Well, the first half of 2024 is almost gone, I must get things done (oh look, it rhymed!). Change is scary, change after burnout is even more. I don’t have the same level of energy as before and I don’t recognize my creativity anymore. Burnout took my confidence away. To top that, I am starting over within a new niche, that is not really a niche, as I won’t position myself as a specialist. Well, at least I’ll try not to. Hard enough? Nah, let’s also make it in a new language! It all sounds pretty scary, right? But I’m glad that recently I’ve incarnated the spirit of a white heterosexual man who has stratospheric self-esteem. So here I am.
It’s been almost two years that I want to be here, writing to you about my favorite topic: my work! But outside the comfort of a well-defined niche - as I had before - it’s been very difficult for me.
“How will I sell my stories without creating content on 10 tips to do something, for a very specific group of people?”
“Which should my editorial lines be, when there’s so much I want to talk to you about?”
“Well, since I worked as an Architecture project manager, we know that any project begins with a basic plan. But this time it’s a new brand, with a new audience and new products, so I should make a business plan before any single word is written.”
Everything was much easier back in 2018 when I didn't know what was ahead. The more I know, the more I freeze to take the next step. I’ve become someone full of self-doubt. When I had no idea of what I was doing, I’d simply write the posts with a CTA that would bring clients in. It was simple.
One of the reasons that made me burn out was not the workload exclusively, but the fact I had started the business without any plan at all, and it grew out of control. It may seem freeing, but without a minimum strategy, time, money, and energy are spent on the wrong tasks, moving the business in a false direction.
I procrastinated this start as long as I could, ‘'til the day the white straight man inside my head said: “Get your ass on the chair and just write and post it like you used to! Don’t overthink it!”. I obeyed and opened a new blank page in Notion. Crickets. My previous operational system in Notion got so messy, that I decided to start from scratch. Besides, where would I write into? I needed a fresh system! So there I went to the Notion template library, and it was not enough. I headed to YouTube, a stronger drug, to check how other creators organize their businesses. And 3 more days went on this Notion quest. “You are doing it again! Using Notion as an excuse to procrastinate even more?! With or without a template, with or without a fancy complex system, the only important thing is to write! Start it immediately! Take the first step, even if it isn’t the ideal one”.
Do you recognize yourself in these “productive procrastination” moments? If so, what do you do to stop the cycle?
The beginning of my new Notion OS in 7 steps
In this exact - not ideal - order, here’s how I’m building it:
My first step was to create a basic content manager, a place to download all the ideas already on my mind. After all, writing is THE single most important task:
It was still empty when I realized I hadn’t written down each editorial line's names and types of content (I’ll bring this up in a future post). So I created a toggle list outside the content manager page and downloaded everything I had in mind. I returned to it several times, as content and ideas are living things.
I went back to the content manager page to write down the many ideas for future posts I already had and added the editorial line column to it.
Now that I had texts to develop and each text is a task within the Tactics project, it was time to create my Projects Manager and Tasks pages. I had to make sure I would add these tasks to a timeline of execution, so I created the Weekly planning page.
That brought me peace. I finally had an organized place to write, main themes, and topics to write about. I took the first step and asked myself: “OK, what do I need now? Which is the second one?” and so on. Once you start moving, you can’t stop. It was then time to go back to - what I consider - the ideal first step: the business plan.
I used this free Notion template to create my business plan page. It may seem like an outdated tool, but I find it very helpful whenever I am starting a new idea. It materializes the main topics that found a business. I can “see” things better this way. It took me only a couple of hours to fill all the business aspects boxes. I’d been thinking about Tactics for so long things were right there, fresh in my memory. I’ll bring this up in detail soon.
The main structure was complete. From then on I’ve been perfecting it according to my needs.
The links and curation page is where I can put every cool thing I see around the internet before sharing it with you.
The resources space is where I’ll put… well, resources for me to develop my work. A page with a draft of some workflows I will try throughout the next weeks and a page for my studies.
And here it is so far:
My operational system is shaping up, I have my Business plan page complete and am good to go. It doesn’t matter which is your first step, as long as you take it. Today.
Let’s get things going!
Bisous,
Tati
Adorando esse outro aspecto da sua essência, Tati! Parabéns pela enorme coragem de atravessar a dor e tirar algo proveitoso dela. Continuarei por aqui 🤍
I know this space will also help and connect with a lot of folks! Congrats for this next step! I'll keep following you, no matter what! <3