“Working Better: How to Take On a Passion Project

When You Have a Job

Yeah, it would be awesome if you could quit your job and dedicate yourself full time to that online museum you’ve been talking about for years, but realistically, you tell yourself, you need a steady paycheck. True, but that’s not a good reason not to do something you absolutely love and believe in. Whether it’s writing a book, starting a web site, building a shed, or growing that herb garden, you take on a passion project because you want to, for your own enjoyment—and that’s why it’s the first thing to go when time feels tight. We’re wired to train our gaze on our obligations to others. The key to finally doing the thing you always said you wanted to do is committing to it (and committing to yourself) in very practical ways. Here’s how.

For starters, reset your clock. The internal one, we mean. To get more done in the day, you need to make better use of your time, and should start with your sleeping. Try getting up earlier; It takes about a week to feel normal on a new schedule. Use those quiet hours before work to pour yourself into that thing you love.

Be good at your job. If you take on a side project and start sucking at your job, then you’ll feel bad and stop working on your project or, worse, get fired. Don’t let this happen. The art here is juggling and fulfilling your obligation to your employer and to yourself. Treat both equally.

Remember that your side project isn’t a hobby. So when you’re working, work.  Avoid checking email, IMing, Facebooking, and so forth during your carved-out work time. It will allow you to get more done in a short period of time, without distraction. (Same goes with your job-job, of course.)

Don’t expect to get paid. People moonlight for all kinds of reasons, but taking on your passion project with the expectation of making money in the short term could easily derail your progress when the checks don’t come. If you do it and the money comes later, you win—but don’t let that be your incentive.

Talk up your project. Chances are good that what you’re working on will be more interesting to your friends than whatever happened at the office on Tuesday. So tell them. Traditional benchmarks—money, success, approval—often don’t apply to personal projects, so the interest and encouragement of your nearest and dearest can help you stay on track.

Have at least a one-day weekend. Evenings and weekends, those sacred off hours, are goners when you take on a passion project. But if you don’t have time to refuel, you’ll burn out. Pick one day and three nights a week for some uninterrupted relaxation or fun. “

[caught in: http://www.good.is/post/working-better-how-to-take-on-a-passion-project-when-you-have-a-job/?utm_source=supr, thanks to Talks 2.0 Facebook page.]

I’ve been away for a long time, but now I’m back in the game! I’ve been feeling a bit desmotivated, but since I went to a Volunteer Camp in Leiria, where I had some time to rest my body and soul, far far away from the cities where I work and live, I decided to make some changes in my life. Starting today.

I know a LOT of people who are always complaining about everything. A group which I used to join. But since I decided to get a new way for my life that I try to escape from that way of thinking. Everyone knows the attraction law, right? So, think with me: the more you complain, the more you get thinks to complain about. It’s as simple as that. In the Camp, as my mind was away from preoccupations, I became less and less stressful and felt more happy, actually, even eating badly, in terms of my sickness! Ok. All the environment around me – the beach, the sun, the no worries vibe – helped it, but if I try not to be so tricky, enjoying more every single moment in my dailylife, maybe I can get more motivation to rescue back my daily welfare. Now, to improve that, I set some simple and little things which I would like to share with you, and to hear what do you thing about them:

1- Wake up about 5min before the normal and listen to a great and full of energy music;

2 – Get into the shower, turn the hot water till I can handle it, close my eyes and just smile like a goofy for about 2min – even with no reason apparently!;

3 – Check my e-mail box only for 5min in the beggining of the day, 10 more in lunchtime and 10 more in the end of the day – and turn the MSN OFF!;

4 – Manage to have 10min off in my lunchtime, get a confortable chair, close my eyes and focus only on my respiration;

5 – Don’t watch soap operas or programs with no healthy content in the end of the day. Instead, read a book about a matter that I’m interested in (oh… that’s a hard one… hum… let me see… Cinema, of course!) or some kind of “wise book”;

6 – Watch some motivational videos recorded on conferences like TED, Switch…;

7 – Make one true compliment a day to anybody I know (or not!);

8 – Smile to everyone I get in touch with during the day;

9 – Smiling during the phone calls from a familiar or friend – the other person will notice it!;

10 – Try to sleep at least 7 hours a day;

11 – Put some post-its where my eyes can simply reach everyday with this statements:

“I’m a human being so that’s ok to fail or to be wrong.” (this is the difficult one…);

“The one who rejected you someday, will never deserve you – he’s/she’s the one who looses.”

