Pace the Speed in Your Personal Marathon. You’ll Last Longer.

Consistent effort is what gets you to the finish line.

Gracia Kleijnen

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Lonely, male runner on road wearing a cap, shorts, and running shoes. In the back: some hills/mountains and open fields.
Photo by Isaac Wendland on Unsplash

Why pace when you can rush and crash

My biggest challenge with moving the needle forward is pacing. I write out lists of what I want to do. Then I time-block chunks on the calendar for each individual task. I see the calendar as the law, but I treat it more as a guideline. Creative tasks such as video editing or writing often take much longer than initially planned. When I don’t leave enough white space on the calendar, I overspend time on the current activity while I should in theory be starting the next. Maybe I’m not approaching the task at hand in an effective manner. Either way, this messes up my planning.

What happens next is I try to play catch up. I push harder and cram in more work, because I know the next task is waiting for me. Suddenly I find myself at 3AM rendering that video or dumping words on a sheet like a drunk man. The better choice would be to just go to bed earlier, get a full night’s sleep, and start the next day feeling fresh and well-rested.

The following morning, I punish myself for poor time management capabilities by waking up earlier. Still sleep deprived, I drag myself out of bed and chuck down coffee to feel somewhat…

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Gracia Kleijnen

Google Sheets & comic creator. Words on productivity, self-development, relationships & mental health in 49+ pubs. 2x Author. https://linktr.ee/graciakleijnen