Joy Ride Vol 5
Brainstorm Road’s Friday dose of fun, inspiration, and action
Ask me how long I spent filling out forms this week.
Between elementary school, dance, aftercare, doctor’s appointments, urgent care, the dentist, the DMV, and the doctor again, it was probably ten+ hours of paperwork.
All of which, btw, was information I’d already provided. They just needed it again because I have no idea why.
I get frustrated when people make the false comparison between activities of daily life (like filing out paperwork) and “urgent vs important.” Yes, in a corporate work setting the “urgent vs important” distinction matters, but in real life the line isn’t so clear. Papers for elementary school are not urgent, but if you don’t do them in a timely manner your kid will not be enrolled in school.
Laundry, dishes, making the bed, buying groceries, cooking meals, taking a shower, tidying up the house, calling your grandmother back, running errands, filling out forms - the list is endless.
It’s easy to see how we get buried underneath the activities of daily life and tell ourselves we’ll get to our Dream Projects when…
When???
The laundry is never done. There are always more dishes. And we are never done completing forms for the DMV.
There are a million legitimate reasons to not work on the Dream Project that you’ve been dying to do. To wait for when we have more time, energy, and money.
My challenge to you is to figure out what you can do in the meantime
One line of poetry? 10 minutes of songwriting? Painting while you’re on a conference call?
How can you fit your Dream Project inside of the life you currently have?
Worth Your Time
We’re spotlighting some Brainstorm Roadies who shipped their Dream Projects this week 🎉:
Read: Yes You Can: How to Make a Movie for Almost No Money by the brilliant filmmaker Courtney Daniels
Eat: Dolly Mumma launched the Butter Chicken Police and will have you salivating for food and stories by the end
Visit: The Antarctica Trip Finder to help you plan your next visit to Antarctica (and please tell us if you go to the gift shop)
Learn: Origami in 10 Minutes a Day, a beginner paper folding course
See: The Reluctant Illustrator for a delightful blend of pen and ink drawings and wisdom from visual artist and designer Hanif
One Small Thing
Your challenge this week is to find a way to do a version of thing you don’t have time, money, or energy to do.
If you can’t spend 3 months in a cabin in the woods, can you write one line of poetry? 10 minutes of songwriting? Paint while you’re on a conference call? Two 8-counts of a dance routine?
How can you fit your Dream Project inside of the life you have?
Happy Friday,
Margo + Kristin
Timely! Today, I did the homework. Instead of buying an embroidery machine and complaining I can't find childfree time to use it, I visited the maker's lab at the library with my kid and used THEIR embroidery machine to decorate his shirt. Cost 0.65 cents. Two hours of clumsy learning fun!
If this doesn’t capture the creative person’s daily struggle, I don’t know what does. I love that you also provide the solution! Getting it done in small bits daily is the only way. But admitting that is the first step!