I feel like now is a good time to share my Medium article with you, as I am no stranger to the art of dabbling. In fact, I recently started dabbling in a new side hustle (all the details are on #Twitter), so I am not immune to trying out different things. However, I realize that in order to achieve my long-term goals or any lasting success, I need to first learn how to master my focus.
This article was originally posted on Medium on April 19, 2023. I don’t have new blog posts because I have been so invested in my side hustle. Don’t be surprised if I cross-post Medium articles for the time being. It is worth mentioning that if you use the following link to read this article and you are already a Medium subscriber, I will earn a small commission. It might be only a few pennies but it’s better than earning nothing at all. This article is behind a paywall on Medium but I want to make it available for everyone to read.
♡ Medium Article: Stop Dabbling and Start Winning at Life
Mastering Your Focus to Achieve Lasting Success
(っ◔V◔)っ Serious Questions: Are you a dabbler? Do you find yourself constantly jumping from one thing to the next, without ever really committing to anything?
If you found yourself nodding in agreement to these questions, then this blog post is definitely for you. It’s time to stop dabbling and start focusing on what really matters.
Dabbling may seem harmless, even fun, at first. You get to try out new hobbies, explore new interests, and network with like-minded people. But here’s the thing — it is actually a trap. The more you dabble, the less focused you become on your life mission. You waste time doing things that don’t really matter and forget about what’s most important to you. After a while, you may start to realize that you’re not really getting anywhere. You’re not making progress, you’re not achieving your goals, and you’re not truly mastering anything.
“Jack of all trades is a master of none.” — English Proverb
The Dangers of Dabbling
Whether you’re a blogger, a Medium writer, or a social media influencer, it’s important to avoid the trap of dabbling and focus on creating quality content that resonates with your audience. Despite my best efforts, I often find myself trying new things and dabbling in various projects, such as running this blog, writing articles for Medium, and recently starting a side hustle on Redbubble. I am all too aware of how easy it is to get distracted by the seemingly more exciting activities life has to offer.
(っ◔V◔)っ You might be dabbling without even realizing it if you’re struggling with any of the following problems:
- Lack of expertise: Dabbling in multiple topics or platforms can prevent content creators from developing expertise in any particular area, limiting their ability to create content that is both impactful and tailored to their specific target audience.
- Lack of focus: Without a clear direction or strategy, content creators may struggle to stay focused and make progress towards their goals, leading to reduced output and a lack of motivation to reach the desired objectives.
- Inconsistent content: Dabbling can lead to missed deadlines, inconsistent content schedules, and a lack of engagement due to an inability to create useful and engaging content that resonates with their target audience.
- Burnout: Constantly switching between topics or platforms can be a major source of stress and frustration, leading to burnout.
- Missed opportunities: When content creators don’t commit to a specific niche or stick to one platform, they may miss out on opportunities to build a loyal following or establish themselves as experts in their field.
(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ FINAL THOUGHTS ♥
I want to bring awareness to the fact that dabbling in too many different areas as a content creator can be detrimental to your success. You don’t need to spread yourself thin across multiple platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Medium, YouTube, TikTok, starting a Podcast, writing a book, and God knows what else. You have a finite amount of time and energy — remember that.
Experimenting with different things and exploring new interests is an important part of personal growth. However, if you want to make a big impact in your life and reach your goals, it is important to stay focused on the tasks at hand rather than dabbling in a variety of activities. Finally, if you found this blog post interesting, or even if it just changed your perspective on things, please let me know in the comments below ↓ Your feedback really matters to me.
Thanks for stopping by! ❤️
Ohhh interesting
Yes keep them coming. It’s great that you are bringing your content from medium here.
What’s the difference between medium writer and a blogger. I feel they are the same. 🤔
You have highlighted a great topic here. 🙌🏻
The only difference is the ability to earn commission on Medium. Medium is like a catch-all reader for people who use their platform. They pay a fee to read unlimited articles from writers. The writer gets commission for the time someone spent reading said article. The thing is I don’t pay to use Medium. It’s free for me to use so any 💰 I earn over there is a bonus. I don’t use Medium enough for the subscription thing to make logical sense (for me, anyways). Medium also has a high Domain Authority so it’s great if you are looking for potential readers interested in whatever niche you are writing about ✍️
Thank you – I plan on writing about business topics, entrepreneurial topics, and ways to elevate one’s life. These are the things I’m currently interested in. As much as I dislike the word “entrepreneur.” I refuse to identify as one myself 🙅♀️
That’s interesting.
I always thought of medium, but lack of time doesn’t allow me.
I would love to read more from you on buisness related topics
That’s good to know 👍 Luckily, I have another business related article that I can cross-post from Medium. I’ll try to upload it sometime next week since I’m working Friday – Sunday.
