Archive for March, 2010
5 Question Coffee
A surly woman sold me a cup of coffee today. When I approached her I asked for a small french roast. She followed up with 5 questions.
“Would you like to try our Sumatra? It’s the only thing we have right now.”
“Sure, thanks.” I said.
“Would you like to have a grande size for 20 cents more?”
“No thanks.”
“Would you like room for cream.”
“That’d be great.” I said thinking this would be the last question, but she had more up her sleeve. Her piercing dark eyes staring me down.
“Would you like a cookie or a cupcake?”
“No, that’s okay.”
“Would you like to use your discount card today?”
“No, I don’t have one and don’t want to buy one, thanks.”
A few minutes passed before the woman behind the counter handed me my coffee. I felt like I had really earned this cup, it was not handed over easily. I dubbed it my cup of “5 question coffee.” I would enjoy it, just like I enjoyed thinking about how I might annoy this woman the next time she sells me a cup of coffee. I would have 5 questions for her:
1) “Would you like me to take out my wallet now?”
2) “Would you like to choose a bill denomination? I have a 1, 5, 10, and 20.”
3) “Would you like exact change? (I could again recite the coins from my pocket, penny through quarter.
4) “Would you like to smile when you sell me coffee?” (She didn’t smile the whole time, not once)
5) “Would you like me to smile?” (because I feel like giving you the finger!)
I write this blog post with a smile because I can’t help but do so when I think of my own 5 questions. I also have to take a moment of gratitude to think about all the other simple $ transactions I take for granted. Sometimes it takes an experience like this to notice.
Ahhh… 5 question coffee.
Challenges Met, Competitors Vested, Obstacles Overcome
If you’d like to look back on a life of achievement, as I know I most certainly would, here’s some advice that I think can help you out. There is a method I’ve discovered for achieving most goals that I find effective, and that involves committing to what I call the “doable minimum”.
The doable minimum involves setting aside a small amount of time each day to do a specific task. For example, if you want to create a giant quilt, devote an hour every other day to sewing small pieces of material together. Even if it takes a full year, you’ll eventually have something that covers a king size bed!
The doable minimum is a process that involves taking baby steps, much like what’s shown in the video I did here, how to rip a phone book in half. The idea is to break things down into sizable chunks and before you know it you’ve accomplished something significant.
Presently I’m devoting 4 hours a week to writing my novel as well as 4 hours a week to art. I do these activities in one hour sessions. Sometimes I enjoy it and want to go longer, other times I simply fill my time requirement. Either way, an hour is something I can commit to, a doable minimum.
Consistent commitment is key in this process. Through consistency over time, distance toward my goal is gained. For example, I’ve been doing the second draft of my novel for almost 2 months now and I’ve noticed a significant progress that’s been made. As of writing this, I am almost half way through round two, and I’m happy with that!
Having someone else keep you in check with a common goal can also help keep you going. For example Rachel Thomae, a professional writer and I did a writing contest called Nanowrimo this year. We are now motivating one another to take our rough drafts to the next level and get them ready for publishing. When talking to Rachel she had a few things to say about the doable minimum.
“Kinda like working out. I know I can get to the gym three times a week, but not five. Five would be great, but I’d quit!”
Rachel speaks a lot about diet and exercise on her blog. She also has a good article about setting goals.
So there you have it. Find your own doable minimum, something that is comfortable for you, and commit to it. An hour every other day works for me in most cases but everyone’s different. So if you have a goal in mind that you’d like to achieve, just make it… ya know, doable.
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