I just spent an amazing weekend at ConvertKit’s Craft + Commerce conference. I’m still digesting much of the content and lessons but there was one concept I wanted to share with you immediately.
Anything worth doing will take 100 actions to build momentum.
Several speakers, creators, and leaders I talked to referenced this as a benchmark for action. Here are some examples:
100 Pieces of Content
Molly Burke is a YouTuber with 1.8 million subscribers. She challenged new YouTubers to create 2 videos a week for the first year. This gives you enough momentum and clarity about your audience and topic – it’s also roughly 100 videos.
100 Days of Writing
Jeff Goins is a best selling author who gave new writers the advice of writing 500 words for 100 days in a row (or close to it). Doing so builds a really strong habit of writing “even when you don’t feel like it” that is so essential to being a full-time writer.
100 Journal Entries
When I feel best about journaling it’s when I’ve been consistent with the practice for a few months. I start to see patterns in behavior better, both good and bad. It gives me a personal record of how I’m doing so that I can do more of the good things and try to reduce or eliminate the bad.
————————
Molly’s advice resonated with me because it was around the 100 video milestone that I really felt I had hit on the topic of bullet journaling and was building the community we have now. If I had made it to 100 podcast episodes back in 2013, what would that have been like?
I think you could use the 100 action milestone for almost anything. Cook 100 recipes and you’ll become a better cook. Paint 100 pictures or throw 100 pieces of pottery. It’s not the end of the journey but it’s enough to see momentum and continue to build your skills.
I hope you read this and feel encouraged in the projects, habits, and learning you’re pursuing in life. If you’re pretty new at it, count your number of “repetitions” for that action – I bet the closer you get to 100 the better you’ll feel about it, or will enough to look back on to safely move on.
This week, take a moment and journal or meditate on the skills, habits, or actions you’re taking to create something new. What’s your count or the number of reps? Can you speed it up by doing more, or simply need to realize it’s going to take time? I’m definitely in the “be more patient” crowd!
Thanks again for reading this week’s Themes for Thinkers email. Writing you and hearing back from so many people is a highlight each week, I hope you get a lot out of the lessons too.
Have a great week and keep stacking those reps!
Matt
Photo by Alora Griffiths on Unsplash