The thing we all need sometimes: a good smack!
Tags: motivation, productivity, devjournal, beginners
Published: 2021-11-07 23:20:08

So, you're not from a English speaking country?
How about that language/framework that you've been dying to test out?
What about just being a little more active during the day?

Maybe I'm too old for that?
I don't have time!
I will that tomorrow...

## SMACK!

Let me stop you right there.

No, you're not too old. Unless you're competing to see who's younger... you're definitely not too old.
And if you don't have time now, you're never gonna have time later. And if you have time to read this, then you have time for whatever you always wanted to try out. (Really! Get out and go do it... NOW! I promise I won't be mad.)
No you won't and we all know it.

## Keep it slow, keep it small.

Don't know how to start? Start slow, start small.
But more than that... keep it slow, keep it small.

Start learning/revising 30~50 words a day and do it everyday.
Start at one push up a day, increase by one once a week.
Start with one page a day, and read one page everyday.
Write 100 words a day, everyday.
Do one exercise/code challenge a day in a language you want to learn.

## Consistency is the key

Take it from me, this is my 9th week writing posts.
Once a week I'm writing really small posts, that's how I've started and that's how I'm keeping it.
Some weeks I was more inspired than others, some weeks I was able to write more, others less. 
But I'm writing every week.

Everyday I read a little, I walk a little and I do push ups. 
Started at 1, now I'm in a 30 weeks (almost) streak!

## Because there's no problem in breaking a streak... once.

### But never twice in a row.

You stop twice, it's easier to not do it thrice... and then it get's harder and harder to do it.

You forgot, you've skipped for any reason?
No problem, just continue the next one.

And no pushing to compensate for the day, just keep it normal.
It's easy to trick yourself thinking that you can just skip all the days and just do it on the weekend. (Remember that you won't.)

## Get results without even trying!

Remember that in a year we have: 

- 365.25 days
- 52.14 weeks
- 12 months

That's if you do whatever it is only once every day/week/month.

Imagine going to a hike 12 times a year?
How about being able to do 50 push ups everyday one year from now?
Or writing 36,500 words in a year. (That's the length of a novella!)
And learning 1500 new words! (More than enough to hold a basic conversation!)

## Outro

It goes without saying... but... don't go trying to do a little of everything everyday.

Start slow, start small.

Take one thing to do everyday, another to do every week and something to do every month. 
Maybe even less than that!

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