Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums

Matt Willard · 02-05-2010, 10:18 PM

DAY 247 - FEBURARY 5, 2010

Okay, today wasn't that productive. Finished the rough jokes that I'm going to submit and struggled over the rough jokes in my next blog post (I have a hard time on them every so often for some reason). But I STILL count today a success. Why? I faced my fears of being in the car while letting my sister drive, bringing me one step closer to pursuing my goal of learning to drive again. Personal victory! I'll celebrate by doing nothing of value tomorrow.

Matt Willard · 02-06-2010, 10:09 PM

DAY 248 - FEBURARY 6, 2010

Recently inspired by Steve's article on how we give our power away, I want to plan next week with that in mind. Hopefully tomorrow my joke output will be a lot better. That, revising, Weekly Progress Report. Typical affair.

Matt Willard · 02-07-2010, 10:54 PM

DAY 249 - FEBURARY 7, 2010

Writing out my Weekly Progress Report, I realized that one of my big problems is that I keep getting influenced by my problems and shifting my goals accordingly. However, now that I'm committed to making an enjoyable present moment, that means I must pick a major focus and stick with it. So I'll declare it now:

My intention is to create a successful comedy writing business and earn a living off of it. I don't know what that'll entail, exactly, but I swear to abide by this and plan my days and weeks accordingly. You heard it here first.

With that in mind, I finished up the filler jokes I'm going to send in, finished roughing jokes for a blog post, and revised another post that I'm probably going to use as a guest post. Besides that, I readied another post I had in wait for updating tomorrow, and changed some signatures to represent the new direction my blog's going to take.

Tomorrow I work on some posts, send in those jokes, and modify the blog for my new direction. Oh, and post that new entry to correlate with it.

kedzer · 02-08-2010, 04:31 AM

You're an inspiration, that's for sure!

Have you asked for critiques of your writing/website content/website goals on this forum? Also, any possibility you can post the videos you write about (as opposed to just commentaries on the videos)? Your writing is interesting, but I wouldn't underestimate possible self-directed content from viewers themselves...

Matt Willard · 02-08-2010, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kedzer

You're an inspiration, that's for sure!

Have you asked for critiques of your writing/website content/website goals on this forum? Also, any possibility you can post the videos you write about (as opposed to just commentaries on the videos)? Your writing is interesting, but I wouldn't underestimate possible self-directed content from viewers themselves...

I haven't asked for critiques on my goals, but hey, any readers of this thread are welcome to share their opinions! As for the videos, I'm the one who makes all parts of them. The comedic video game playthrough, for example, was recorded and written by me. When I make new videos, though, I can easily post them here, if that's what you're asking.

DAY 250 - FEBURARY 8, 2010

Just the other day I was reading in Personal Development for Smart People that you should start the big tasks first and work your way down to make the day easier as you go. I personally alternate, so that's no problem for me...until I finished all the day's stuff with ample time. And I didn't feel like writing anything, so I just plopped around.

Tomorrow I'm being wiser, though. I'm doing drafting and joke writing early (with time in between to finally record some much needed dialogue), with taking time at the end to get this post ready for the blog. I don't exactly have subgoals in place right now since my overall ambition changed, but I imagine I'll have some extra time left over tomorrow to muse them over.

Also, when I've got 30 minutes or so left, I think I'll read or watch good stuff, like comedy or some of Steve's articles. Did that today and it could be a good filler.

Matt Willard · 02-09-2010, 10:53 PM

DAY 251 - FEBURARY 9, 2010

Today was...mixed. Didn't get to record stuff after all, so I had to fill some extra time. At least I wrote a bunch of stuff, prepped a new post, and figured out my new subgoals for the blog, among other things. It could've been better, but it wasn't a total bust.

Tomorrow I'm going to write more jokes as well as a post that I hope will be "high-value". Not sure how the blog's gonna be slanted yet, but I want high quality, impactful stuff.

Matt Willard · 02-10-2010, 11:34 PM

DAY 252 - FEBURARY 10, 2010

Kinda tired and everywhere today. Don't know why. That's why I think tomorrow's "easy day" will help matters. It's also more enjoyable that way!

Anyway, worked on jokes that I'm gonna be sending in to Reader's Digest when done, thought up a bunch of post ideas for my new subgoal of twenty blog posts and twenty guest posts, drafted one of those posts, and revised jokes. Tomorrow I'm gonna get a haircut and do piddling minor tasks. Again, easy day.

Matt Willard · 02-11-2010, 10:08 PM

DAY 253 - FEBURARY 11, 2010

I think my "easy days" need to be more structured, since they're turning more into just plain "off days". I'll probably do normal work on Saturday to make up for it. I mostly uploaded and promoted a post, got my haircut, scanned my computer...small stuff.

Although I am getting a better handle on the "controlling your power" thing. My next habit will be doing this far more deliberately.

Anyway, tomorrow is a lot of blog work - trying to set up more blog posts as well as get guest posts prepared. Besides that, working on those jokes I plan to send in.