The trouble is, worrying about spreading myself a bit thin is just another time-consuming part of my day, and I’m still not doing anything meaningful…
You’re definitely not alone! I find that this gives me a ton of anxiety when I have a bunch of mundane tasks to do or I am not doing anything that’s meaningful. Then I often feel worse that I wasted so much time with nothing to show for it. Wanting to be productive without a plan stresses me out a lot.
Same here. What also drives me crazy, is spending time learning something new, only to hit a wall. I have wasted so much time doing this…
Ugh, I hate this too. I find this often happens around week 2-3 for me. I am just starting to feel the slump this week but said to myself, “No, this always happens. I try something new, get bored or unmotivated, and quit.” I am pushing through the pain this week.
I often feel this way with dieting, trying new diets, switching up a routine, adopting new habits, learning a new language, etc.
I think it’s a conspiracy…
It’s very plausible.
I dabble a lot but it’s out of insecurity and ADHD (I get bored easily and understimulated and hate doing the same thing over again).
This information is very helpful though and I’ve bookmarked it.
Hi Feets, I am glad that you found this blog post helpful. Thank you for bookmarking it. 🙂
Sorry I have been AFK for the last few days. I have been working on designs for my little Redbubble shop and it has turned into a bit of an obsession. I have already uploaded 26 designs and am currently working on a 27th for the shop.
I have undiagnosed ADD and can relate to jumping from one thing to the next and getting bored really easily (the boredom especially). I get bored easily too and hate doing repetitive things too!
Well, that sounds great. I hope it does well.👍
Thank you, Feets. So far I made a few sales which is motivation to keep going. Redbubble is a lot more fun than Medium. If something isn’t fun anymore, I’m not going to do it.
Understandable. I’ve never considered Redbubble. That sounds interesting and wow, you’re already successful? Cool!
The commission I make isn’t much, and Redbubble takes the lion’s share. However, I am having a ton of fun creating designs for the shop. I have been dabbling in digital art and illustration (aka. stickers).
I think it’s good to have some kind of creative outlet. I am sure you can relate to this with your beautiful drawings and artwork. 🙂
I can. Can I see your redbubble?
Yes, I will post a link here: http://shorturl.at/otvxQ
Those are so cute! Hehehe 🤭
Thank you so much! 🌸🐈⬛
Gret points about dangerous of dabbling
Thank you for reading and commenting. I am glad that you found value from this blog post. 😊
I very much agree. Dabbling stops us from fully focusing on anything and therefore leaves us never fully reaching our potential.
Yes, exactly! Thank you for reading and commenting, Pooja. 😊
My pleasure 😊
It took me 40 years to pick a career but now that I’m focused whole-minded on one thing, I’m the best at it. People can only do one thing great. There’s just not enough time. 🙂
It’s never too late to go back to school or choose a career or take an entirely new direction. Thank you for sharing that with me. I appreciate your honesty about how life actually is vs. what society thinks we should do. Yes, I totally believe that you’re the best at your craft! 🙂
Completely resonate with this, I think it’s easy to convince yourself you’re dabbling in order to gain more well rounded knowledge. Yet it still leaves the main goal you want to achieve unchecked!
Thanks for reading and commenting, Alexis! I saw your comment but forgot to reply 🤦♀️ I think that’s the probably the biggest trap of dabbling – convincing ourselves that we are being productive when we are actually spinning our wheels and wasting time. Another problem is giving up too quickly and jumping to the next interesting thing (aka. Shiny Object Syndrome)
Exactly that! Need to find a balance between pursing different talents and actually making progress in them
Hi Hilary, great post on a great topic. I have trouble with focus and I am a dabbler. I love to try new things, experiment with new hobbies, and learn new skills. It’s hard to find enough hours in the day to keep up with my blog AND try out all the new things I’m interested in. In the end, I do less of the ‘new’ things and try to spend more time working on the blog… that’s what’s important right now.
Hi Roze! I’ll confess… I am happiest when I am trying something new and/or dabbling in something. This feeling usually fades within a week or two. As of late, I haven’t been blogging much or uploading new designs to the shop because I started getting into online shopping (something I told myself I wouldn’t do…) 🤦♀️
I think it’s natural for us to want to try new things and dabble. But the more stuff we dabble in, the less time we have to get stuff done. For instance, my anxiety is worse when my schedule feels overwhelming. At least you are aware of this happening (not having enough hours in the day) so you can determine what matters most and “ditch” the the things that don’t matter as much. I like your approach to not trying new things and sticking to what works for you. 🙂
This is really nice. I hve been experiencing that a lot since my blog started growing. Thanks for the early warning
Thank you for reading and commenting! I’m happy to help!
*sigh* Tbh I miss writing these informative blog posts.