reality you should also check out my friend Jack Hill’s guest post about the Bullet Journaling system, or my post about my own To-Do List system I use literally every day. Seeing what works for other people helps me pick and choose ideas to add to my own routine, so I encourage you to do the same—just like how I’ll be paying more attention to Feeding the Animals vs. Making Bigger Improvements from now on.
Also, if you have an idea for something (self-improvement-related or otherwise!) you want to share and think the Day Job blog would be a good place, drop me a line or get in touch via the usual channels—outside perspectives help me learn a lot, and I’m always down for a collaboration—provided you’re not a bot trying to sell something ;-)
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