Oh, hi friends!
So there’s reactive mode and active mode, right?
Reactive mode: You’re waiting for someone to tell you what to do (maybe I should call this ‘green light syndrome’). You’re in a bit of a pause, either because you need more information or, perhaps, you’re not quite sure what to do next. (This is different from resting, by the way. When you need to rest, rest.)
Active mode: You’re seeking, reaching, moving. Creating green lights where there wasn’t a light at all. Even when you’re flopping or failing, it’s still something. There’s effort. New ideas. Attempts. Activity.
Trying to remind myself of the difference because I can feel myself suspended in reactive mode — waiting to hear back about something, maybe today, tomorrow, Friday…
But the days will pass. The news will arrive.
And those in-between hours will be better spent engaged and active — and not waiting for the light to turn.
There are better places to put your energies, and Cutruzzula wants to help you find them. “Like, what is the scariest email you can send to someone?” she asks rhetorically. “You just maybe don’t hear back. That’s fine.”
Lol, I’m very matter-of-fact these days?
I loved talking to Rachel Sklar for The Riveter — I first met Rachel 10 (12?!) years ago at The Daily Beast, and we reconnected in the BMI musical theater workshop a few years ago. We chatted about Do It Today, what to do when you find yourself in a negativity spiral, and why I’ve changed my thinking about “productivity” over the last two years. Read our interview here and sign up for The Riveter’s wonderful newsletter!
PS — Don’t forget to write the scary email today.
How to Write a Cover Letter
In the last “do you know someone” column, a reader asked for help writing a cover letter. Devra Thomas wrote back with a wonderful tip I had to share with everyone:
Write it as if you're writing a recommendation letter for someone else, then go back and change the name/verb tense to "I did.”
Brilliant! Hope this might help.