WHY I’M RECLAIMING MY WEDNESDAYS, ONE WEEK AT A TIME
This past January, I left my job at a formerly-kidtech-startup-now-game-studio (gotta love a good pivot) to embark on something new. I had always dreamed of going out on my own and for the first time ever in my life it felt weirdly possible. I secured consulting work building a community of women entrepreneurs with WeFestival and figured in my off hours I’d focus on my stuff.
These 7+ months I’ve had the privilege of time and space and flexibility to simply think about what I wanted to do next. This involved making lots of lists. Starting multiple #100dayprojects and quitting them. (One habit stuck — more on that in a later post, maybe). Working for free. Using those unpaid opportunities to create case studies of what I could do with my experience and talents for other small businesses and start-ups.
I learned a lot about myself. How working from home is awesome, but sometimes lonely. How satisfying it is to actually complete a project (when you work in social media and community building —nothing ever feels quite “done”). How much I love listening to music out loud while I work (no need for uncomfortable earbuds!). How sitting on the couch with my Macbook Air on my lap is not a replacement for a desk. How a kitchen counter, however, is a nice substitute for a standing desk.
The most important thing I have learned, though, is that I am not quite there yet.
I left my job thinking I would start a marketing consulting business. Launch with a focus on digital marketing and community/customer loyalty. Add more services over time. My idea was to focus on high level strategy — instead of signing on to do day-to-day work for my clients or run ad campaigns, I’d create custom toolkits and roadmaps for them so as their businesses evolved they would then have something to inform their marketing decisions. This is still something I plan to do (and am working on building out, contact me if you need this!), but I’ve realized that at the end of the day — I want to do more.
I have a laundry list of ideas I want to see through. I want to give those ideas a chance to be something more than just ideas. That’s where Project Wednesday comes in.
WHAT’S THIS PROJECT WEDNESDAY THING ALL ABOUT?
I recently had an email exchange with a friend about how she had so many things on her list — things she wanted to do but didn’t know how to make them happen with such limited free-time.
I suggested she break all of her ideas into small, do-able chunks. Then when she had a free moment, she could do one and cross it off her list. Eventually she’d start making progress.
I realized I had a similar list of goals — both short and longterm. I needed to take my own advice and start tackling them, one bite-sized task at a time.
I’m a huge fan of beginning wherever you are, but it’s easier said than done. My typical inclination is to say — I’ll start that new habit on a Monday. But then Monday morning rolls around and you have to catch up on emails that came in over the weekend. Then it’s noon and you have to actually get the shit done that pays the bills. Then the day is over and you haven’t done anything you wanted to do, and you promise yourself you’ll try again — next Monday.
To break the cycle, I am making this a Wednesday initiative. A creative re-set halfway through the week.
THE MASTER LIST (A WORK IN PROGRESS)
To hold myself accountable, I’m going to share the projects I want to work through over the next several months.
LONGTERM (MONTHS — YEARS)
- Establish my NOW//NEXT marketing consulting business
- Open my Etsy Shop (6 years in the making!)
- Launch WHY THIS BOOK, a micro-social initiative to share the love of reading
- Write and illustrate a children’s novel
- MILE RUN CLUB, a community that celebrates small fitness milestones
- THE SHORT CUT (name pending), an aggregate of petite clothing options found across the web
QUICK STUFF (AN HOUR — AN AFTERNOON)
- Learn how to bake bread
- Make jars of things: Kimchee veggies, pickles, jams
- Organize my craft supply closet
- Hem those dresses and skirts already
- Write posts on Medium!
- And more….
HOW THIS WILL WORK
Every Wednesday I am going to dedicate my day to one or a few of the projects I’ve listed out. I’ll share my progress along the way right here on Medium. Follow me and this publication to stay in the loop.
