EP 10: Detours, Potholes, and Great Alignment

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Hi all, and welcome to the final episode of Season 1 of The Workbench!

Looking Back | Looking Ahead

In 2007, our family moved back to San Diego from Connecticut, and after packing up the house, we drove ourselves out across this great nation to our new and next destination. Where we were headed was both familiar and new – we weren’t yet sure where in San Diego we would land, but having lived here before, we did have some context.  

Tim left before we did and hauled ass to get to the new job, and Mom agreed to accompany Alex and me on our more leisurely journey. We spent 10 days, enjoying the ride, stopping along the way to see some of the people we love but often don’t get to see.

Good Alignment

On the trip, we’d hit roads that our AAA maps told us had good alignment. Mom and I would laugh, because looking down miles of long straight road – it was obvious. Every time since then, when I’m on a long straightaway, it reminds me of that trip. On these roads, the driving was easy and fast. On the roads that didn’t have good alignment, the going was slower or more technical. As I was thinking about the podcast, this memory surfaced, and is relevant to this journey of creating and producing The Workbench. The metaphor resonates. So, does this road have good alignment? At the moment, it does.   There have also been winding roads, obstacles, and the occasional potholes and detours.

So, today, we’ll talk about how I got started, elements of creating, two lessons learned, and looking ahead to Season Two in 2020.

Ok…to start.

I think I’ve mentioned in other episodes how long it took me to commit to this project. The idea incubated in my mind for several years. Part of this was the usual doubt and fear that accompanies a new endeavor, and part of it was deciding if this was where I wanted to spend my extra time. With so many options to choose from, it can take time to wade through our ideas to get to the heart of what we really want to pursue. But this idea had gotten its hooks into me, and the internal pressure and desire to give it a try finally outweighed all of the other excuses and concerns, and so I began. I can’t emphasize enough how many people/comments/moments contributed to taking the critical first step – that of deciding. These comments and moments in the moment were small, but one by one they added up to create the momentum to push forward…and to make the decision. It then took a year of thinking, researching, writing, learning, discussion, evaluation, and testing to come up with the episodes.

Elements of Creating

Building something from scratch is daunting because we have so many choices. From creating a name, to deciding on a logo, to navigating all the technology, to crafting the message…these are just a few of the elements, each requiring detailed thought and action. It can be overwhelming. There were definitely a few moments that I almost chucked this whole project, and I’m so glad that I didn’t. Of all these various pieces, getting a handle on our time and resources is essential.  

Time:  As this was and is a side-hustle and I am a mom and wife with a full-time job and a commute, there were many days when I was at war with the clock. Every day, I felt pushed to find some margin to work on the project. In the beginning, it felt like I needed large chunks of time, but given the reality, I had to quickly make peace with getting work done in smaller increments – when the pasta was cooking, or when my family was watching TV.   Also, it was important for me to not burn out. For several months, the anxiety of this was difficult, and I finally put a sticky note on my computer that that reminded me that “There is enough time for everything.” It helped me remember in the moment that of the things I deem important, this is true. Anyone in the midst of pursuing a dream struggles with this – we all struggle with this. A lot of work was done internally, behind the scenes to try to solve this tension. I took ideas from everywhere. Some of the things adopted include:

    • Being smart about sleep – paying attention to my own energy ebb and flow.
    • Batching my work more strategically – maximizing the time available.
    • Using my commute more effectively.
    • Creating templates for things that are recurring (shopping lists, family finances, emails)
    • Staying aware of tradeoffs – TV and Social media time mean less time for creating
    • Taking stock of energy and mood: knowing myself well enough to know when to push ahead, and when to chill and rejuvenate
    • Letting unimportant things go – sometime this means the dishes get done tomorrow, sometimes the plants die;
    • A failed attempt at using the early morning hours – sadly, this doesn’t work for me, but the evening hours do work.

These were some of the strategies I used to make some to spend on this project.

Resources:  This was a DIY, bootstrapped project with a limited budget. As such, I had to be resourceful and seek out information, and then I learned to do most of the work myself. It would not have been possible without the internet. There are some fantastic resources out there. You all know how much I adore Tim Ferris – well he has a podcast on podcasts – that shares his equipment set up and some tips and tricks. I also found a GREAT website called The Podcast Host – that I think has nearly anything you need to know about podcasting, and in an easily digestible format. Huge shout out and thank you to Colin Gray and his team for generously sharing. Please check the show notes for the links to these great resources.

The larger point in talking about time and resources is this: When we can let go of this idea that we need large chunks of time and money to create what our hearts desire, we can then step into the incremental process of creating.

