Trying Something Different

Hey Friends,

Yes, I did say that I was planning to send a newsletter the Sunday before last, and yes, it did slip my mind until yesterday, when I saw "Draft Newsletter" highlighted in red as an overdue task on my Todoist tab. (In my defense, there are about 12 other overdue tasks highlighted in red on my Todoist tab. 😅)

And while I do have a lot on my plate at the moment, I also know that isn't why I've been putting off drafting this issue. Perfectionism is an interesting conundrum for me, because in an ideal world, being a perfectionist would drive me to put too much effort into everything I do in order to make sure it's absolutely flawless. Instead, it drives me to avoid things that I genuinely want to do out of fear that it will never live up to the extravagant plan I created in my head, or what I think it "should" look like based on what I've seen other people do.

I've slowly gotten better at managing my inclination towards avoidance over the past few years, but a course that I took over the last six weeks has actually had a much larger impact on my perfectionism than I expected.

The course? Intro to Acting. On Zoom.

I've never been interested in acting as a career, but I do spend a decent amount of time each week in front of a camera, so when I set out to take this course, it was actually to help me make better YouTube videos. However, in the process of learning the basics of improv and character study, I had to become a lot more comfortable doing things that felt... silly, or messy, or unfinished in front of other people, and be happy with the imperfections that came with it. And it turns out that was what I enjoyed the most!

You won't see the first draft of this newsletter, but take it from me - it was pretty messy, and unfinished, and even had some silly parts to it. It didn't feel like a "perfect" newsletter to me, and it probably still won't when I finish editing it into the version that you're getting in your inbox. But the alternative would be to sit by my laptop and wait until I found myself struck by the perfect inspiration for a perfect newsletter. And let's be real - if that's what I did, you'd never get another newsletter from me ever again.  

Do you deal with perfectionism? Have you found odd or unusual ways of helping yourself get past your perfectionism? Let me know - I'd love to hear about it!

☀️ This Week's Snippets

📖 Reading: Several People Are Typing ($): I've never wondered what it might be like to have my brain uploaded to Slack and my body rendered unconscious, but this book asks that question! I was surprised at how much I liked it and how insightful it was, and I also had my fill of Slack for the next week or so by reading it.

📖 Reading: Expanding Awareness: I've subscribed and unsubscribed from the Every publications a few times, but I'm back on the boat for their newest column! Expanding Awareness focuses on goal-setting and future-planning, two things that give me a lot of anxiety as a fifth-year PhD Candidate. 😅

💻 Using: Flow Club ($): Still using this! In fact, I'm writing this newsletter during a Writing Flow Club session that I'm currently hosting. I host about six sessions per month, so if you want to come co-work with me, you can try Flow Club using their free trial!

➡️ This Week in Content

Have a great week!

-J