Archives for August 2016

Destination: Procrastination.

August 30, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Me. Modeling the art of active nothingness.

I recently listened to a Ted Radio Hour podcast called “Slowing Down.” I was sort of amazed to hear that there is real, scientific data supporting procrastinators as more creatively productive than “do’ers.” This is sort of annoying for all of us who hustle to meet deadlines, who prepare for everything weeks in advance, and roll our eyes at the people who say “I just didn’t have time to do it,” because as we all know, no one has more time than anyone else – but some people plan better.

It got me thinking about how good I am at “working” and how bad I am at free-range-nothingness. What I mean by that is – it’s not the art of actually doing absolutely nothing (which I would argue is also a good skill/practice), but more specifically, the sport of non-productivity while still actively living life. If most of us look at our days, and measure them by the hour, we are mostly under an illusion that we’re being productive. It’s applauded in our culture. We feel betterdoing than just being, even when we don’t’ have much to show for it. Especially Americans. But what if we knew that doing the opposite might be lighting some creative flame? I think I’ll take the bet.

So this week, as a celebration of the last week of summer, I’m going to practice procrastinating – actively. I won’t be on vacation, but I’m going to be at my desk less, schedule fewer calls, and try to produce less – than usual. I have some client obligations, which I will deliver. But…I am going to do everything I can to avoid being goal-oriented or look for the results of my labors. Good luck to me! And good luck to you if you want to join me.

The real discipline for busy, productive people is to not be afraid of loosening the reigns. Because, hey, you never know – if the science is actually right on this – a great novel / podcast / piece of music / work of art / essay / idea … may come of it!

Uh oh. That sounded like a thinly veiled goal.

Revel in the last days of August with some slow time, if you can. And here’s to disciplined procrastination. #youcandoit.

Big Life

Age

August 23, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

If you’ve ever had the thought, “can I really do this for 30 more years?” Consider that Peggy Freydberg started writing poetry in her 90’s. She was published after someone heard her at a reading when she was 106.

In the 50’s, a person’s career was established (and halfway over) at 40 years old. Now, many of us have had 5 careers/endeavors/identities by the time we read this blog. It’s also natural to wonder if you can do whatever you do – for ten more years, twenty more years – and do you want to / need to – and if not – then what? The “then what” used to concern me – but I find myself sort of excited about it lately.

The defining question I asked myself when I read Peggy’s book was, can I do, or do I want to do, what I do… forever? Or, could I still do my work, in a different way, and venture into something totally new?

Some questions…and by the way, none of these are more virtuous than any others:

Do you consider your work a phase of your life that will one day stop? (Hello retirement and cruises! Safari’s! Matching tracksuits! Canasta!)

Do you consider your work just one expression of a thing that you do that could be applied to other mediums, industries, circumstances or people? (Graphic designer to painter, copywriter to novelist, entrepreneur to volunteer board member.)

Do you consider your work a single chapter in your life that when finished, will open the door to a new one? (Sell a company, start a radically different one. Close a company, read all the books you didn’t have time for and become a professional volunteer.)

Aging feels like another opportunity to explore something – to impact people – to express yourself. And maybe you’re someone who wants to keep doing what you’ve been doing as long as you possibly can. But let’s think about it, not just dread it or react to it. Let’s financially plan for it, set ourselves up to make those years interesting and intentional, so you can become a medical assistant to a midwife in rural Africa if that’s what you’ve wanted to do your whole life.

I love thinking about Peggy, in her cottage in Martha’s Vineyard, culling thoughts from her day to be captured on paper.

Here’s to our own versions of 65, 75…105. And, at least for me, continuing to write while learning Canasta – with winters spent in South America doing I – don’t – know –what, but humanitarian work in some non-advertising-oriented way, where no one has heard of the word “brand” – and no one cares.

And, here’s to left turns – anytime you want to take one.

Small Business

Inspired Conversations

August 16, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

My Inspired Conversation is live. If you have 30 minutes and want to hear more about my process, what I think about “faking it ‘till you make it” and my (unresolved) book project. Listen Here

Morning team.

I’m gonna skip the blog today. In its place is an interview I did recently for theInspired Conversations podcast with Amy Schuber. Here’s what I’ll say about it:

When a friend interviews you, you invariably share things that are more truthful than you would otherwise. That happened.