Matt Willard · 02-16-2010, 12:17 AM

DAY 257 - FEBURARY 15, 2010

Well, that was an unexpected three-day weekend, but I'm back and ready to rock. Tomorrow will go into this full force. Gonna finish a guest post I'm drafting up, hopefully record some stuff, work on these jokes, and for a bit of fun, draft a blog post based on an old show I used to watch. Should be good. I think the important thing will be making sure I write about things I want to write about, even though I'm shifting the focus of my blog.

Matt Willard · 02-16-2010, 10:10 PM

DAY 258 - FEBURARY 16, 2010

Today could have been better. The internet can get very distracting sometimes. Tomorrow I'll just keep it off during my work and write down anything I need to look up for later.

Also, I decided to ignore two bits of writing today, which was strange. Earlier I was struggling over a post I intended to use as guest post material, but since I was blocked on it, I decided to begin work on another main blog post, something more along the lines of what I usually write. Then, later today, I was about to publish a post I had drafted ahead of time, but I felt that it was pretty subpar and posted something else instead I had been saving for a while. It was also something of my normal niche.

I guess I've wanted to expand my writing because I wanted to deliver something valuable, but I shouldn't stray so far from the niche I know and love. I'll keep seeking a balance, and keep my posting rate down in the interest of providing high quality stuff. (Though I still want to get some guest posts done...)

Anyway, I also FINALLY recorded some commentary, so I'm glad for that. Tomorrow I'll attack those jokes again, those posts, and some little minor cleaning.

Matt Willard · 02-17-2010, 10:25 PM

DAY 259 - FEBURARY 17, 2010

So, after reading Steve's new article about the on/off weeks, I really wanted to give it a try. I was originally planning to wait until Sunday, but bag that, I wanna do it now. And since I've got some straggling personal business to take care of, I'm doing an off week first. I'm reminded of my earlier week off, which ultimately became boring because I just ended up surfing the web all day. Well, this off week will be different. It'll still use a to-do list, but it'll be filled with wholesome renewal activities. I'm going for seven days, and when the end of that comes up, I'll be making plans to attack the on week.

Unfortunately, while I would love to travel, intensive adventures aren't possible right now. But tomorrow I've got some DVDs and movies to watch, some places to clean, and some story writing I want to get done. Hopefully as the week goes on, more options will open up.

Matt Willard · 02-18-2010, 10:35 PM

DAY 260 - FEBURARY 18, 2010

Ah, day one of my seven day off week is complete. And definitely a nice start - I cleaned up the bathroom that I've been putting off for a while, watched these comedy specials I've been putting off for a while, went out to eat and enjoy this free dessert voucher I've been saving...good times.

And since I was looking at some screenwriting books at Books a Million, I think tomorrow's gonna open up with some writing of my own. Character development and building and the like. Besides that, I'm gonna watch this other comedy DVD, catch up on Smokey and the Bandit, and try my hand at this game I've been meaning to beat.

Matt Willard · 02-19-2010, 11:31 PM

DAY 261 - FEBURARY 19, 2010

A victorious day, for I have finally beaten a game that has cursed me for the longest while! And...well, I could tell you what else I did today, but it's an off week, it's hardly neccessary for the goals I'm trying to achieve. However, thinking about what I want is starting to get easier, and my enthusiasm for the upcoming work week IS building. Should be good!

ScorpioMinistry · 02-20-2010, 08:58 PM

Dude Matt, everything is registering. It's unifying like every simple plan song that everyone wants out of their relative ruts. But what I'm notcing from Day 1 you want to learn to drive, then tab over to day 240 and "by gosh one of these days I'll get around to that damn car"

It's more so uncertainty that you fear. You don't need to call this person that person, there isn't many steps to driving. Go to DMV get your permit, log hours, take test. I've emailed you.

Matt Willard · 02-20-2010, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScorpioMinistry

Dude Matt, everything is registering. It's unifying like every simple plan song that everyone wants out of their relative ruts. But what I'm notcing from Day 1 you want to learn to drive, then tab over to day 240 and "by gosh one of these days I'll get around to that damn car"

It's more so uncertainty that you fear. You don't need to call this person that person, there isn't many steps to driving. Go to DMV get your permit, log hours, take test. I've emailed you.

Right now I'm kinda focusing my guns on the college thing. Dividing myself into a bunch of goals hasn't really done wonders for my focus. And since I can't register until March, and classes don't start in June, I've temporarily switched goals to see what I can do with my freelance writing. When June rolls around and I'm actually in class, I'll probably switch back to just passing my classes as my main goal, as a continuation of the first goal.

In any case, my choice to not focus on learning how to drive for the moment is deliberate.

