I️ guess one thing you do when you’re old is marvel / complain about how quickly time is going by. Since I recently turned 32 and am feeling like a full fledged adult now, I’ll take my opportunity to do that here.
December already? Wow, I️ can’t believe Christmas is nearly upon us, it feels like 2019 just flew past!
I️ want to take a moment and encourage everyone reading this that has a side hustle, or lives as an independent business owner full time. I️ believe one of two things can happen in the midst of this season, and the reality is…over the next two weeks, everyone is slowing their life and business down.
You can join the masses and begin the shutdown, and to a degree, I️ recommend that. Taking time with family, unplugging, and being fully present in this magical season is very important.
HOWEVER…
The majority of people will do nothing, then look up on December 31 and decide to turn their hustle back on for 2020.
Here’s an idea: don’t turn the hustle off. As you may know, I️ wrote and launched a book a couple years ago (if you don’t have a copy yet, get yours here: https://www.amazon.com/Tell-Well-Faith-Encourage-Others/dp/0990873870/).
Let’a take a look at numbers and the timeline so I can show you how I kept the HUSTLE engine running through this exact season two years ago.
Tell It Well is approximately 40,000 words long (the average Christian nonfiction is 50,000-80,000 words, so this book is a quicker read than most).
I wrote 25,000 words between September 2014 and June 2016. I was writing casually, and I kept setting the book on my back burner in my brain to work on other projects and ventures.
Then in October of 2016, I attended a publishing workshop and re-ignited the fire for the project. (More details on that whole story & process here: https://lukegajary.com/dreams-change/)
I wrote 15,000 + words in November and December of 2016 and finished the manuscript just after New Year’s Day 2017. I decided to buckle down and use the slowness of the season to finish my personal passion project. The rest of the world had slowed down and disconnected, so it made it even easier to focus and produce good words.
I hope you decide to use the time wisely. Find a rhythm and a balance, but use the slow months to get set up for success in 2020.