Issue #18: Spring Brew: Unexpected Projects + Prioritizing The Practice Over Perfection
And a few favorite reads around Substack!
Yes. The astrological new year has come, and I’m feeling a revival of energy like no other. Since the arrival of spring, spurred by that total eclipse energy, it feels like my brain is firing in all directions, with new ideas and plans brewing.
I have to admit, much of what is currently filling my days was not originally on the docket for this season. Tuesday initiated the beginnings of an exciting evolution for my creative agency: a new business model, offerings, and systems—same high standards for brand creative. Project name: Together 2.0. :) It’s unexpected but very much aligned with Free Time philosophies of removing friction, finding ease, and building delight and deep listening into our client relationships. I can’t wait to share more, and hope to be moving quickly to launch in these coming days.
Professionally, I haven’t felt this invigorated in a while. And on the personal side too, I’ve found myself unexpectedly engaging in a new challenge…
March 28 marked the one year anniversary of my 30 Things I learned Before I Turned 30 post, a particularly reflective exercise that encapsulated my starting point during a year of immense learning and personal growth.
This day also happened to be the start of the 100-day countdown to my baby’s due date. 100 days, and not a minute to waste to prepare for my son’s arrival (which, we all know, could be well sooner than 100 days!). As the nesting instinct crept in, my brain started turning to all the things that we still need to do.
I also felt a little pang of regret and guilt. Pregnancy is such a special, liminal time—rare, too, in a lifetime. My previous losses robbed much of the joy of those early days and weeks. Not much documentation, celebration, or savoring.
I decided to try to reclaim that joy and time. So just a couple weeks ago, on March 28, I launched Mom Brain — a project I didn’t know I would be starting that day, but we’re going strong! 100 days, 100 min-reflections on pregnancy and preparing for baby.
I’m posting it all on Substack for a sense of accountability — come follow along if this is an interest to you! Beyond those 100 days, I hope to continue posting in a Mind Brew-esque fashion, shifting more to reflections and resources for the experience of matrescence and motherhood: how our minds and brain chemistry change as we enter an era of parenthood, integrating a new dimension of identity, and combatting the fog of “mom brain” through smarter systems.
A few of my favorite posts so far:
With Together 2.0 underway, daily Mom Brain writing, and nesting for baby around the corner, I’m in a period of big, exciting sprints. And for the first time in a while I feel like I have the energy and internal resources to match these ambitious goals.
What I love about this time right now is that the creating and building is raw. I’m being challenged to move quickly and share often — not wait for perfection. You’ll see so much of that in Mom Brain, where my 100-day writing sprint is very much structured to embrace the shitty first drafts that all could be seeds of something more and bigger.
I haven’t written or created in this capacity for quite a while. And when I’m in these modes I am reminded of something Seth Godin wrote in one of his daily blogs — this was years ago and I can’t find the original post, but it was the idea that when you make a choice to do something daily (like writing or publishing), it doesn’t become a matter of if you’ll write, but what you’ll write, and when. Jenny Blake also touches on this concept in the Free Time chapter on cookie dough and tiny streaks!
I’ve always admired Seth Godin’s discipline and outlook when it comes to publishing and getting things out into the world. So this spring, I can’t wait to dig into his book The Practice: Shipping Creative Work. Structured in short essays and entries, this book embodies the very concept of getting out of your head and into the world.
Two favorite highlights from the intro:
“Shipping, because it doesn’t count if you don’t share it.
Creative, because you’re not a cog in the system. You’re a creator, a problem solver, a generous leader who is making things better by producing a new way forward.
Work, because it’s not a hobby. You might not get paid for it, not today, but you approach it as a professional. The muse is not the point, excuses are avoided, and the work is why you are here.”
and…
“There’s a practice available to each of us—the practice of embracing the process of creation in service of better. The practice is not the means to the output, the practice is the output, because the practice is all we can control.”
I’m leaning into a season focused on consistency and output, and I think this is the exact book to keep me going. I would love for you to join along!
What do you consider your current practice to be?
Everything else living in my brain rent-free
Pregnancy has made me a very slow reader, so I’m inspired and encouraged by
’s reading recap post-baby. / This is fun! on The Power of Zines (and resources for making your own!) / Smoking is Essential for Your Success, They Said by / Anyone else’s Sundays feel like this? / So many #deskgoals reading through ’s Desk Tour series (especially this one with )