Matt Willard · 02-24-2010, 10:37 PM

DAY 266 - FEBURARY 24, 2010

The reason I haven't updated for a bit is that, since I figured I was on my off week, posting about how renewal activities wouldn't be very good for keeping track of my goals. But now, I'm done with my week of renewal and I'm ready to attack a solid work week. While I still plan to get up at my usual time, I want to get right away to dressing and using the proper facilities so I can hit my seat earlier than usual. Usually I spend time surfing the net to "wake up", but we'll see how this works out.

Anyway, I plan to work ten hours every day attending to my blog and other comedy writing activities. I've got, like, seven things posted on my to-do list. I don't think I'll finish all of them, but I've got a lot of choices. Blog posts, videos, jokes...things like that. I WILL be keeping you updated during this week as I see how my choices work out.

Matt Willard · 02-25-2010, 11:37 PM

DAY 267 - FEBURARY 25, 2010

Whew, man. That was pretty rough, I gotta admit. It started off good but then things noticably slowed. I'm not sure if it's because of the fact that I'm still kinda sick or because I haven't done this before. I'm gonna go with both.

Drafted some script for Space Quest V, Part 4, finished handling a new draft of a post for the blog, almost finished that monologue video...man, is that all I did today? I know I had a lot of false starts, but geez. Oh, well. Still tinkering with the method. At least I got to work quite early after I got up, though. Still, I need to put in two or so 30 minute breaks tomorrow to preserve my sanity.

Matt Willard · 02-28-2010, 12:47 AM

DAY 269 - FEBURARY 27, 2010

You didn't miss anything yesterday, really. Just worked on a bunch of stuff and switched around. Today, though, I did something different - I devoted most of my entire day to finishing up the script for Space Quest V, Part 4. When that was done, I finally finished up my college monologue video and I began work on writing jokes for this next blog post, with a lot of forward progress. I'm quite pleased with this, and I'm gonna try the "sit down until it's done" for the rest of the week.

Tomorrow I'll be attending to the blog post until it's done. I'm excited about this one because it's different from what I normally do, so I can't wait to see what other people think about it. After that it's finishing off the monologue, then this article I'm going to shop around as a guest post. Oh, and later this week I'm going to also prep for another 30 day visualization trial, since I'm interested in keeping my power on the reality I want. Though I'm not sure visualization is for me. Just repeating my (hopefully) clear intent in my head is actually more energizing. Well, we'll see.

Matt Willard · 03-01-2010, 03:07 AM

DAY 270 - FEBURARY 28, 2010

Finished and uploaded my blog post, exported my college monologue video (it's FINALLY DONE) and wrote out a bunch of details for the new reality I'm working to imagine. (I considered that an important task since I'm shooting to create financial and career abundance.) Kinda wish the post didn't take so long, but it's one I'm very proud of, since I went beyond what I normally do and I think it's a great effort.

Kinda burned out near the end of the day, though. I do like spending more than two hours on a task and really polishing it off as opposed to leaving it hanging, but that doesn't mean I need to do EVERY SINGLE THING I need to do right then and there. I still want to divide them into big chunks, but not HUGE chunks. This way I can clear out more tasks and save the easy stuff for the end of the day when I start powering down.

Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to work on finishing off this post I plan to ship around as a guest post, these jokes I want to send in to Reader's Digest, and my 30 day trial plan for visualizing my new reality.

Matt Willard · 03-01-2010, 11:04 PM

DAY 271 - FEBURARY 29, 2010

Okay, I couldn't make the whole week. Today I felt totally burned out and unmotivated. Even so, I'm glad at how productive I was, and I'm glad I tried the experiment out. Here's what I'm going to do now. I'm going to take a few days off, then I'm going to alternate on and off DAYS for a while and see how that works. And during these off days, I'm going to make other plans to do a "feeling grateful" 30 day trial, since that and visualizing my new reality are key in creating that abundance I want.

I dunno when I'm going to jump back in action, though. I estimate two-three days off before I get back in. Maybe I'll do the whole four in order to keep things balanced. We'll see.

Matt Willard · 03-02-2010, 10:11 PM

DAY 272 - MARCH 1, 2010

I think I've finally gotten the picture. I think it's all clicked in place for me.

See, this whole thing started because I was acting out of desperation, out of a need to improve my lot in life to feel better about myself. That's why I've gone on and off in a variety of money-making schemes during the time I've been at this. I've been looking for happiness in the future and never really got past that.

But now I've been thinking about how lucky I have it now. How to be grateful for everything I need. And I've truly realized that by focusing on what I don't have, I haven't been able to get anywhere. But by focusing on what I've got now, I'm much better off.

I know I've said before that I want to focus on creating and delivering value, but I think I had to really internalize the idea of being grateful for what I have before I can do this. Now that I've got a handle on that, I can better focus on creating better value and delivering it more efficently, because I don't HAVE to be driven by what I don't have.

I'm planning a 30 day trial to further ingrain the habit of being grateful for what I have, but I've been doing it for a few days now and I feel SO MUCH BETTER about everything.

