What are you going "all in" on?
Oh, hi friends!
On Monday, I asked a few questions:
What’s on deck for you?
What do you want more of this season?
How do you want to move forward?
If you’ve got some ideas, the next step is…how do you actually make those plans and stick to them?
I definitely know how to make a plan and then implode (or ignore) it, but here are a few strategies that have worked for me or friends who are smarter than I am:
Rope in a victim.
Some people call this an “accountability partner,” but really it’s just someone who’s helping you meet your own expectations. Tell an unsuspecting friend your goal and ask them to check in with you on a specific date. If that makes you nervous, you’ll probably do whatever you promise to do—if only not to disappoint them.
Spend money.
Sign up for a class or buy a new paintbrush or run away to lacrosse camp. Dropping a little bit of money can make you feel like you’re taking this project seriously. (Example: I’ve spent around $800 on my lyrics writing and playwriting classes this year, but they helped get my work into shape for other opportunities.) Investments in yourself are like plane tickets—you never regret buying them after the fact.
Cut out something.
If you feel like you don’t have enough space in your life, what can you pause? Maybe it’s a recurring obligation or something you do for fun, idk. Just drop something! Who cares? You can always pick it back up later. (Example: I see 1-3 plays a week, but watch almost no TV; I also stopped freelancing for 90% of my outlets in August to focus on my writing and see how that felt.) These experiments don’t have to last forever.
Check in with yourself.
It’s amazing the things we forget, right? I will be all in on a certain goal and then two weeks later forget it ever happened. It’s pathological. Writing notes on my Google Calendar—or on notecards stuck up around my apartment—helps my fast-dissolving memory. My Friday “weekly audit — what went right/wrong?” is often my only time for reflection.
Hope some of this is helpful!!
And if you feel like telling me what you’re going “all in” on personally or professionally during the last months of 2018, I’d love to know and include in a future newsletter.
Reply to this email with a sentence or two and your first name and location (if you’d like that included!) and we can all learn a little something from each other.
PS — There was no newsletter yesterday because it slipped away from me! And you know what? That’s OK! You have to forgive yourself!
“Do more of what you can uniquely do and less of what other people can do.”
That’s the one-and-only Gloria Steinem (on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday, of course).
Another choice quote: Oprah asked Steinem about her greatest accomplishment, and she said she hasn’t achieved it yet. “I live in the future,” she said. Listen to their entire podcast conversation.
Two Great Opportunities From Two Friends of Mine
Are you a creative & resourceful theater set designer?
We're looking for a designer for Lured by Frank J. Avella, a new play based on real events of anti-LGBTQ violence in modern-day Russia, which will play at Theater for the New City in New York City from November 8-25, 2018 and then travel to Rome, Italy for a festival in January 2019. An awesome cast & creative team is in place and we're looking for this last piece of the puzzle to explore some exciting possibilities in our (huge!) theater space. Paid (stipend). More info at www.luredtheplay.com. Shoot a resume to luredtheplay@gmail.com. Thank you! (h/t Carlotta Brentan)
Are you a journalist?
Looking for a New York City-based freelance writer with narrative journalism experience. I have two assignments: a profile (roughly 1,250 words) and a feature story (roughly 750 words) for a school magazine. These stories should be easy to report; the key people are all happy to be interviewed. Please reach out to Ruth Samuelson (rsamuelson@mmsny.org) and send your resume and two feature story clips. Put "Freelance Writer [Insert your name]" in the email subject line. Thank you! (h/t Ruth)
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara