Forward Momentum

byShannaBude

124 followers

5 years ago

Today, I logged into SiteManager and found something increadible. According to the system here, my Site Heath is Awesome!

It's not perfect, but it is real momentum, forward. And after three years building sites that mostly stay stuck in the "getting better" stage, and inevitably fall into the angry red line of "needs work," this feels good.

It has taken me three years to figure out what I want to do online, and a world-wide plague to find the time and motivation to actually do it.

I am the absolute opposite of out going. I don't like talking about myself. I'm a perfectionist and my own worst enemy. But like most people here, I'm here because I have a dream, and these last few weeks I've trying. Really, really trying.

And I've made real progress for the first time.

Why this Time?

I've started over several times since joining WA. Here's why I think it's different this time.

The lockdown.

Being unemployed because of COVID-19 means I have zero, absolutely none whatsoever, excuse not to do this. If I don't work like crazy and get this business built, it's 100% on me.

For years I've been saying: "If only I had time to work on this..." Now this aweful thing has given me exactly what I've been longing for. So if I don't make the most of it, I'm just letting the awefulness win.

Talk about motivation.

Consistency

At the beginning of this lockdown, I set myself one absolute goal. Even if it's just as tiny a thing as logging into WA, for as long as I'm unemployed, I have to do something with my website every day. Something.

Honestly, I've missed a few days, but not many. I've made myself a publishing schedule. I am determined to stick to it. It's that simple - and that insanely hard.

Outside Pressure

My website is religious. My father is a pastor in his 60s who doesn't know or want to learn about all this new technology. Then the lockdown shut Sunday morning worship service down, and pastors were forced to go online. I offered to help, in large part because it fits in perfectly with the purpose of my own site. But it means I have to do a certain amount of work every week or I let my father down ( and who wants to do that?).

It also means that I have a built in starter audience. It will only last until the States get back to normal, probably, but until that time I have people coming to my site and leaving comments and finding value in my work. It also motivates me to build out my site so I have more to offer them than just the Sunday service.

I'm putting three years of learning into practice

I'm one of those people who likes to learn everything about something and then do it. (Part of the perfectionism I meantioned above.) That's not always great. It mostly just slows me down. But it means that I have learned a lot in the last three years.

A big part of my momentum now probably comes from the fact that it was simply time. I'd reached a place in my learning when I simply had to move forward. COVID-19 just happened to coincide with that time.

Little things, big difference

The trick is to keep this up. But for now, it's just a really nice affirmation of the efforts I've been making. And I find myself once again grateful to have found WA, and for all these little things on this platform, like this simple little "site health" bar, designed to provide encouragement and motivation seeingly when we need it most!