How eating an entire elephant will improve the quality of your life!
I’ve got what you might call a fear of living a mediocre life. That fear has led me down a number of interesting paths, from engineering school to amateur rockets, but until recently, my method of making progress was random at best.
One day a couple years back - I really don’t remember when - while someone else was listening to “This American Life” , I overheard a broadcast interview of a woman named Zora who decided when she was a kid that she wanted to be a superhero. Well, what kid doesn’t? Totally reasonable. In true kid fashion, she made a list of all the skills she’d need to learn to pull it off.
Then she proceeded to actually learn them.
Now, I don’t want to be a superhero. (Ok, I *do*, but I don’t like to talk about it. ) But I was drawn to the idea of building an exciting, event-filled life in which I did amazing things. The key, though, wasn’t in making the list, but in systematically completing the items on the list, and making changes to my own life if I wasn’t making progress.
So, I made what I call my “Zora List”, and every quarter I check to see how I’m doing. Following the steps outlined below, I have:
- transformed my basement from a cramped storage area to a sweet Geek Lair, complete with multiple workbenches
- got my ham radio Technician license
- visited the Italian Alps, Austria and Germany
- paid off a twenty year old debt
Current list items include:
- learning Morse Code
- hacking the linux kernel and building my own distro
- this site
- *finally* finishing a scale model of the NCC-74656
Here’s some suggestions for making your own Zora List:
- First, write down everything you’ve ever wanted to do/see/learn/accomplish. Doesn’t matter how crazy, outlandish, basic - who cares? If you want it, write it down. The longer it is, the better. Dream big
- Break down your list into subcategories that will make tracking your progress easier later on. For example, places to go, things to learn, financial goals, educational goals, etc.
- See anything that can be accomplished in the short term? Make a list of things to accomplish in the next quarter.
- For the long term stuff, are there any short-term steps that will get you closer? For example, if you want to travel, but you don’t have a passport, put getting your passport app completed on the short term list. Or if you want to visit someplace specific, add things like “check for hotels” or “save x number of $ per paycheck” to the short term list.
- Print it on one page. If you have to print it on big paper to get it all in one place, so be it, but make sure it’s all visible at a glance. Then put it somewhere you’ll look at it at least once every few days. The more you see it, the more you’ll act on it.
- Aim to complete one short term item every week. When you complete an item, highlight it instead of crossing it out - that way, you’ll see your accomplishments instead of big black Sharpie marks, which will just encourage you to keep moving forward.
- Every quarter, check your progress and update the short term list.
- If things get crowded, move your accomplishments to a different piece of paper and post it in your workspace/office/lair.
Life can’t be mediocre if you’re getting the things you really want to do done!
One bite at a time, you’ll eat the entire elephant. My life in the last five years is *dramatically* better than the five years prior to that, and it’s all because I took small steps to accomplish the things I really wanted to do.
Related posts:
- How-To: LinuxChix Kernel Hacking Lessons
- How To Use A Slide Rule
- 5 Ways to be a Better Computer Geek
- Sylvia Earle, Aquanaut For Life
- Intel’s “Upgrade Your Life”: The Content Managers
