My SXSWi takeaway? Motivation.

Needless to say, my brain is still decompressing from the amount of awesomeness that was SXSW Interactive (SXSWi). A couple of days ago I wrote about SXSW Interactive and QR codes on MGA’s blog, but for this blog, I wanted to write about some of my personal takeaways. First off, I was lucky to room with a great group of friends from the Denver/Boulder area–Elaine, Ingrid, Cali, Meredith (pictured with me to the left) and Mike. Throughout the week I met fantastic people, ate delicious BBQ, listened to awesome people speak, and made stronger friendships with the massive group of Colorado folks in Austin. These were all things that I absolutely expected to happen while there.

The big takeaway for me was a theme that followed me throughout the whole week and while it was unexpected, it was definitely welcome. I wouldn’t say that it came from any particular panel or conversation, but a culmination of the whole experience. We all need a kick in the pants sometimes, and this was mine.

I left Austin feeling motivated. Simple as that.

Motivated to work hard. Motivated to make things happen. Motivated to be the one people count to “get ‘er done,” as we say in Arkansas.

I think the hardest thing about being “motivated” is turning that motivation into action. For me, it starts with spending time after work and on weekends at poaching wifi at coffee shops working on:

• This blog (which is proving to be harder to keep up with than I thought);
• The Denver nonprofit I’ve recently started managing social media for (yes, I can end this sentence fragment with a preposition because under my domain, I make the rules); and
• Any work projects that I can complete to begin Monday with a head start.

Also, since I’m a big fan of to-do lists, I’ve started keeping a personal list so I can mark off accomplishments and progress I’ve made for myself.

While I realize that I’m young and that I could find more “fun” ways to spend my free time, the way I figure, the more time I can spend getting these little things done in my spare time, the less stressed my life will be. It’s all about shifting your mindset.

So if you find yourself working from a coffee shop in Denver, let me know. It is highly likely that I’ll be plugging away at a cafe in Capitol Hill or Uptown on the weekends, at least until Rockies baseball season starts. Then all bets are off!