With that, the focus now needs to be on creating better value and delivering it to more and more people. Today I've got an idea that I really want to follow towards that end. After this entry, I'm going to apply for a popular video site - if I get in, I can deliver my value to more and more people. Of course, there's always the possibility that I won't succeed, but I'm prepared to accept those consequences. Even so, tomorrow I want to finish off this new video I'm working on and upload one I finished, doing all I can to get it into people's hands.

I'm genuinely excited for tomorrow!

Matt Willard · 03-03-2010, 10:22 PM

DAY 273 - MARCH 2, 2010

During my off days, I definitely gotta find more options to do than "watch this" or "play this". However, I've been in a pretty good mood otherwise. Dwelling on what I'm grateful for has been quite helpful, and after tomorrow, I'm eager to get back to work and really create and deliver some value. Hopefully by then I'll have the footage I need...

Speaking of that, tomorrow's when I need to record lines for the next installment of my playthrough, so I'll do that.

Matt Willard · 03-04-2010, 10:02 PM

DAY 274 - MARCH 3, 2010

That was a good break, but kinda dull, so I'm ready to get back to work. I figure I'll work hard tomorrow, take Saturday off, then use Sunday to plan out my week proper like I've been putting off for a bit.

That being said, tomorrow I'm going to get right to work on finishing up another installment of my video game commentary series. If I've got the time, I'll finish this other post I intend to use as a guest post. I do know that on Sunday, I'm definitely going refresh my memory on how I can deliver value. Creating value is easy the more I do it, and I get better at it as I do so, but delivering is easily my weaker skill. If the place I applied to lets me in, then that's great and will help in that department, but if not...well, I've got some ideas.

Matt Willard · 03-06-2010, 12:59 AM

DAY 275 - MARCH 4, 2010

So, by my estimate, I've done about eight hours of work today, with about six ten minute breaks and two 30 minute breaks dividing the hours. I just can't go longer than that, but hey, eight hours is a big improvement, and countering that with alternating days of rest sound like a good plan. Anyway, I completely finished editing the next installment of my video game comedy playthrough, and I dumped a crappy guest post I was working on to focus on something I felt a lot more passion for, making a big draft of that. I like this single-minded obsession with completing at least one big project every day...I feel a lot more productive that way.

But now it's time to take care of some personal stuff. REALLY gotta do some personal laundry, but I'll also be downloading some videos I need for another project and some other stuff.

Matt Willard · 03-06-2010, 10:24 PM

DAY 276 - MARCH 5, 2010

Got that video up after three painful tries, got the cutscenes I needed, paid off my overdraft fee...not bad. Now to work extra hard. I want to focus on creating and delivering value and ENJOYING it, because when I become too focused on getting the results I want, I get jumpy and anxious.

Tomorrow I hit the Weekly Progress Report again to sort out what I've learned and what I want to change. After that and finishing up the draft for this new video, I go on the hunt for a place to guest post at, doing one of my intense projects to get a guest post sent out to a big blog.

Matt Willard · 03-08-2010, 01:47 AM

DAY 277 - MARCH 7, 2010

Whew, I couldn't make it to seven PM like I planned, but after eight hours in a near row of busting my ass, that's all I can manage. But I did my EXTENSIVE Weekly Progress Report to catch up on everything I've figured out up to this point, finished a draft of a script, and spent loads of time working on this video. Gotta shift my editing software to my laptop, though, because this computer is struggling to manage it.

Tomorrow is some much deserved relaxing, but I'm also going to ask around my network for more places to write stuff for. I stumbled across Steve's article "working For Free" today and it gave me the push I need when it came to delivering more value.

Matt Willard · 03-08-2010, 11:26 PM

DAY 278 - MARCH 8, 2010

Hmmm, as the end of this day approaches, I feel that familiar sense of dread that I have to work hard tomorrow...but I know from experience that just starting is the hardest part, and once I get cooking, it becomes easier.

Well, tomorrow's going to be easier anyway because that day's work will be inquisitive. Oh, sure, I'm going to do some massive writing as planned, but not only do I need to refresh my memory on my online options for spreading my value, but I need to talk to Mom about the college thing. Apparently she knows of some ways to get in even in my financial straits, so I have to see what I can find out. I'm a bit torn, though. Part of me is interested in programming, but another part of me is interested in creating a career out of my passion. I wonder if I'm choosing security (and fear) over passion (and courage)? Whatever the path, I've got to be sure it's the right one.

Matt Willard · 03-10-2010, 12:28 AM

DAY 279 - MARCH 9, 2010

Today didn't go so well. Got pretty tired of the extensive revising I did on this script, so I decided to switch over to movie editing. What I thought would be a simple transfer of an editing program from one computer to another turned out to be a codec-ridden nightmare. My conversation with Mom about other college options didn't really pan out either. I guess I shouldn't really expect her to know a lot about this stuff, but that doesn't give me a lot of leads.

Eh, I'm not going to worry about it too much. I'll do better next time. Tomorrow I'm going to do some much-needed dusting around here and pour over my blogging documents to refresh my memory on where to share my value.

