I'm still here
All,
I’m still here! And I’m still keen to write in my little corner of the internet… even though it’s been over a month (two?) since I’ve published anything. It’s certainly not for lack of content, as I’m navigating a bunch of career questions and changes myself.
Trying to process these changes, reflect and then distill it into a succinct and amusing newsletter, even a single one, has me slightly overwhelmed…
Of course, it’s easier to process and write about the reflections of others, or with the benefit of hindsight … but when you’re actively going through something, it feels pretty impossible to adequately reflect, much less turn it into content. In the moment, how do you know you’re making the right choices? Evaluating the right tradeoffs? And so, when feeling a bit too whelmed, what is one to do? In my case, I’ve taken the very productive path of shutting down entirely and avoiding the newsletter for multiple weeks.
The problem is, with each week of avoidance, the task of writing something grows increasingly scary. And yes, the newsletter is a hobby, I could actually just avoid it forever.. but we all deal with overwhelm in more pertinent settings: work, parenting etc… it’s really not feasible to just completely avoid certain things for months.
So, how does one deal? And how does one avoid falling into this cycle of writing in spurts, then falling off the face of the planet, then apologizing, then rinse + lather + repeat?
Obviously, I don’t have it figured it out.. But I’m trying to figure it out, and a lot of experts offer advice on this topic (check out the Resources section).
My best take on this, as I finally push this post out into the world!
Do one small thing: For those who suffer from anxiety (and who doesn’t these days).. sometimes we feel buried by the looming concept of “the impossible task”. The task might be something simple, but feels incredibly overwhelming. I’m sure you can imagine a bunch of examples in your personal or professional life: writing a confrontational email, cleaning a certain area of your house.. In context of this newsletter, for me, the impossible task has honestly been simply logging into Substack at all. The unfinished drafts on the toolbar would mock me relentlessly from the right hand side of the screen, while the ever-distant date of my last post mocked me from the left. And so, to ease myself back into writing - I avoided opening Substack altogether. Instead, I’d write random bite-sized career thoughts in my phone’s Notes app. Do one small thing.. if the task seems too big, keep subdividing until the partial task seems manageable. At times when opening the Notes app seemed challenging, I’d turn on a podcast, or read an article instead - produce nothing, consume something passively for inspiration instead. Get out of bed. Put one shoe on. Open your email program and type a greeting and come back to it later. No task is too small!
Rescope the task at hand: In writing this newsletter, I was committed to a singular, static idea of what an ‘acceptable’ end state looked like - multiple sections: a personal anecdote, interviews with multiple people, resources + a series of Instagram posts… which, in a time of quarantine seemed perfectly reasonable… but at this moment in time, just seems daunting. Our idea of ‘perfection’ is often in our own heads, and then we spend an inordinate amount of time conforming to this made-up standard. Is it more important to have all the pieces completed in detail, or is it more important to just get something out the door to kickstart action? You can always build back up to the original scope if you want, but you’re more likely to do it via baby steps, than taking on the whole thing if you already find it intimidating
Rely on the work of others/delegate: In past posts, I’ve taken great pleasure in crafting an original thought, or framing/repackaging something in a different way.
Exhibit A. I love flow charts and Venn Diagrams, and graphics and slides. Post: “Should I Stay or Should I Go” 
Exhibit B. So fun!!! Post: “Nothing Can Stop Me, I’m Managing Up” But man.. it’s a daunting task to come up with something new and jazzy weekly. In a work context, this could look like more traditional delegation. You don’t have to do it all. What can you parse out to other people, or bring on experts to solve? I typically can’t have someone write the newsletter for me, but I can reference other people’s work and offer my interpretation, vs coming up with the whole kit and caboodle myself. Your value isn’t always in creating and doing - sometimes it’s approving, interpreting or reframing or even simply amplifying. Case in point, a lot of the content we voraciously consume isn’t the actual creation of anything - it’s a podcast that reviews something, a TikTok trend that repurposes a song (or dance move), a Tweet that critiques.. well, another Tweet.
Ritualize: make the time you’re spending on the task enjoyable. Pair the task (or a simplified/subdivided version of it) you hate doing, or are nervous to start doing with something you like. I’ve found sitting in a coffee shop more conducive to writing than sitting at home, so I’ll try to do that for 30-45 minutes when I can, (more on the art of ‘Deep Work’ in my post from April). Does social support make the task seem less daunting? Recruit a friend or partner to help you with something. It’s easier and way more enjoyable for me to get inspired for the newsletter over a dinner with friends, than it is to sit still in front of a blank screen and flashing cursor.
There you go. 2 minute read. That’s the newsletter. Rescoped, imperfect, but it exists! Baby. Steps.
Next newsletter (see how I’m not necessarily committing to next week? RESCOPING!) we’re going to build on this topic. This habit of doing a few small things repeatedly, thereby keeping promises to ourselves is actually the most important step in building confidence.
(If you’re still reading and receiving this newsletter despite my v. patchy publishing- merci, gracias, xie xie. You’re the best.)
Resources on Overwhelm
“How to Deal with Constantly Feeling Overwhelmed” (Harvard Business Review)
“Strategies When You Feel Overwhelmed at Work” (Psychology Today)
“How the ‘Impossible Task’ Affects Anxiety — and What You Can Do About It” (Healthline)