Growth is a cycle
Been here before? Good! (Observations & Inferences #26)
Hello! This is just a quick note to say I’ve decided to experiment with sharing my weekly Observations & Inferences newsletter here on Substack as well. I won’t share these to email since they already go out to my regular list, but if they’re here now if you want to peruse them at your leisure. Enjoy!
Growth is a cycle, which explains why so many of us suddenly feel like we're right back where we started. After all, how would you be able to recognize this place if you hadn't been here before?
If you're in an "Again, really?" moment, I have some good news for you: Each time we cycle back to a place we've already been, we bring all the lessons we learned from the journey we took to get here.
Spring is here, which means it's time to look within and decide what seeds you're planting. Join us next week for a free nature-themed gathering where we'll reflect on your year so far and vision a path forward. You can RSVP for Dreaming Of Blossoms: A Springtime Creative Circle here.
Let's say, for example, that you're back on the job hunt—frustrating, for sure, especially if you weren't expecting to need to do it again so soon. However, it is also true that you know more now than you did last time.
Maybe you have better language to describe what you're looking for in a role, or clearer expectations for what you expect to be paid.
These insights are a gift. They power your experimentation. Knowing yourself and what works for you allows you to make more confident decisions.
Or maybe you're at the beginning stages of another new project. (This tends to happen in Spring. We are really not that different from the birds.)
Back again in the "starting" place, you might be feeling overwhelmed. Staring out at an ocean of tasks tends to feel that way, even for those artists and geniuses you admire.
At the same time, this is not your first time charting a path and taking action to get what you want. If you've ever tried before, you certainly have insights about yourself, how you work best, what fuels and drains and motivates and inspires you. This is your strategy.
This morning I officially opened registration for the next Big Paper Planning Day retreat. On both April 25 and 28, we'll congregate at the Pretty Decent Internet Café for a full day of dreaming, planning and designing our lives together.
If you can believe it, this is our eighth Big Paper Planning Day. We do it seasonally for a reason.
Every time, I ask the question: What do you need now?
What I find is that the Big Paper plans we make in October are not the same ones we make in January. In the winter, I hear more efforts to rest, to lay low, to hibernate. In January, I hear more plans. Ideas. Grand visions for the year.
In April, though, it's always different. Clearer. More focused.
For many of us, this is when our year truly begins. When the sun pokes out from behind its gray duvet cover and the flowers decide to bloom, we come home to ourselves again.
I hear often from Big Paper Planning Day alum that it gets easier the more you do it. I've been hosting these retreats since July of 2022, and there are a few people who have participated in every single one. They tell me that the first time around, there's a learning curve—but by their second or third, they feel significantly more confident in the goals and targets they create.
This doesn't surprise me. After all, growth is a cycle.
Every time we go through a Big Paper Planning Day (and the three months of Momentum Support that follows), we learn more about ourselves than we knew before. We gather more data, get clearer on what works and does not work in the grand experiment that is our lives.
At the end of the day, Big Paper Planning Day is an invitation to begin again. That's why I tell you to go school supply shopping. There is a magic to picking out new sticky notes and pens, a significance to deciding who you want to be next.
If you want in on that magic—well, it's time to mark your calendar.
And if you want a sneak peek, be sure to join us next week for Dreaming Of Blossoms: A Springtime Creative Circle. In this gathering of minds, we'll reflect on the lessons of Spring. We'll read poetry, practice sensory writing, and draw out the insights that will fuel the next three months of our lives.
See you there.
Mini Lab: Tools, Trends & Experimental Ideas
For my TikTokers: When is the last time you studied your analytics?
Sure, you probably know your most popular videos off the top of your head—but what about the rest of them?
Observation is a critical part of any experiment. Try using a tool like TokBackup to download your data. It'll export into a spreadsheet that you can then sort by whatever engagement metric you're most interested in encouraging more of—whether it's likes, saves, views, etc.
From there, look at those videos that performed the best. What variables do they have in common?
Repeat those variables. There's your next experiment.
Bulletins! The latest from members of The Study
From Phoebe: New Substack essay on perfectionism and accountability and tulips. Read here.
From Chelsea: I've produced a Media Maven series on my podcast, where you'll get a peak behind the curtain of Hollywood. The hustle, the rejection, and the seedy underbelly - do you have to sell your soul to have your big break? My latest episode is with Zina Wilde, an accomplished writer and actress best known for her role in the hit TV show, "Billions." You can listen here.
From Gabrielle: Say hello to clarity about your creative practice and time + space + resources away from your day-to-day life and responsibilities to bring the idea in your head to life. Once you learn to communicate clearly about your work (which is what this workshop series is all about) the sky will be the limit to what you can receive. Sign up here.
Bored on the Internet?
✷ I went down a rabbit hole of wanting to be less afraid of numbers the other day. That led me to Brilliant, a Duolingo-like platform offering bite-sized lessons on data analysis, coding and more. So fun! I like math now!
✷ All I can say is HELL YAAAA BABYYYY: Gen Z Is Primed To Succeed At Starting A Small Business
✷ If you need some Internetty inspo, check out Design Spells! What a tagline!
Above are some links fresh from my Second Brain inbox. If you want to save them for later in your own Second Brain, be sure to grab a copy of...
Creative people need space to dream and think.
Which is why the Pretty Decent Desktop Organizer won't do that for you. It will, however, open up space in your brain for you to go out and stare at a tree without worrying about forgetting your to-do list.
Ready to streamline your creative life? Grab your copy of the Desktop Organizer here.
Work With Me!
I help artists and subject matter experts get good at the Internet so that you can do what you love for a living. The best way to start is by booking a free brainstorm with me, where I'll help you sort through your zillion good ideas and figure out a least complicated next step: