My Mistakes In Module 2 + How I'm Going To Fix It

Alright, I’m going to be completely transparent and admit that this past month I’ve been slacking, tripping up, and stressing out more than usual. I hate that it happened, but I figured it’s best to share what I did wrong so that others can learn from my mistakes. And, in order to prevent this from happening again there’s a few things that I want to change in my day to day life. I need to figure out how to pick myself up and get back on track and I want to make it clear that I’m not going to tolerate falling behind anymore. If I see that I start to lose focus I’m not waiting to get accountability - that was my first mistake.

My second mistake was that I never had a clear idea as to what my project was. I started with a general idea, and then I switched it. And then I switched it again. And again. Finally I realized that I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t know where to start and I only had about a week left in the month.

Don’t do that.

I wish I spent a couple days at the beginning of the month going in depth to form a solid project idea. Even if it took a little longer than that, I would’ve been much better off if I started with a solid foundation. Instead I took my basic ideas and let them run wild without ever clarifying which ones I wanted to keep and why. If I could do it again, I would start by setting up meetings with advisors right away to get a solid idea set in place. Then, I would’ve taken it even further and written out a detailed plan for the remainder of the month.

My next biggest mistake was that I was too distracted - but the tricky part is that they weren’t necessarily “bad” distractions. I was distracted with other projects, seminars, and helping out with my church. These things are great, I did learn from them and gained good experiences from them. However, I think putting Praxis goals first should’ve been my main priority and if I could redo Module 2 I’d definitely keep that in mind. Don’t let good distract you from best.

Now that I know what I did wrong, I’m going to set up a few ways to make sure that never happens again because I completely regret letting that happen.

By the end of this week (by July 7th), I’m going to have a clear idea for a second project to add in addition to the writing module. I’m publicly sharing the idea, my goals, and details as to how I plan to complete the project in time. Once I have that clear, I’m going to change my daily routine to revolve around my project and Praxis goals. Instead of working on other things in the morning, I’m spending as much time as I need to stay on track with my Praxis goals. I’m also going to make a greater effort to work in better environments (not just my house) and make sure I’m getting a healthy amount of time outside instead of always being indoors. I got sick twice last month - it slowed me down a lot and I don’t want to let that happen again either. Lastly, I want to take greater advantage of the advisors and seek out their advice as much as possible. Hopefully with these three changes I’ll be able to get back on my feet and stay focused. If nothing else, I hope this blog posts helps others who might make the same mistakes I did. I hate to be the example of “what not to do” but I also won’t let that bring me down even more. I'd be a fool to ignore my mistakes, fail to inspect them, and never plan to prevent them.