reFilM Day 3: Shocker, Figuring out when
This is a 100-day journal on remote filmmaking and production. For the full list of journals, see this page:
Today’s tip:
Life happens while you make plans. It’s OK to pause, take stock of the internal and external worlds, and figure out if there is anything you can control. If there is, take action. If not, stop worrying and start preparing as much as you can. It’s not on you to make things right for everyone. Even if you want to, you can’t. Don’t try. Figure out what matters the most for you and protect it or them.
Shocker at work
There have been news articles going around since the past few days that the company I work for is looking at a potential sale.
When I first read it, I thought there wasn’t any need to turn on the red beacon and look for an escape route.
Yesterday, a colleague was ready with a parachute to jump off a plane he thought was about to crash-land. And a few others he spoke with also thought this might be bad for our team.
That made me stop everything, freeze, and go into an internal huddle. Till late into the night.
- How many savings we have?
- What is the worst-case scenario?
- Will I have a job after and if there is an acquisition?
- Do I have to look for a new one?
- Should I try a side hustle? Try to earn some income on the side — like teaching or dropshipping.
- The only thing I could agree for sure was that it’s time to get a personal medical insurance policy.
When
Above all, I had to think about whether this is the right time to get ahead with this reFilM project. When is a good time to do anything? I read a quote that one must keep at their project because times will always be hard to do anything. Most likely I agree. Our previous generation had challenges befitting their times and available resources. So do we.
The question is, are you going to start your project? If so, when?
This led me to the book by Daniel Pink by the same name — When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing after speaking with my colleague. The author and a couple of researchers dug into Twitter messages and combed trending sentiments -
Positive affect — language revealing that tweeters felt active, engaged, and hopeful — generally rose in the morning, plummeted in the afternoon, and climbed back up again in the early evening.
Pink, Daniel H.. When (p. 10). Canongate Books. Kindle Edition.
That is when as we speak of the time within a given day. What I hope in the pages ahead is, when with respect to the timing of the events. To be more specific, when is a good time to start the reFilM project? Is it now? I guess we will figure out this year.
What are you losing your sleep over? Let’s talk and find ways (how) and a good time to start and finish something good.
