🔥 Campfire 3
How I got my brain back, boredom, and more.
How I got my brain back
Brie Wolfson's piece on depression and getting through it sparked various feelings in me. I went through a similar situation about five years ago, and I can tell you that it's not fun.
I was so accustomed to being on top of it all. Straight A's. All American athlete. Two-time novelist. A decade-long career in tech working with many of the smartest, kindest, hardest-working people I've ever encountered. And now it could barely muster the motivation to brush my teeth?
In her article, Brie talks about what worked for her, shares the tools, activities, and, my favorite part, good day cheat codes.
Boredom paradox
This article by Dr. Hannah England on Nesslabs reminded me of Casey Neistat's video about boredom (watch it here).
The snap that I get the most from people, and it just says "Bored." Or it's like a selfie of them, and they're like "Bored." Nothing to do. How do this many people have all this time and no way to occupy it? You can build a city with all the free time people spend sitting around being bored, sending me snaps of themselves sitting around being bored.
This is precisely what this article is about. According to the research, there are five different types of boredom. Most people experience only one of these types of boredom throughout their lives, depending on their personality.
To learn about those types of boredom, the other side of it, and how to reframe it, read the full article here.
It's about the offer you run, not your actual skills
In my thread on finding clients (fast), I mentioned that most designers spend their time doing things that don't impact their business or career directly.
Yesterday, I discovered this tweet by Lucas, which resonated with me:
- I never use Behance
- I have never had a proper portfolio
- I never ran sales on my commissions
...but I still had a 6+ month waitlist of people wanting to commission me. When will y'all realize it's about the offer you run, not your actual design skills?— Lucas H (@LucasHogie) November 28, 2021
You can tell from his words that polishing your portfolio, designing invoices, and personal brand is a waste of time when you're starting. Instead, focus on getting your first clients and build from there.
When will y'all realize it's about the offer you run, not your actual design skills?
Endnote
If you've enjoyed this Campfire edition, I'd love it if you shared it with a friend or two.