Between the world at large and recently losing my day job, I’ve been struggling to feel like I’m making any headway.

But I remembered one technique and stumbled upon another that really helps me realize how wrong I was.

First, realize that the milestones are not the effects of your actions. The milestones are what you do and can control. I cannot control how many HR managers look at my resume or job offers I get, but I can control how many (and who) gets my resume. I cannot control if a story sells at a market, but I can control whether or not it gets submitted.

The second thing is to actually write down (and optionally tell others) everything you have done. Doesn’t matter how small it is (“started the washing machine”) or large. Bullet it out, write it as a run-on sentence, whatever works for you, but the important thing is that you write and see what you have done. Even if it didn’t result in anything yet. For example, one of mine for this morning was “realized I needed some paperwork and sent an email requesting them.”

Not only does this help you realize how much you’re doing in order to alleviate feelings of powerlessness, but also helps you realize how much you’ve done so that you can take appropriate breaks to recharge. When you don’t realize how much you’ve done, it is entirely too easy to neglect taking the time to care for yourself. Looking at a paragraph of all the things you’ve done — including all the small, little things — helps you realize how much they all add up.

This particularly applies if you’re doing volunteer or political work right now.

Featured Image by Pawel Grzegorz from Pixabay

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