Potholes and Detours

When starting something new, We often don’t know what we don’t know. This can be of benefit – because we bring a beginner’s mind to the process, which allows a wider window for our creativity. At the same time, if we knew how hard things would be, we might not have the courage to start. This was so true for me. In August of 2018, when I committed to this project, I hoped to launch in October. Then in January, then March. Then I finally knew enough to stop putting dates on the launch. Finally, in August of 2019– a full year later, I had several recordings, but still didn’t have other episodes prepared and “in the bank.” As usual, my impatience won out and I launched anyway. My battle with patience may never be resolved, but good lessons emerged from this too.

 Defining the goal – or Minimum Viable Product

Throughout the building of this, I kept the idea of Minimum Viable Product (MVP) in my head. This concept was introduced from the tech entrepreneur space and was brought to our cultural awareness by Eric Ries in his book entitled The Lean Startup. For each episode of The Workbench, I had to determine if the content and quality would satisfy me as a consumer.

I had an idea of what my own Minimum Viable Product would entail, and this idea became finessed over the course of the 10 episodes. Here’s what my vision entailed:

  • Content that was inspirational and well crafted
  • A comfortable vibe – accepting, upbeat, real
  • Some push – stirring the pot for positive change, and digging into the difficult topics that can prevent our forward momentum
  • Ideas and resources for others to use
  • An invitation for others to participate

Reflection: Two Key Lessons Learned: Getting ahead and knowing when to call it done

Once piece of advice seen over and over in the world of blogging and podcasting is to have some work prepared ahead. This is true of any product that is produced or published. You can bet that this month’s October issue of your favorite magazine was in development for MONTHS prior to publishing. And consistent, regular publishing builds audience. This was very much top of mind for me, and I came oh, so very close to achieving this. And yet, I decided to launch without other fully completed episodes, and this created a situation in which I had to choose between meeting my deadline and finessing the work to my satisfaction.

And then, what is enough, and when can we call our work done? At what point can we stop fussing? Having this experience of being under deadline sharpened my thinking. Once I write an episode, it needs some time to marinate before it’s finalized. Not building in time for this process, and not having some produced work cued up creates the uncomfortable situation of having to choose between the desired quality and deadline.

Looking ahead

While this is my last episode for the year, there are several aspirations for 2020; and since we have identified one of my “areas of growth” to be patience, it will be interesting to see where we end up in a year. I have a few goals – one of them is spending more time in creating each episode. This is the most fun part of the project, I mean seriously, sitting down with others, asking questions, and learning/sharing their interesting experiences – this is a dream come true, and one of the things I do best.

I also want to collaborate more– in building out a Workbench Community and sharing expertise. To truly grow this thing, I’ll need some help with marketing and some of the back-end website projects. And I’m looking for a few people who’d like to share their own journey on the podcast. So, if you have some experience here, and are willing to trade that for some Workbench Coaching, or if you want your build |create project featured on the podcast, get in touch and we can see if our interests align.

Finally, I’m seeking to find a better, more sustainable rhythm to this process. I enjoy the work – so giving up some weekend time is easy, but I don’t want all of my weekends consumed. I’ve found, that when we are doing what we love, it is easy for that work/hobby/side-hustle to creep more and more into our leisure time, and this eventually does lead to burnout. I approached that feeing more than a few times over the past year, and I have vowed to keep that in check going forward.

So that sums up what is envisioned so far for 2020. Looking forward to some of those metaphorical easy driving roads with good alignment and am now better equipped for the detours and potholes. All of these experiences have been useful. And right now, I can’t tell you how grateful I am for all the people, ideas, moments, comments, and work others have done to inspire and encourage me to trust my voice, get over myself and step into this project. I am humbled and grateful for what has been accomplished, and excited for what is to come.

So…what about you? What’s on your list for the coming year to explore? To give voice to? To build and create? And if not now, when? When will you allow yourself to stick your toe in the water, or jump in with both feet? Little steps or big, attending to the inner work and taking one action leads you to your next, and often, these little steps yield a deep sense of fulfillment that can be experienced now. I encourage you to begin. And if you need an ear to bounce ideas off of – get in touch! Leave a comment or send an email to au.kristina@gmail.com.

Before we close, I want to say thank you to all the people in the past year who have listened, shared ideas, encouraged, me, celebrated, and were generally generous in cheering me on. Your support has meant so much! Hope you all have a peaceful and joyous end of year, and I look forward to sharing more of The Workbench in 2020. Join us on January 13th for the first episode of Season Two. We will see you then!

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