Note: This is a cross-post of my Observations & Inferences newsletter, which I send every week from my desk at Pretty Decent. Every once in a while I drop these newsletters here on Substack for easy reading. If you want marketing tips and experiments in your inbox every Tuesday, sign up for Observations & Inferences here!
A little over two years ago, I started planning my life on giant science fair boards. The reason why is simple enough: I wanted a tactile, visible reminder that life is an experiment, and that while I can't control the results, I can influence them with my actions.
I call it Big Paper Planning Day. Here's a video about why and how it works.
In two days, I’ll host a Big Paper Planning Day retreat for the…14th time, maybe? I can’t remember when we started offering both Thursday and Sunday options for dates, but I’ve been hosting these lil virtual life design retreats since July of 2022, which I guess makes this our two year anniversary.
As is to be expected, I've been wading down memory lane this week thinking about how this little (big) idea came to be.
As a marketing strategist, I've always been interested in behavioral psychology and the science of motivation. When I get to the library, I tend to head to that section first. I never really understood why I was so endlessly curious about productivity tools and planners and strategies for getting things done.
Then I got diagnosed with ADHD.
Suddenly, it was like everything clicked into place. All of those hours I'd spent perfecting my Asana boards and Notion templates, all of that money I'd spent trying out planners and journals and tools—it was all a kind of seeking. I wanted to understand my own brain. I didn't have language for it at the time, but I realize now I was creating accommodations for myself: I was trying to fit my divergent-thinking brain into convergent-thinking systems.
When that didn't work, I always turned back to brainstorming on a big piece of paper.
I am a daughter of two public school teachers. For as long as I can remember, I have found joy in playing with school supplies. Big paper, gel pens, gold stars, sticky notes: These tools, for me, are symbols of new beginnings. They're a representation of what might be.
Big Paper Planning Day was born out of years of personal research and experimentation — literally it started as me trying to figure out *for myself* how to actually follow through with my plans.
SMART goals didn’t work. Rigid discipline and tough love didn’t either.
But you know what did, what still does?
I guess this is all just to say thank you for letting me do this for a living (again). And if you’re joining us on Thursday or Sunday, I can’t wait to see you soon.
P.S. When you go to buy your ticket for Big Paper Planning Day, you'll notice that there's a second option: To join The Study. If you're a business owner and want access to ALL live Big Paper Planning Day retreats, this is definitely the better deal.
After Sunday, I'm closing the doors to The Study until September. Starting this Fall, I'm going to experiment with opening the doors to The Study only twice a year for the Spring and Fall semesters. If you've been thinking about being a part of our private creative business community but waiting until the "right time," now might be the moment to make the leap. You can learn more about Big Paper Planning Day and join The Study here.
Mini Lab: Tools, Trends & Experimental Ideas
Let's have a little meta moment here: What you're reading right now is a sales email, a key element in a launch / marketing campaign. In The Study, we call these live launches our "Trying In Public" weeks.
You can experiment with a live launch whenever you want—you do not have to spend months figuring everything out and planning your moves down to the minute. During a launch, your job is to wake up every day and ask yourself: What do I want to tell people about this offer today?
IMO, marketing and sales is more about touchpoints than anything else—you can't control other people's behavior, but you can experiment with consistently communicating the value of your product or service in an effort to stay top of mind.
If you want to experiment, try sending a sales email about one of your offers this week.
And if you want help, email templates, body doubling, pep talks, and actual hands-on support with copywriting or strategy, we've got a Launch Lab happening tonight at 7 pm ET in The Study.
Bulletins! The latest from members of The Study
From Dana: I'm closing commissions at the end of July! Right now I'm taking holiday commissions to be delivered no earlier than November 2024, and I have a sale in my shops for 10% off any commissions. Then I'll be closing all commissions at the end of July, or until I reach max capacity. Discount will be automatically applied at checkout! Order a watercolor pet, home, floral or figure portrait here.
From Gabrielle: Dreaming of an artist residency next summer? Get the support you need to put your application together.
From Chelsea: Ready to have a SILLY GOOSE SUMMER and decenter social media? Same. I'll teach you how inside a FREE class I'm teaching tomorrow: Selling Without Social Media!
Bored on the Internet?
✷ If you're a service provider and you want to change your prices, tracking your time is an excellent place to start. Here's a time tracking tool you might enjoy.
✷ To this all I can say is...I've BEEN SAYING.
✷ Really love this model of self-publishing / serializing a book from
on Substack.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:
Ahh thank you for the mention!