Matt Willard · 03-10-2010, 10:53 PM

DAY 280 - MARCH 10, 2010

Like I mentioned before, I don't foresee a lot of options for the college situation, but I'm not going to let it bug me. I'm just going to call their financial aid department tomorrow, explain my situation, and see what we've got there.

I also have to work on fixing my movie editor. I successfully installed it on another computer, but it won't see the footage I'm trying to use. Apparently it's a codec problem. Thing is, I want to edit videos on my laptop now since my desktop is quite old and doesn't handle the software well. If I can't fix it by next week, I'll probably change the video files to a format that doesn't look like crap so the software can read it.

In the meantime, I'm going to work on this script, and when that's done, I'll probably whip up an article so I have something to post in case this movie editor business takes longer than expected.

Liskirb · 03-11-2010, 08:11 AM

Hi Matt

I've got to commend you for sticking to reporting your actions for 280 days - that's damn good. How are you going with the being grateful ritual you were doing for yourself. You could tell from your posts at the time that you were getting a lot out of it.

Have you ever stopped and given yourself a pat on the back for all you've accomplished since you started this thread? Sometimes we spend so much time trying to get so much done, and focus on the stuff we haven't got around to doing yet, that we forget how much progeress we've actually made over time.

Remember to acknowledge yourself for all the progress you've made up to this point, and keep going, you're doing great.

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02-05-2010, 10:18 PM	#301 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 247 - FEBURARY 5, 2010 Okay, today wasn't that productive. Finished the rough jokes that I'm going to submit and struggled over the rough jokes in my next blog post (I have a hard time on them every so often for some reason). But I STILL count today a success. Why? I faced my fears of being in the car while letting my sister drive, bringing me one step closer to pursuing my goal of learning to drive again. Personal victory! I'll celebrate by doing nothing of value tomorrow.

02-06-2010, 10:09 PM	#302 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 248 - FEBURARY 6, 2010 Recently inspired by Steve's article on how we give our power away, I want to plan next week with that in mind. Hopefully tomorrow my joke output will be a lot better. That, revising, Weekly Progress Report. Typical affair.

02-07-2010, 10:54 PM	#303 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 249 - FEBURARY 7, 2010 Writing out my Weekly Progress Report, I realized that one of my big problems is that I keep getting influenced by my problems and shifting my goals accordingly. However, now that I'm committed to making an enjoyable present moment, that means I must pick a major focus and stick with it. So I'll declare it now: My intention is to create a successful comedy writing business and earn a living off of it. I don't know what that'll entail, exactly, but I swear to abide by this and plan my days and weeks accordingly. You heard it here first. With that in mind, I finished up the filler jokes I'm going to send in, finished roughing jokes for a blog post, and revised another post that I'm probably going to use as a guest post. Besides that, I readied another post I had in wait for updating tomorrow, and changed some signatures to represent the new direction my blog's going to take. Tomorrow I work on some posts, send in those jokes, and modify the blog for my new direction. Oh, and post that new entry to correlate with it.

02-08-2010, 04:31 AM	#304 (permalink)
kedzer Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 59	You're an inspiration, that's for sure! Have you asked for critiques of your writing/website content/website goals on this forum? Also, any possibility you can post the videos you write about (as opposed to just commentaries on the videos)? Your writing is interesting, but I wouldn't underestimate possible self-directed content from viewers themselves...

02-09-2010, 10:53 PM	#306 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 251 - FEBURARY 9, 2010 Today was...mixed. Didn't get to record stuff after all, so I had to fill some extra time. At least I wrote a bunch of stuff, prepped a new post, and figured out my new subgoals for the blog, among other things. It could've been better, but it wasn't a total bust. Tomorrow I'm going to write more jokes as well as a post that I hope will be "high-value". Not sure how the blog's gonna be slanted yet, but I want high quality, impactful stuff.

02-10-2010, 11:34 PM	#307 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 252 - FEBURARY 10, 2010 Kinda tired and everywhere today. Don't know why. That's why I think tomorrow's "easy day" will help matters. It's also more enjoyable that way! Anyway, worked on jokes that I'm gonna be sending in to Reader's Digest when done, thought up a bunch of post ideas for my new subgoal of twenty blog posts and twenty guest posts, drafted one of those posts, and revised jokes. Tomorrow I'm gonna get a haircut and do piddling minor tasks. Again, easy day.

02-11-2010, 10:08 PM	#308 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 253 - FEBURARY 11, 2010 I think my "easy days" need to be more structured, since they're turning more into just plain "off days". I'll probably do normal work on Saturday to make up for it. I mostly uploaded and promoted a post, got my haircut, scanned my computer...small stuff. Although I am getting a better handle on the "controlling your power" thing. My next habit will be doing this far more deliberately. Anyway, tomorrow is a lot of blog work - trying to set up more blog posts as well as get guest posts prepared. Besides that, working on those jokes I plan to send in.

