Writing, Listening, Thinking, Fermenting: A Freelancer’s Personal Development from Home
Finally going to teach myself to be a better editor, with this DIY course bundle
While taking a not-entirely-planned hiatus from 90% of my former business activities, I am sure I have not been alone in my desire to develop some new skills during this pandemic.
No, I have not learned Japanese, or meditated every day, or gotten “abs” or even “ab” but I have actually enjoyed exploring some of my strengths and - gasp - also my weaknesses while spending more time at home. As we will probably want to hunker down more this winter (at least in the US, if not necessarily in some countries where there is better *ahem* leadership) I wanted to share them with you so that when we emerge in Spring 2021 we can shake it off and put our absolute best, most cultivated, steadiest feet forward.
Kitchen Projects: I always cook a lot, but now I can luxuriate in lengthier food experiments and recipes that take more than two steps. Of course you can find inspiration anywhere, but I found the most fun for me has been to mask up and venture to a regional specialty grocery (Asian / Latin / Middle Eastern are in most towns and are usually independently run, family owned, and excellent) and pick out a couple ingredients that catch my eye, then bring them home to research them and see what I can do with them. This has resulted in a surprising amount of Japanese-Swedish fusion food that is both beautiful, light, and nutritionally 🔥. Also, if you have not tried fermenting or pickling yet, I am not angry, I’m just disappointed, and I need you to take the leap now! Saving a weird old cabbage head and turning it into spicy sauerkraut could be a blog of its own, but for your sake I will move on.
Thought Excavations: I read somewhere once that watching TV was like spraying paint over your third eye. What is a third eye, I am not 100% sure, but I do know that overexposing myself to streaming media of all kinds at the beginning of the pandemic led me to vastly reassess the time and energy I put into binging shows, scrolling, and opening endless tabs of think pieces and YouTube videos. (I still do all of these things by the way, I just try to do them less) Meditation and hypnosis have been the most helpful tools to balance my brain and stay in tune with my deeper thoughts and intuition. While meditating, the most amazing ideas come to me! And if my brain is too hectic to meditate, I listen to a guided hypnosis download (this site has amazing ones for literally every struggle in the book) because the soothing voice of the narrator creates a current you can float along, without having to “swim” from yourself.
Listening + Learning: While streaming less video, I am streaming more audio. I think I can finally say I have gotten “into” podcasts and audiobooks. Only took me like 20 years! As I try to expand my horizons and understand the world better (hello anti-racist work and finally shedding a couple layers of naïveté) I have found that audio is actually a format that allows me to immerse in new information without getting as distracted as when I read. A couple recommendations I’ve just listened to as we tumble toward the election are: “Scene on Radio” Season 4, Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper, and “Democracy Now,” daily.
Writing: If you know me at all, you know I am a professional writer. But in normal times, while I constantly churn out poetry and prose for online and IRL consumption, I rarely if ever make time to try new formats, smooth out weak spots in my skill set, or improve my talent. Well, those times are over and now more than ever, I know that I need to take take and energy in growing my greatest asset: I’m on a journey to find out what I am capable of. In addition to teaching a weekly therapeutic poetry class - you’re welcome to join in, it’s free! - I am also about to embark on an independent study with a brilliant suite of self-guided courses and tools all about freelance writing with The Write Life. I started writing without much “training” or any expert mentor; It feels like I’ve been waiting a decade to finally dive into my techniques and their applications. Top of my list in this 11 part bundle are Master Self Editing (always a huge weakness for me) and the Social Media Starter Kit (I’ve been doing my own social for years but it feels stale and I need to refresh, learn what’s new, and fall back in love with the form). If you want to try out the bundle with me, use this link to sign up because Freelancing Females will get some support from your purchase! And email me directly (partner@freelancingfemales.com) if you want to share what we learn together in an FF-only writer’s zoom happy hour together ;)
How are you cultivating yourself these days? Let me know if you use any of these practices too, and have recommendations for us.
Be well, y’all. Let’s get writing.
xX
LAMARKS, editor and partnerships, Freelancing Females