What are you working on? That's the question, isn't it? What's your priority project? What does it look like when it's done? What's the deadline? What's left to do? What's the next action step?
"Is it done?" May be a better question than, "Is it good?" And an even better question than, "Is it perfect?" When it's done, it may be good enough. On the other hand, when it's good enough, then, may be, it's done.
More of better. Doing less of something is difficult. When we focus on doing less, we create a vaccuum and more often than not that vacuum will be occupied by something else on its own. Instead, what we can focus on is doing more of something else, something better. The more we engage
Better together. It's tempting to take up the challenge of creativity and entrepreneurship alone. Even if you prefer working on your own, it helps significantly to create a community of fellow creatives not only to keep yourself accountable but also to feel connected. Many times, this would require you to
Action steps. It's easy to talk about your project, your dreams, your goals, and even your challenges and pains. It's easy to seek validation from your friend, your family member or your coach. But what matters is what are you going to do about it. What action step
As inspiration waits... When we do creative work, we schedule a time to work with inspiration. Inspiration syncs her calendar with ours and shows up on time. But many times, we show up late or don't even show up. We keep inspiration waiting. And then, we say that we lack inspiration
Professional mode on/off? You can't be in professional mode all the time. You need to know when you turn it on and when you turn it off. Every decision you take then will follow the single decision of whether you are in professional mode or not.
What's the next action step? Yes, you have dreams, you have goals, you have an idea, you have a problem, you want to discuss. Yes, that's okay. But what's the next action step? And by when can you get it done? And who can follow up with you about that? It&
Emotional pain. Emotional pain is different from physical pain. With physical pain, you don't have a choice. No matter how much it hurts, you can't say, "I will tackle it later." But with emotional pain, we can always put it off for later. And so, it
Empathy is the key. When we can feel what the other person is feeling, when we can relate to them, we can take action that can help them. We can design our product or service, our interaction, our relationship keeping that in mind. It requires emotional labour to move from making the story about
One step at a time. That's how big, crazy, ambitious projects are done. One step at a time, one day at a time. Each day matters. Each step matters.
Butterflies in the stomach... When we start being our best selves, when we start shipping, when we show up, we start getting butterflies in our stomachs. This happens because we have created tension not only for others but also for ourselves. The tension is an indicator that we have taken action which might not
Getting to the other side. Shipping is like crossing the river and getting to the other side, the client's side. The heavier we make the stuff that we need to carry across the river, the more difficult it would be to get to the other side. What's the minimum that you
Do the hard part first. It's easy to get bogged down by urgent stuff and to say that I will do the important work later. But it never works like that. Once you give in to the urgent, it's very difficult to come back to the important. Instead, if you focus
Change happens through action. Whether it is about getting into a better shape or finding someone you would like to date or improving your income, everything is about creating change. Change is scary and there is a tendency to procrastinate when we seek to make change. Plans and discussions often give an illusion of
What did you ship last week? Yes, you had meetings. Yes, you made a lot of notes. Yes, there are a lot of drafts. Yes, you worked really hard. But what did you share with prospective clients? What went out in the world? What you ship can lead to an outcome, whether good or bad. But
Off the track. When we go off the track, it seems as if everything is slipping. The systems that we have put into place are no longer working. It seems that we need to do something radical to get back on track. But the reason the systems are not working are not because
Sometimes, it's not as bad as it seems... And many times, it's not as good as it seems, either. At every moment, we have the ability to make things better or worse. It's the choice we make, the action we decide upon and take, that determines where things will go from where we are.
Constraints and boundaries. What are the constraints that are affecting your decision-making and choice of project? What would you do if these constraints were no longer there? What can you do to ensure that these constraints get eliminated? On the other hand, what are the boundaries, the constraints that are there only in
Can we decide not to doubt ourselves? The universe will keep giving us signs that we are better than we think we are. There would be mentors, coaches, friends, clients, and even strangers who would come up to us and tell us how good we are. Yet, we choose to ignore them all and keep listening to
Anti-hustle. What would it look like if it were easy? How can we allocate things more time than we think they need? What can we do now that will make our job easier later? Hustle is about creating urgency and stress. Anti-hustle is about removing them and moving forward.
What's your schedule? When do you start work? When do you end it? When do you take breaks? If we don't respect the schedule, we build work habits that can't sustain us. If our day ends when we are done with our work, then it would never end until
Money and emotions. Can we ask "What is money for?"? Sure, it's to pay the bills and gain another month in our kitty. But, what is it actually for? Is money a constraint or a tool? How do we see it when we earn it as against when we
Being kind to yourself. Sometimes, it may not be you who's at fault. Sometimes, you can give yourself the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes, you can ask yourself to just be and let it go. It may not be easy. It may not feel natural. But, it may be worth trying.
Who's it for? If you are planning a date, would you choose to design it specifically keeping someone in mind? Would you choose the restaurant your partner likes to go to or the one where your friends like to hang out at? What about your work? Who would you keep in mind while