Giving Myself Permission
why you may be hearing less from me
Sometimes I start writing a newsletter thinking it will be about one topic and through drafting and revising I discover that the letter actually wants to weave together multiple strands to produce something richer and more complex. When that happens, as it did with my recent newsletter about making pickles that blossomed into a reflection on practice and pleasure, I find myself having the most fun with my writing. When I read that pickle newsletter out loud to record the voiceover, I caught myself smiling and noticed how proud I felt. Something that made that letter special was the spaciousness I gave myself to write it over the span of multiple weeks.
Today’s letter started out as an update—I’m going to send a few less newsletters for the time being—but the more I drafted it, the more I noticed it was actually about giving myself permission not to fit nicely into one standard-issued box, tie that box up with a bow, and then pass it around so everyone can get a turn stamping it with approval.
Inspired by other creators I admire, like Justice McNeil Sumser and Brooke McAlary and Cody Cook-Parrott, I’m craving a little space from the online content universe. A vision popped into my mind last month of living in the woods and visiting the general store to share updates on the community cork board, and it’s been humming inside me since then. While I may not be able to retreat to a woodsy home at present, my desire for spaciousness and slowness is something I can actively address when it comes to my work on this newsletter.
There are three key motivators for my desire for spaciousness right now: newsletter fatigue as a reader, a busy work schedule, and an interest in quality over quantity.
Newsletter Fatigue
When I first started using Substack, I savored reading newsletters with a cup of coffee, curled in bed in the morning. My daily routine has shifted since then with the addition of a 2-year old chihuahua who is ready to run circles around our living room by 7:30am, and I’ve subscribed to way more newsletters than I actually have time or energy to read. I felt a bit of guilt when I considered sending fewer newsletters, but I know that the folks who like to read my writing will read it anyways, even if it doesn’t show up every Wednesday morning.
When I first started using Substack, I migrated my entire mailing list over to this platform. On reflection, I wish I had kept my mailing list and Substack list separate in order to hone my focus in both places with intention. In other words, I’d like to use Substack to share longer-form writing and interviews and use a separate mailing list to share updates about my business, offerings, and free resources. If you’d like to sign up for my new mailing list and receive semi-regular updates and resources, you can do so here or below.
Busier with Business
I’ve had some ups and downs with work over the last year. I was laid off from a consulting gig when the college I worked for was purchased by another college and my work with student learning outcomes and faculty professional development was made redundant. After some time and a lot of marketing, I’m happy to report that things are currently more up than down. My work with coaching clients and workshop clients is exciting, I’m thrilled about the projects everyone is working on, and the reality is that I simply have less time in my days for writing right now.
Quality over Quantity
I’ve always been impressed by folks who can sit down and write (and edit!) an amazing newsletter in a few hours. I’ve been publishing weekly content on and off for six years, so I’ve written enough posts to know that my own best writing happens when I can dedicate multiple sessions to it, ideally over the span of multiple weeks. When I wrote weekly blog posts for The Tending Year in 2018 and 2019, it was normal to spend 10+ hours a week researching, drafting, and revising a single piece. While I may not have an extra dozen hours a week to write a single newsletter right now, I trust that spaciousness will enable me to craft valuable, beautiful writing in a way that feels natural to me in this season of my life.
What Will this Spaciousness Look Like?
Something I’ve discovered in my years of research projects and writing experiments is that making a big announcement to produce an outcome isn’t always the best move for me. My go-to approach as a productivity scholar has been to publicly initiate a project to get folks hyped with me, to set up accountability, and to build momentum… but making that commitment means it feels crappy if I change my mind or decide to pivot.
I want to flex my muscle of leaving things open with my current pursuit of spaciousness: I’ll experiment in October with shifting from weekly Substack newsletters to free newsletters on the first and third Wednesdays of the month (paid subscribers will still have access to a bonus post in October and to monthly co-working sessions). If I feel an urge to send along an additional letter via Substack, I’ll give myself permission to do it. If after a month I like the spaciousness, I’ll continue with two letters a month—but I give myself permission to shift when and if I like.
If you have a hankering to read more of my writing in the meantime, you can:
This is a big, exciting experiment for me! I’m curious if there’s something that you’d also like to give yourself permission to explore in October? Are you craving spaciousness, too? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic.
Take care and talk soon,
Dr. Kate
This is such an important reminder to shift things to work for us rather than us always working around the things - so much harder to do in practice (for me anyway!) so I always love when other people are leading the way and making those changes. I'm in the midst of a bit of a reevaluation / rejig of my Substack too - thinking more about what I really want to write, offer, and do here now that I've got into a bit of a habit of showing up and sharing. Thanks so much for writing about this, Kate, and giving us all the same permission that you're giving yourself! 🥰
Congratulations and thanks for modeling healthy boundaries. It is inspiring to see people moving towards their dreams and not burnout. 👏🏻