If you want to accomplish more, make your business diverse and fascinating, and enrich your life enormously, I urge you to make 90-Day Projects a regular activity. The 90-day time frame is one of the best power tools I’ve discovered for creating focus and making regular new discoveries. Imagine how rich your life could become if you took up the practice of finding new things to explore four times a year. In forty years’ time, that would add up to 160 new discoveries.
The simplicity of this plan is that you do each thing as fully as possible — one thing at a time. It’s a way to grow and stretch yourself by focusing on a single new activity. Been wanting to try contra dancing? For three months, become the world’s most enthusiastic contra dancer. If at the end of 90 days, you’ve had your fill, move on to salsa. If you’re really hooked on contra dancing at the end of three months, find a way to work it into your life on a permanent basis.
- Begin with the end in mind.
To get started, take a look at your lifetime goals list. (You don’t have a lifetime goals list? Make writing one your first 90–Day Project.) What item catches your fancy?Pick one that suits you and give some thought to your intention in pursuing it. Do you want to enhance your creativity? Acquire a skill that will be useful in your business? Meet some new and interesting people? Travel?
- Give it a theme.
A friend who had been procrastinating about getting her writing career launched called her project Anne Learns How To Market Her Writing. This led her to read several books on the subject and take a couple of adult ed classes.Before the 90 days were over, she’d sent out five query letters and gotten a writing assignment. Having a theme kept her on track. A theme helps add focus and raises awareness so you notice what supports that theme—and eliminate things that do not.
- Immerse, don’t dabble.
While you’re in the midst of a project, be fully there.
Immersion is popular with language schools and it works for other things, too. Make what Barbara Sher calls a “temporary permanent commitment.”No, you don’t have to stick with this for the rest of your life, but be totally committed for all 90 days. There will be times when you’re bored or lose interest. That’s just part of the learning process. Keep at it anyway.
- Include the unpredictable.
If you’ve always wanted to learn Swahili, do it. You don’t have to have a reason or application for using what you’ve acquired. Personal growth is the top priority here and learning for its own sake is commendable. - Go for variety.
For nine months of the year, Todd builds twig furniture in his home workshop. When summer rolls around, he hits the road, selling his wares at Arts and Crafts festivals around the country. It’s a huge contrast to the solitary time that makes up most of his year. “Getting out and talking to people, explaining how I work and so forth can be exhilarating and exhausting. But it always fires me up for my creative time.”At its best, the 90–Day Project generates synergy partly because it provides a contrast.
- Get involved in a parallel universe.
Anyone who takes up a new learning activity quickly discovers that there’s a whole group of people already engaged in that pursuit. Part of the fun of being a neophyte is meeting more advanced aficionados.This is also a great way to make progress on your goals. Want to lead a tour to the Mayan ruins someday? Create a 90–Day Project to research Mayan history. Then create another to learn all about organizing and promoting a tour. Then create another to market your Mayan Exploration.
Not only is this a logical way to move ahead, making smaller projects out of a bigger project can eliminate a great deal of anxiety and fear. After all, you are just researching, learning and experimenting. There’s nothing too scary about that.
There are other bonuses to the 90–Day Project as well. You’ll become more disciplined, committed and, best of all, more interesting. So go feed your Renaissance soul with a new adventure. Then in three months do it again.
Have u ever tried Abolene for eye makeup removal, Dallas Lady? It contains petrolatum but I find it to be a nicer formulation than VPJ. Have used it since high school and it's so soothing on delicate skin around the eyes, plus it takes off everyth
I love listening to French Radio on Pandora. I feel like I am strolling down the Champs-Elysees. The music is happy and takes me right back to Paris. Enjoy it!
I have been telling myslef to do this type of thing for months. I am going to take your advice. I am going to england in 12 weeks and my goal will be to learn as muchh about the country as I can.
Thank you
Bravo! of course, you can start your 90 Day Anglofile now and start digging. My summer project has been the Italian Renaissance, in anticipation of an upcoming Italy adventure.
OK I have 4 weeks until I go to England and am just abaut finished with “research paper”. I have researched the five towns we are going to and have almost 30 pages total. It has been so interesting. what a history England has. My friend I am going on the trip with is from the area and I ‘m hoping to find out somethings that even she didn’t know. If I feel really productive I am going to get it bound like a book!! Take off date Oct 15th!!!
Buon viaggio! What a terrific project. Would love to know the five towns you’re visiting there. For years, I went to London frequently, but saw little else until I spent part of my sabbatical traveling around to other areas of the country. Like most visitors, I am quite smitten with the Cotswolds and the Lake District.
I loved your post…and am going to start TODAY….It make so much sense …I remember the 21 day goals and was just thinking yesterday I am going to do 90 day goal !
Thanks so much. Good timing, huh?
Thanks so much for your advice. My very favorite line is, “There’s nothing too scary about that.” When you break it down into smaller, manageable pieces, it truly isn’t scary after all, is it? Thank goodness for VN and wise women like you. My life is so much richer since I found you guys. Thanks again.
And thank you for saying so. Seems to me that we all need frequent reminders about things we already know.
Thanks for an informative and ENCOURAGING article on getting a project done(or at least started). I have so many I want to do and I end up getting nowhere. I need focus. This seems like it will help me to have focus on one thing I want to accomplish.
Thanks!
Kathy