A gentle close to the week

Six steps from jumble to flow / Issue 1,146

Oh, hi friends! 

I was feeling that post-vacation brain jumble this week, so I wanted to share a few things that got me out of the jumble and back into some mild state of flow.

Letting myself be inspired

I used to watch Masterclass videos during lunch breaks and always found useful tidbits. Hearing people who love their work explain their work is one of my favorite ways to shake loose the creative cobwebs. So I watched the Duffer brothers (who created Stranger Things) talk about finding the "core drive" of their projects for 15 minutes and thought — oh yes, I like that! 

Typing doc.new into the browser

If you put doc.new into a window, it creates a new Google Doc. I titled a fresh one "Daily words" and told myself to write 500 words of anything — garbage, inspiration, odes to my cat — as a way to shrug off the sludge. Complaints turned into pep talks, pep talks turned into ideas. The miracle of a shortcut!

Talking to Google Home

Our aforementioned cat was hanging out in the living room on Tuesday afternoon and I thought, "That looks nice." So I set up my laptop on the couch and…proceeded to look at my phone for 90 minutes. But then I spotted the Google Home in the corner. "Set timer for 25 minutes," I said. Then I actually opened up an old draft and…started revising it? Maybe because I knew the futuristic hockey puck was going to yell at me in 25 minutes — and it was only 25 minutes? Congratulations, Google Home, on prodding me to revisit a project that was dormant for 14 months!!

Employing friends

I wanted to send along some pitches. But first I needed a little buffer. (It's been awhile.) So I texted my friend Danielle (yes, that Danielle Friedman of episode 4 of Do It Today) and asked if she'd read them. She said yes! Her enthusiasm spurred me to polish and send them to her, and later off into the world. Friends are a gift. 

Just not doing a thing

I wasn’t up for writing this newsletter for two days, and also didn't feel like puttering in my inbox either. Wide, empty space is what my mind wanted. It's OK to pause or not do a thing.

Swinging big

Sometimes you have to take the next step even if you don't feel ready, you know? One more thought: Overthinking doesn't lead to movement. Stopping the thinking leads to movement. Movement leads to more movement. 

Ahhh.

Well, this feels like an appropriately gentle close after a week of mild turbulence.

How are you feeling this week? Did you lean on any tools (or friends!)?

What do you need to close the week?

What can you do to ease that plane down from the clouds and set it back on the ground?