What Had Happened Was...
My Notion obsession is taking me to new heights..
I've talked in previous issues about how I organize my work as a freelancer, using tools such as Toggl, Google Drive and handwritten to do lists. Previously, I've used Google Sheets to track my pitches, assignments, press hits and branded work each year. This year, though, I decided to finally give Notion a try in both my personal and professional life.
We're nearing the end of Q1 and I can honestly say I'm obsessed with using Notion as a project management tool. It's been really great to have all of this information in one, neat app that I can easily utilize on my laptop and phone.
In my "Freelance Planner" inside Notion, I've created a main business page to track my income and annual project goals, then I've recreated my Google Sheets assignments tracker using a modified version of this template. I've added some new pages, too, including one to track my time off and one that keeps track of any client info I might need (payment terms, accounting contact, rate range, etc.)
I'm happy to go into more details about these templates, if it will be helpful to y'all. And, I'd LOVE to know how other self-employed people are using Notion for their businesses. I know there are a lot of assets to the app that I've yet to discover.
Ambition vs. anxiety...
Here's a terribly kept secret: Sometimes I get so caught up in all of my lists and goals that I get paralyzed by anxiety. Yes, you read that right. Lists help me to process and organize things and, therefore, minimize my anxiety...but they can also be a big source of stress if I don't remember that they are a meant to be used as a guide not the Bible.
Q1 has been an incredibly humbling reminder that sometimes your goals don't happen on your time. I'm finally ready to grapple with the reality that my year has been much different than I ever could've expected. If I step back and look at my freelance career over the past four and a half years, this has always been the case, though. My biggest accomplishments are typically beyond anything I could've conceived of to add to some list...
Recent Work:
Mariah The Scientist Is Using Her New EP ‘The Intermission’ to Bounce Back From Her Fears (Billboard)
What I'm Watching (& Listening) To:
"Spread Thin" - Mariah the Scientist
Ghetto Gods - Earthgang
Schitt's Creek (again)
A Few of My Favorite Reads:
South to America by Imani Perry
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo
American Journalism’s “Racial Reckoning” Still Has Lots of Reckoning to Do by Hanaa' Tameez for Neiman Lab
The Atlanta spa shootings exposed the flaws in news coverage of immigrant communities. Here’s how we can change it. by Sonam Vashi for Medium
A hustler’s prayer: Biggie Smalls’ final 24 hours encapsulated the man he wanted to become by Justin Tinsley for Andscape (formerly The Undefeated)
LaKeith Stanfield on Atlanta Season 3, Getting Sober, and Mastering Hollywood by Frazier Tharpe for GQ
One year later, 7 Asian American community members reflect on the Atlanta spa shootings by Christina Lee for Atlanta magazine