02-16-2010, 12:17 AM	#309 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 257 - FEBURARY 15, 2010 Well, that was an unexpected three-day weekend, but I'm back and ready to rock. Tomorrow will go into this full force. Gonna finish a guest post I'm drafting up, hopefully record some stuff, work on these jokes, and for a bit of fun, draft a blog post based on an old show I used to watch. Should be good. I think the important thing will be making sure I write about things I want to write about, even though I'm shifting the focus of my blog.

02-16-2010, 10:10 PM	#310 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 258 - FEBURARY 16, 2010 Today could have been better. The internet can get very distracting sometimes. Tomorrow I'll just keep it off during my work and write down anything I need to look up for later. Also, I decided to ignore two bits of writing today, which was strange. Earlier I was struggling over a post I intended to use as guest post material, but since I was blocked on it, I decided to begin work on another main blog post, something more along the lines of what I usually write. Then, later today, I was about to publish a post I had drafted ahead of time, but I felt that it was pretty subpar and posted something else instead I had been saving for a while. It was also something of my normal niche. I guess I've wanted to expand my writing because I wanted to deliver something valuable, but I shouldn't stray so far from the niche I know and love. I'll keep seeking a balance, and keep my posting rate down in the interest of providing high quality stuff. (Though I still want to get some guest posts done...) Anyway, I also FINALLY recorded some commentary, so I'm glad for that. Tomorrow I'll attack those jokes again, those posts, and some little minor cleaning.

02-17-2010, 10:25 PM	#311 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 259 - FEBURARY 17, 2010 So, after reading Steve's new article about the on/off weeks, I really wanted to give it a try. I was originally planning to wait until Sunday, but bag that, I wanna do it now. And since I've got some straggling personal business to take care of, I'm doing an off week first. I'm reminded of my earlier week off, which ultimately became boring because I just ended up surfing the web all day. Well, this off week will be different. It'll still use a to-do list, but it'll be filled with wholesome renewal activities. I'm going for seven days, and when the end of that comes up, I'll be making plans to attack the on week. Unfortunately, while I would love to travel, intensive adventures aren't possible right now. But tomorrow I've got some DVDs and movies to watch, some places to clean, and some story writing I want to get done. Hopefully as the week goes on, more options will open up.

02-18-2010, 10:35 PM	#312 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 260 - FEBURARY 18, 2010 Ah, day one of my seven day off week is complete. And definitely a nice start - I cleaned up the bathroom that I've been putting off for a while, watched these comedy specials I've been putting off for a while, went out to eat and enjoy this free dessert voucher I've been saving...good times. And since I was looking at some screenwriting books at Books a Million, I think tomorrow's gonna open up with some writing of my own. Character development and building and the like. Besides that, I'm gonna watch this other comedy DVD, catch up on Smokey and the Bandit, and try my hand at this game I've been meaning to beat.

02-19-2010, 11:31 PM	#313 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 261 - FEBURARY 19, 2010 A victorious day, for I have finally beaten a game that has cursed me for the longest while! And...well, I could tell you what else I did today, but it's an off week, it's hardly neccessary for the goals I'm trying to achieve. However, thinking about what I want is starting to get easier, and my enthusiasm for the upcoming work week IS building. Should be good!

02-20-2010, 08:58 PM	#314 (permalink)
ScorpioMinistry Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 15	Dude Matt, everything is registering. It's unifying like every simple plan song that everyone wants out of their relative ruts. But what I'm notcing from Day 1 you want to learn to drive, then tab over to day 240 and "by gosh one of these days I'll get around to that damn car" It's more so uncertainty that you fear. You don't need to call this person that person, there isn't many steps to driving. Go to DMV get your permit, log hours, take test. I've emailed you.

02-24-2010, 10:37 PM	#316 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 266 - FEBURARY 24, 2010 The reason I haven't updated for a bit is that, since I figured I was on my off week, posting about how renewal activities wouldn't be very good for keeping track of my goals. But now, I'm done with my week of renewal and I'm ready to attack a solid work week. While I still plan to get up at my usual time, I want to get right away to dressing and using the proper facilities so I can hit my seat earlier than usual. Usually I spend time surfing the net to "wake up", but we'll see how this works out. Anyway, I plan to work ten hours every day attending to my blog and other comedy writing activities. I've got, like, seven things posted on my to-do list. I don't think I'll finish all of them, but I've got a lot of choices. Blog posts, videos, jokes...things like that. I WILL be keeping you updated during this week as I see how my choices work out.

02-25-2010, 11:37 PM	#317 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 267 - FEBURARY 25, 2010 Whew, man. That was pretty rough, I gotta admit. It started off good but then things noticably slowed. I'm not sure if it's because of the fact that I'm still kinda sick or because I haven't done this before. I'm gonna go with both. Drafted some script for Space Quest V, Part 4, finished handling a new draft of a post for the blog, almost finished that monologue video...man, is that all I did today? I know I had a lot of false starts, but geez. Oh, well. Still tinkering with the method. At least I got to work quite early after I got up, though. Still, I need to put in two or so 30 minute breaks tomorrow to preserve my sanity.

