#071 I Think I've Been Here Before
Common Discourse is a project designed to help others (and ourselves) think through creativity, focus, and intentional work—from Alex Tan & Alice Otieno.
Every Tuesday we share words from a journal, a few ideas, a quote from somebody else, and links worth sharing. On Fridays we invite a guest to share images from their camera roll and a sound that resonates with them.
It feels like I’m breathing through a straw as we get closer to end of year. We’ll unpack that a bit more as soon as I have a second to write words that aren’t being delivered to somebody in an email or slack message.
If you didn’t look at Sights and Sounds from Oliver last Friday, please do. I loved his contribution.
We’re recycling some ideas that we had written in the past on today’s weekly briefing because they’re still good and this project was a fraction of the size when they were first created. If you’ve been around for a while, here’s a friendly reminder of ideas we featured over two years ago. If you’re new, welcome.
— Alex
A few ideas
I. ON RATES
Charging hourly for creative work is a good starting point, but keeps you small in the long run.
A task that took you 3 hours when you first started might take you 30 minutes now.
Alternatively, you may find it taking more time than you originally quoted the client to find the right solve, leaving you in a place that chooses between doing more work without proper compensation or delivering a final product that might not have reached its full potential.
Pay yourself for all the time it's taken you to get to this point. You haven't been working for 8 hours or a couple days. You've been working since the day you started.
II. KEYS TO LONGEVITY
Don’t pressure yourself into making noise on the internet because you’re afraid of being forgotten.
Take your time & make something that will last longer than you will even if that means infrequent output Trends will get you there now, a unique and original feeling will last forever.
III. SACRIFICE
Every decision we make is less so a choice to do that very thing and more so a choice to not do everything else.
At some point we might have to give up stuff that isn't even necessarily even bad for us so that we can choose to spend time on things that push the needle forward for our careers, relationships, and self.
What we make time for is ultimately what matters.
A quote from somebody else
"After a certain point, your goal is no longer to build a writing habit.
Your goal becomes falling so in love with interesting ideas that you can’t not write about them.
Curiosity breeds compulsion, and that's far more important than forced consistency when trying to make work that's fresh and inspired."
— Julian Shapiro
Links worth sharing
🍀 Somewhere good is a voice-note based app designed for intimate conversations, that are driven by the community. This article by Insider details how people are looking to spaces such as Somewhere Good, as Web 2.0 platforms like Twitter become more uncertain.
🎡 How Drake’s $100 Million Bet Saved the Long-Lost Art Carnival Luna Luna via New York Times.
☁️ Soft Tech is a microsite by Helen Jaramillo that explores what the future of tech could look like if it was calmer, more intentional and created to be consumed at a slower pace.
🎤 Becoming Prince is an interactive site that maps out Prince’s story, legacy and the influences that shaped him to become a world renowned musician.
Thanks for consuming!
ABOUT
ℹ️ Read more about Common Discourse here.
📬 If you like this newsletter, please consider sharing with others who might enjoy it as well.
🗂 Here is every Common Discourse weekly briefing to date.
COMMUNITY
🐤 We have a Twitter feed where we populate things that resonate.
⭐ We use Are.na as a tool to archive specific aspects of this project.
🗣️ Use the comment feature at the bottom of this article or reply via email to start a conversation.
💬 Download the Substack App and use Chat to interact with us and other subscribers to Common Discourse on a more frequent and casual basis.