Inspiration
Well, for those wondering about what the heck I did during my "mini-retirement," here it is: My heartfelt ode to travel and my fellow travelers. Two months of travel, four countries in Latin America, and a lifetime's worth of unforgettable moments, in four minutes. Dedicated to all travelers, especially the crazy ones who travel solo.
I hope it's able to remind you of the magic of your own journeys, or inspires you to make your own.
Read MoreThanks to all of the wonderful people who read, shared, and commented on my Mini-Retirement post, I had the chance to look silly on live morning television! It was great fun and I'm quite grateful that I got to do it.
(PS Whoopsie, they got my Instagram username wrong - it's apalabyab. "Palabyab" is my cousin's account.)
A candid moment with Oscar, my surf instructor from Costa Rica, and his dog Wili (Montañita, Ecuador)
When we're young, we're rightly taught not to talk to strangers. But one thing I love about travel is that you have to do the opposite. Or that no one is really a stranger until proven strange.
Read More“I am one of the searchers. There are, I believe, millions of us. We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content. We continue to explore life, hoping to uncover its ultimate secret. We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand. We like to walk along the beach, we are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power, its unceasing motion, its mystery and unspeakable beauty. We like forests and mountains, deserts and hidden rivers, and the lonely cities as well. Our sadness is as much a part of our lives as is our laughter. To share our sadness with one we love is perhaps as great a joy as we can know - unless it be to share our laughter. We searchers are ambitious only for life itself, for everything beautiful it can provide. Most of all we love and want to be loved. We want to live in a relationship that will not impede our wandering, nor prevent our search, nor lock us in prison walls; that will take us for what little we have to give. We do not want to prove ourselves to another or compete for love.
”
Free as a... species of vulture with a three-meter wingspan (Colca Canyon, Peru)
Mini-retirement is a phrase coined by "lifestyle design" maverick Tim Ferriss, author of The Four-Hour Work Week. It means "relocating to one place for one to six months before going home or moving to another locale."
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Photo Credit: Paul Watson via Compfight cc
I've been freelancing my whole professional life, and one thing I've learned from being entirely responsible for my own progress is how difficult it is to do - i.e., to persist on a regular basis in a disciplined way - without some form of tracking and accountability.
I was reminded of this when I read "Forget Big Data. Use Little Data For Incremental Self-Improvement" this morning over at 99u.
"Little data" is information you collect about your everyday activities and habits that you can analyze for self-improvement. Its value is grounded on "the progress principle," discovered by Teresa Amabile from Harvard Business School and her colleague Steven Kramer. In their book, The Progress Principle, they write:
“This is one of the most important findings of our entire study: that making headway on meaningful work brightens inner work life and boosts long-term performance.”
John Caddell, creator of 3-Minute Journal (I'll talk more about that site in a bit), elaborates:
“This principle states that daily progress is the most important driver of overall work satisfaction, and setbacks (the opposite of progress) are the most important impediment to work satisfaction. ”
Many days, I can't even remember what I did yesterday, or the other day. But I know that if I could only see the actual amount of time I waste day to day, I would be shocked.
So, whether to feel good about yourself for consistent work, or at worst, to guilt yourself into action after too many days of not taking any, log your activity daily. Everyone already knows that success requires self-discipline as much as, if not more than talent, and a daily record can help you keep the faith that your efforts are building up towards something.
As an example, I just started keeping separate daily records for work, exercise, and hobbies that require repeated practice (e.g. language learning, practicing a musical instrument, etc.). I use a simple calendar template in iWork's Numbers to do this. For exercise and sports, I record form tapes to check on my progress; it's the next best thing in the absence of a coach or trainer.
In all of these endeavors, particularly if you're an entrepreneur or freelancer, you are your own coach. The daily record is there to remind you to keep pushing yourself.
Equally important is doing the same thing for your emotional life. This is a simple web app that does just that: http://www.3minutejournal.com/. It asks you to reflect on a deceptively simple question everyday: What one thing happened today that you'll remember most?
Whether you're a freelancer, entrepreneur, employee, or student, if you're feeling stuck in a daily, repetitive slog, try this exercise out and see if it works for you. You just might surprise yourself.