02-28-2010, 12:47 AM	#318 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 269 - FEBURARY 27, 2010 You didn't miss anything yesterday, really. Just worked on a bunch of stuff and switched around. Today, though, I did something different - I devoted most of my entire day to finishing up the script for Space Quest V, Part 4. When that was done, I finally finished up my college monologue video and I began work on writing jokes for this next blog post, with a lot of forward progress. I'm quite pleased with this, and I'm gonna try the "sit down until it's done" for the rest of the week. Tomorrow I'll be attending to the blog post until it's done. I'm excited about this one because it's different from what I normally do, so I can't wait to see what other people think about it. After that it's finishing off the monologue, then this article I'm going to shop around as a guest post. Oh, and later this week I'm going to also prep for another 30 day visualization trial, since I'm interested in keeping my power on the reality I want. Though I'm not sure visualization is for me. Just repeating my (hopefully) clear intent in my head is actually more energizing. Well, we'll see.

03-01-2010, 03:07 AM	#319 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 270 - FEBURARY 28, 2010 Finished and uploaded my blog post, exported my college monologue video (it's FINALLY DONE) and wrote out a bunch of details for the new reality I'm working to imagine. (I considered that an important task since I'm shooting to create financial and career abundance.) Kinda wish the post didn't take so long, but it's one I'm very proud of, since I went beyond what I normally do and I think it's a great effort. Kinda burned out near the end of the day, though. I do like spending more than two hours on a task and really polishing it off as opposed to leaving it hanging, but that doesn't mean I need to do EVERY SINGLE THING I need to do right then and there. I still want to divide them into big chunks, but not HUGE chunks. This way I can clear out more tasks and save the easy stuff for the end of the day when I start powering down. Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to work on finishing off this post I plan to ship around as a guest post, these jokes I want to send in to Reader's Digest, and my 30 day trial plan for visualizing my new reality.

03-01-2010, 11:04 PM	#320 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 271 - FEBURARY 29, 2010 Okay, I couldn't make the whole week. Today I felt totally burned out and unmotivated. Even so, I'm glad at how productive I was, and I'm glad I tried the experiment out. Here's what I'm going to do now. I'm going to take a few days off, then I'm going to alternate on and off DAYS for a while and see how that works. And during these off days, I'm going to make other plans to do a "feeling grateful" 30 day trial, since that and visualizing my new reality are key in creating that abundance I want. I dunno when I'm going to jump back in action, though. I estimate two-three days off before I get back in. Maybe I'll do the whole four in order to keep things balanced. We'll see.

03-02-2010, 10:11 PM	#321 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 272 - MARCH 1, 2010 I think I've finally gotten the picture. I think it's all clicked in place for me. See, this whole thing started because I was acting out of desperation, out of a need to improve my lot in life to feel better about myself. That's why I've gone on and off in a variety of money-making schemes during the time I've been at this. I've been looking for happiness in the future and never really got past that. But now I've been thinking about how lucky I have it now. How to be grateful for everything I need. And I've truly realized that by focusing on what I don't have, I haven't been able to get anywhere. But by focusing on what I've got now, I'm much better off. I know I've said before that I want to focus on creating and delivering value, but I think I had to really internalize the idea of being grateful for what I have before I can do this. Now that I've got a handle on that, I can better focus on creating better value and delivering it more efficently, because I don't HAVE to be driven by what I don't have. I'm planning a 30 day trial to further ingrain the habit of being grateful for what I have, but I've been doing it for a few days now and I feel SO MUCH BETTER about everything. With that, the focus now needs to be on creating better value and delivering it to more and more people. Today I've got an idea that I really want to follow towards that end. After this entry, I'm going to apply for a popular video site - if I get in, I can deliver my value to more and more people. Of course, there's always the possibility that I won't succeed, but I'm prepared to accept those consequences. Even so, tomorrow I want to finish off this new video I'm working on and upload one I finished, doing all I can to get it into people's hands. I'm genuinely excited for tomorrow!

03-03-2010, 10:22 PM	#322 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 273 - MARCH 2, 2010 During my off days, I definitely gotta find more options to do than "watch this" or "play this". However, I've been in a pretty good mood otherwise. Dwelling on what I'm grateful for has been quite helpful, and after tomorrow, I'm eager to get back to work and really create and deliver some value. Hopefully by then I'll have the footage I need... Speaking of that, tomorrow's when I need to record lines for the next installment of my playthrough, so I'll do that.

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03-04-2010, 10:02 PM	#323 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 274 - MARCH 3, 2010 That was a good break, but kinda dull, so I'm ready to get back to work. I figure I'll work hard tomorrow, take Saturday off, then use Sunday to plan out my week proper like I've been putting off for a bit. That being said, tomorrow I'm going to get right to work on finishing up another installment of my video game commentary series. If I've got the time, I'll finish this other post I intend to use as a guest post. I do know that on Sunday, I'm definitely going refresh my memory on how I can deliver value. Creating value is easy the more I do it, and I get better at it as I do so, but delivering is easily my weaker skill. If the place I applied to lets me in, then that's great and will help in that department, but if not...well, I've got some ideas.

