This time, I’m doing a a good old Start, Stop, Continue retrospective.
Start
Being insistent about pair writing content outlines
I got feedback from a client about the first sprint’s-worth of content we designed for them. It was detailed and useful, but I realised we could have headed a lot of it off if we’d pair written the content outlines rather than creating them asynchronously in a document.
I like pair writing, but clients are often reticent to do it. I need to be more insistent about how valuable it is — and do a better job of explaining why it’s an effective method. I’ve said this in a weeknotes post before, though! I thought about it more deeply, and I think the reason I’m flaky about this is wanting to keep my diary as free of calls as possible. But this is the good, worthwhile kind of call that I should be making time for.
A new project
I got a ‘yes’ on one of the proposals I sent out last week, which is great news. It’s an almost immediate start, so I need to get contracts, project plans, etc together. It’s a hybrid consultancy/coaching project — something I’m seeing a lot more interest in at the moment.
Stop
Taking on more work
I’ve had more new business enquiries. There’s often a rush at this time of year, as people try and spend their remaining budget before the end of the tax year in April. On the one hand, this is great. On the other, I just don’t have enough time. This morning I sat down and looked at my week, mapped out what I have to do against my diary, and there’s no slack whatsoever.
I feel a lot of pressure to take on as much as I can, especially because last year wasn’t a strong year financially. But right now, I know it’s not the right choice to sacrifice my evenings/weekends/wellbeing to get everything done.
Worrying about my website — for now
Last week I wrote that I wanted to make a plan for getting my website live. But when I sat down to do it, a quick look at my availability confirmed that there’s not way I can do this in Q1. I also reflected that while I may hate my website and find it a huge embarrassment, I’m still getting leads about new projects, people can sign up to my email and read my writing. I know it’s hurting me when it comes to product sales, but that’s a ‘nice to have’ not a ‘must have’ at the moment.
Continue
Saying no
I said no to something last week. I got a late invite for an early morning meeting. I could have made it, but that would have meant some combination of not going to the gym, spending money on a bus ride, missing my walk to walk, and/or having to rush in general. So I said no — for no other reason than to protect my peace.
Governance write-up
I’m still chipping away at my governance write-up. I’ve been gradually pulling together roles and responsibilities, workflows and templates. If I keep at it, it should be complete by the end of the week. I can get bored easily with this kind of work, so I have to make sure I schedule it for the right time, take lots of breaks, and don’t let myself procrastinate.
Focus for this week
- Write 10 Things — the first edition of the year
- Finish writing the governance doc
- Make amendments and edits to sprint 1 copy; start writing sprint 2 copy
Cultural stuff
I’m reading a few things to help with prep for my talk at Lead with Tempo, including Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act and Kae Tempest’s On Connection (I’ve read this a couple of times before, it’s a delight.)
