It’s been a while but here we are. What I’m calling the opener to a second season of #weeknotes, where I work out loud.
S02 EP01 – week ending 25 November 2018
Why a new season? Well, working out loud became difficult to maintain this year due (ironically) to work commitments and I’ve really felt the loss of it. I find writing as a means of reflection incredibly helpful, as well as the best method for me to process things. While I like working out loud it’s the act of writing rather than the sharing which is the primary draw for me – it really does help me operate at my best level.
So let’s get back to it.
This week was my first back out under my own steam rather than on someone else’s payroll and it feels great. I’ve been taking things steady and focusing on balance, and in setting up the right conversations, but also on taking some time for myself.
I’ve run a lot more this week than in the previous few and I feel brighter for it mentally. I was lucky enough to pull in some outdoor swimming in a heated pool in the cold November air and felt exhilarated and revitalised by it. I found the rhythm of daily family life and the restorative effect on my wellbeing and creativity of catch ups with friends and potential clients.
I also had a great, constructively challenging, business coaching session. I’ve been working with Matt Essam since the start of summer and this week’s session really helped me fast-track and commit to the next tasks on setting up my business and finessing my core offer. Off the back of this I found great support from Marcus Galley at Mammoth Creative Works (as I always do!) on re-branding and print brochure work for We Are Noble and Wild – I highly recommend him if you need graphic design work.
Reckless Yes too had some great wins – both bands with records out this month (Fightmilk and Chorusgirl) are getting great feedback from fans and media and we’re seeing phenomenal performances from both on sales and streaming. Both bands are a joy to work with – committed and driven, collaborative and creative. It’s people like these that make running a record label an absolute honour and a total pleasure. We’ve started our planning for next year and there is so much exciting stuff on the cards – there’ll be more of this in the coming weeks I’m sure.
All the conversations I’ve had this week and the connections I’ve found have made me think about the team you need around you, even when working alone. For me the network, and connecting nodes in it, has always been a big and enjoyable part of what I do and finding the right people to work directly around you and support your skills and vision is something I feel a lot of people miss the value of. Again, it feels like this is something I’ll be exploring more in the coming weeks.
Mostly though this week has felt hopeful and a relief – after feeling like a square peg in a round hole for much of this year I feel I’m back in a place I fit.
What’s next
This week has quite a lot of travelling about in it – Derby, Manchester, Glasgow and Belper – but all those locations are promising great conversations including long-overdue catch ups as well as connecting with new people.
Lots of times on trains also means plenty of time for writing – House of Morrigan book 2 is set to get some attention but there’ll also be some music writing and getting ahead on some end of year words for Reckless Yes.
If you’re in any of those places and want to catch up get in touch and let’s see if we can make a coffee and a chat work this week.