When a podcast is called “Inspired Conversations,” you hope you can…ahem, inspire. I made it my goal to impact one person listening. By aiming low, I’m hoping I landed somewhere higher (hopefully you can tell me either way.)

I usually ask the questions, not answer them. But I found that answering them is actually a way to dive deeper into what you really think about things. Kind of therapeutic, and evidence that you can still surprise and entertain yourself occasionally (phew.)

Thank you, Amy Schuber, for having me on the show!

Small Business

The Ten Minutes.

August 9, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Two ads for Women’s Wear Daily. One took me under an hour to conceive and write. The other took three rounds of creative over the course of two days. I billed the same for both.

This may sound familiar: “Can you help me with XYZ? It will just take a few minutes.”

The hilarious thing about anything “just taking a few minutes,” is that it only takes you a few minutes to review the creative, rewrite the copy, fix the logo, talk someone off a cliff, post the social, adjust the picture, modify the brief, call the vendor, dissect the invoice, take the call, design the invite…because you’ve spent years getting really familiar and good at that thing – and as a result, it only takes a few minutes. It’s actually WHY it just takes a few minutes!

Sometimes it can feel like people minimize this – they incorrectly calculate that because it’s 10 minutes of your time, it must cost ten minutes of their money or ten points of their appreciation.

This lesson was made really clear to me with a client in New York City, an older gentleman who’s pearls of wisdom come from stories of days gone by. I lamented sending him a sizable invoice for an ad concept (above) that had only taken me a few minutes to create, because similar types of work had taken me two days for the same price. This disparity bothered me – and I was transparent about it.

“How can I charge you the same fee for work that took less than half the time?”

He shared of a friend who had gotten himself into serious tax trouble, to such a degree that his lawyer called him and told him not to come back to the office, or go home, because the authorities were at his door. The lawyer reassured him that he would initiate resolving the issue immediately. The troubled client wondered how long he would have to flee the city in order for his lawyer to fix things with the government. Four hours later, the lawyer called and said, “I fixed it and you can go home now.” The client was thrilled at his efficiency and smarts, until he got the bill on Monday. He called the lawyer in disbelief at how four hours work could possibly cost this many thousands of dollars. The lawyer said, “Sir, you don’t pay me to read the book. You pay me to know which page to find the answer.”

This is why charging by the hour is problematic for certain types of work. Whether it took you 8 minutes or three days, some “services” need a flat fee. Others are time-intensive, no matter what, and your experience has to be calculated according to the efficiencies, expertise and insight you bring to the hours it really takes.

Know the difference on this for yourself. When I create ads, they have to be short, disarming messages that run in national or international publications, like the New York Times. That’s a big weight to carry, but I charge for that. Sometimes it comes easily. Sometimes it doesn’t. But it always costs the same.

Small Business

Format

August 2, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

On a ridiculously beautiful boat with ridiculously beautiful people. But that’s not what this blog is usually about, if that’s okay.

The other day a small business owner (a man), noted how much my blog seems to “feel his pain.” I liked the compliment but then had to ask – “do you think it’s too dark? Do I share too much about the struggle versus the joy?” We had a good conversation about how there are plenty of inspirational slogans and memes and hero-driven, blue-sky press profiles of successful entrepreneurs, to say nothing of the Facebook phenomenon of the-fabulous-life-you’re-not-living…but that too few people talk about the swamp, the hairy underbelly, of this entrepreneurial life.

I think I do talk about the challenge more than the pleasure because I’ve established a “space” where I unpack conventional wisdom. That is my format. You have one too – whether it’s in writing or in a product that solves problems or a regular event or even your social media feed. People have come to expect a certain contribution from you. Continuing to support and inform that “format” builds your voice in that space.

There are platforms where it’s always a mom championing the underdog, or a cook working without sugars, or an entrepreneur on the balcony of her five star hotel (showing you what success looks like…ahem.) The topics change, but the conversation should always share a common DNA.

If I wrote about yacht excursions and shopping trips to Paris, maybe you’d still read –but it would be for a different reason. My format relies on asking questions, pushing back on accepted wisdom – and – not always having answers.

Your format is your formula. What do you do / say / make / reflect – that no one else does in the same way? Figure it out. Then keep doing it.