03-06-2010, 12:59 AM	#324 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 275 - MARCH 4, 2010 So, by my estimate, I've done about eight hours of work today, with about six ten minute breaks and two 30 minute breaks dividing the hours. I just can't go longer than that, but hey, eight hours is a big improvement, and countering that with alternating days of rest sound like a good plan. Anyway, I completely finished editing the next installment of my video game comedy playthrough, and I dumped a crappy guest post I was working on to focus on something I felt a lot more passion for, making a big draft of that. I like this single-minded obsession with completing at least one big project every day...I feel a lot more productive that way. But now it's time to take care of some personal stuff. REALLY gotta do some personal laundry, but I'll also be downloading some videos I need for another project and some other stuff.

03-06-2010, 10:24 PM	#325 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 276 - MARCH 5, 2010 Got that video up after three painful tries, got the cutscenes I needed, paid off my overdraft fee...not bad. Now to work extra hard. I want to focus on creating and delivering value and ENJOYING it, because when I become too focused on getting the results I want, I get jumpy and anxious. Tomorrow I hit the Weekly Progress Report again to sort out what I've learned and what I want to change. After that and finishing up the draft for this new video, I go on the hunt for a place to guest post at, doing one of my intense projects to get a guest post sent out to a big blog.

03-08-2010, 01:47 AM	#326 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 277 - MARCH 7, 2010 Whew, I couldn't make it to seven PM like I planned, but after eight hours in a near row of busting my ass, that's all I can manage. But I did my EXTENSIVE Weekly Progress Report to catch up on everything I've figured out up to this point, finished a draft of a script, and spent loads of time working on this video. Gotta shift my editing software to my laptop, though, because this computer is struggling to manage it. Tomorrow is some much deserved relaxing, but I'm also going to ask around my network for more places to write stuff for. I stumbled across Steve's article "working For Free" today and it gave me the push I need when it came to delivering more value.

03-08-2010, 11:26 PM	#327 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 278 - MARCH 8, 2010 Hmmm, as the end of this day approaches, I feel that familiar sense of dread that I have to work hard tomorrow...but I know from experience that just starting is the hardest part, and once I get cooking, it becomes easier. Well, tomorrow's going to be easier anyway because that day's work will be inquisitive. Oh, sure, I'm going to do some massive writing as planned, but not only do I need to refresh my memory on my online options for spreading my value, but I need to talk to Mom about the college thing. Apparently she knows of some ways to get in even in my financial straits, so I have to see what I can find out. I'm a bit torn, though. Part of me is interested in programming, but another part of me is interested in creating a career out of my passion. I wonder if I'm choosing security (and fear) over passion (and courage)? Whatever the path, I've got to be sure it's the right one.

03-10-2010, 12:28 AM	#328 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 279 - MARCH 9, 2010 Today didn't go so well. Got pretty tired of the extensive revising I did on this script, so I decided to switch over to movie editing. What I thought would be a simple transfer of an editing program from one computer to another turned out to be a codec-ridden nightmare. My conversation with Mom about other college options didn't really pan out either. I guess I shouldn't really expect her to know a lot about this stuff, but that doesn't give me a lot of leads. Eh, I'm not going to worry about it too much. I'll do better next time. Tomorrow I'm going to do some much-needed dusting around here and pour over my blogging documents to refresh my memory on where to share my value.

03-10-2010, 10:53 PM	#329 (permalink)
Matt Willard Family Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,334	DAY 280 - MARCH 10, 2010 Like I mentioned before, I don't foresee a lot of options for the college situation, but I'm not going to let it bug me. I'm just going to call their financial aid department tomorrow, explain my situation, and see what we've got there. I also have to work on fixing my movie editor. I successfully installed it on another computer, but it won't see the footage I'm trying to use. Apparently it's a codec problem. Thing is, I want to edit videos on my laptop now since my desktop is quite old and doesn't handle the software well. If I can't fix it by next week, I'll probably change the video files to a format that doesn't look like crap so the software can read it. In the meantime, I'm going to work on this script, and when that's done, I'll probably whip up an article so I have something to post in case this movie editor business takes longer than expected.

03-11-2010, 08:11 AM	#330 (permalink)
Liskirb Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 6	Hi Matt I've got to commend you for sticking to reporting your actions for 280 days - that's damn good. How are you going with the being grateful ritual you were doing for yourself. You could tell from your posts at the time that you were getting a lot out of it. Have you ever stopped and given yourself a pat on the back for all you've accomplished since you started this thread? Sometimes we spend so much time trying to get so much done, and focus on the stuff we haven't got around to doing yet, that we forget how much progeress we've actually made over time. Remember to acknowledge yourself for all the progress you've made up to this point, and keep going, you're doing great.