I’m participating in an online course with lots of assignments and some of our group have gotten behind and are feeling stuck. It seems overwhelming if not impossible to catch up on the outstanding work and get back on track. So what to do?
I was was feeling like this recently and found that asking the question “what should I to do first?” seemed logical but it was the wrong question. I couldn’t make a decision because I had no way to decide what were the necessary assignments and what I could skip.
Luckily, one of my colleagues reminded me “you know why you are you doing this – let that be your decider”, which alerted me to the fact that I had not revisited my “why” in a while. So here are the five questions that helped me get unstuck and moving again.
1. Why am I doing this?
I revisited my “why”. I wanted to do this course because I am keen to learn how to run online communities and to connect with people who work in social & environmental justice. That hasn’t changed but I have lots of choices about what sort of community and I sometimes get lost in the options, so I need a way to remind myself of what I want. I like the idea of the minimum viable product that I can build – something that will produce value for my community members come launch day on Septemer 10th.
Lesson: We need to make our “Why” memorable, so we can think about it on a daily basis.
Suggestions include: Make a poster to look at, a story to tell, or a dance move to reflect your “why”. A rough prototype of the website is relevant for my particular project.
2. Who am I doing this for and 3. What is their problem?
In the early days of hte program we spent time talking about and describing our audience, what they say their problems are. I think I need to keep them in mind daily.
Lesson: How can we find someone who represents our potential audience / clients and has the typica problems they have, then make them memorable via a screenshot or image, or a typical phrase for their problem, or a pose that they get into when they’re down. Google images are great – for serious and cartoon images.
4. How can I help them?
I keep imagining my audience / clients with their problem and then imagine giving them a meaningful message and imagine how I will connect with them. Is it a product or a service, in my case will it be synchronous or asynchronous contact or a bit of both? What is the minimum I can create to start to get my message out there and draw potential network members to me? The answers to these questions helped point me in the direction of where to start. Blogs are easy. For others, a tangible example of your message / solution might look like a mock up of a workshop marketing page, or a book book cover and outline, or typical answers to frequently asked questions in a podcast, or a short video demonstrating what we can do.
5. What will my impact be?
Finally, what impact do I intend to have? When I imagine my audience / network with their problem and then they join my community – I create a ‘before and after’ comparison, or a mini movie in my head. What will they and their life be like after they have joined this community? I’m still working on this one – trying to create a satisfied network member image, a mock testimonial, or a ‘happy power pose” (see Amy Cuddy for more on powerful poses).
If you haven’t worked out your “Why”, or if you are still stuck after asking these questions, send me an email to sharon (at) apassion.com.au and you can join our “proto” community. My motto is a riff on Barbara Sher’s “isolation is the dream killer” … “Connection is the Dream Fulfiller”.
The “cost” of joining the proto community is that you give me full and frank feedback on what does and doesn’t appeal.