“Look back and realize what you already achieve; look in front and see what you are able to do – and WILL DO.”

“Put a part of you in every single thing you do, even if you don’t like it.”

12 – Drink about 1,5L of water or tea and do about 30min of exercise a day (in average… because some days it is just impossible…).

Is there something important missing?… If so, please tell me to include it in my checklist!

Ok, this is a bit ambitious, I know. Some days it will be just impossible to check every items, but at least… I promise I’ll try to fulfill them all… or a big part of them! The booster of this idea was Vasco Gaspar with its new Zorbudda program – which I sign for as well! Besides that, some of the items was based on the prescriptions of my therapist – thank you!

The goal of all this: It’s true that I don’t like very much my work at the moment, but I understand that I mustn’t give up now! So first I should rescue the welfare and the joy of living and only after that get some extra energy to achieve the “real deal”… Can you cheer for me?… I know you will.

Last weekend I did something I’ve been dreaming for a while: working with professional equipment, directing a short scene in a workshop and learning all the theory behind. It was only for two days, but gave me some extra energy to do things less motivating like… work. Besides, I learn a lot with tips tutors were constatly gaving us between tripod movements and illumination scheme changes. And it was in a very relaxing environment, so we all felt free to ask everything to them and they were always very approachable.

Returning to the main subject, I’ll try to continue feeding this passion I have about Cinema everytime I can (or should I say “my wallet can…”). Meanwhile, I’ll try to learn more and more reading books and watching some good movies, which is less expensive but also motivating and effective for my mind relief and… pursuit of my great dream…

Actually, we are all different in a peculiar way and some things that have a great meaning for us could not have to other people, even if there is a good relationship between. So don’t feel frustrated about that, because that is a complete lost of pure and meaningful energy that lives inside you. If you do things to have recognition and you don’t, you start to loose will and vitality to do other things that you like. So do it only because you enjoy it and in return it will be useful for you when you get into a really bad mood.

Last year, I did a short-film to participate in two amateur competitions and at the end, I didn’t get any premium. Ok, it became a little frustrated for me at that time… but later I realised that I shouldn’t… Sorry… I MUSTN’T fell that way. It’s a good principle to accept that there are some people better than us, but the most important is that we mustn’t wait for recognition in anything; we must do everything for our welfare. And this is not an egocentric way of thinking. We must do things that we like most just because of the joy we feel doing it. Period.

The time passed and in those days I don’t feel very happy or I’m concerned about something, I watch my short. Although knowing by heart all the lines and scenes, in the end a smile grow upon my face with no effort, because I remember the good times I spent doing it and it feels so comforting that I became to feel better. It’s my tonic for bad moods. Search for your own and test it. I’m sure that every single thing you make with passion will help you further in those days you feel sad about something and all you want to do is eating a big ice-cream bucket and cry like a sorry Madeleine. Switch it for this recipe and you will star feeling better with no overweight or headaches attached.

I’m telling it by my own experience but… “I’m just saying…”

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My name is Elsa, I’m a portuguese civil engineer and this is the very beginning of my new blog.

Here, I’ll talk about a lot of things… particularly “some”…

Well, with this, I’ll try to improve my rusty english and, the best of all, share with the world my actual interests and motivations. In return, I hope to get your point of view, making me see through other angles and growing even more as person.

I hope you like it and come back soon, when you can read some posts much more interesting than this one… That is a promise!

For now, I just would like to thank Hugo for his support in all the new things I’m getting into my life to bring it a fresh new meaning. So, thank you a lot, Hugo!

Cheers!