Q+A: How do you prioritize projects?
Plus: I like my little life, just the way it is
My head has not been in the best place. I’ve been scrolling and comparing too much. I feel overwhelmed by all the things I want to do in this world—write a book, make an impact, achieve happiness, love with my whole heart.
So many open tabs. So many unwritten words. Not enough hydrating.
You would think that consuming consuming consuming results in generating generating generating. I should be overflowing with ideas. I should I should I should. I haven’t I haven’t I haven’t. I’m not I’m not I’m not.
I let these toxic thoughts throw a party in my head. A total rager. They (the toxic thoughts) leave trash and beer cans and cold pizza mashed into the carpet, and they break my finest possessions. They don’t care about how their frivolity impacts me. Then, without notice, these thoughts wake up and rush out the door with a hangover, leaving me to clean up their mess. They come and go as they please, without an invitation. They are regular squatters in my mind.
I haven’t had the energy lately to shut them up or kick them out. I’m so tired of telling them not to throw parties when all I want is a quiet mind. But this past week, the toxic thoughts left the building. Creativity and solace returned.
Last week on a weeknight, Steve and I saw Everything Everywhere All At Once for the first time. The theater had plump velvet couches instead of traditional seats. I let them hold me and embrace me. After a rough day, I didn’t think I had the energy to untangle all the timelines and themes of the film, chaotic and beautiful and confusing. I almost had a panic attack there in that dark room.
But halfway through, the messages of the movie started to sink in. What resonated most that night is that life doesn’t have to be big and grand to be beautiful. It can be small and simple and still full of beauty and connection. Our time on this earth is short, and because everything is possible, everything matters.
“When I choose to see the good side of things, I'm not being naive. It is strategic and necessary,” the beloved Ke Huy Quan’s character says. “It's how I learned to survive through everything.”
And this one made me cry: “You are not unlovable. There is always something to love. Even in a stupid, stupid universe where we have hot dogs for fingers, we get very good with our feet.”
My recommendation if you’re feeling down: Turn to art.
With love,
Q: How do you decide which project/s to focus on? And how are you at 'finishing' projects?
A: This is a biggie,
! Thank you for asking! It was really helpful to reflect on my decision process and organization methods. I'm going to answer in two parts, since I have projects for work and projects for play.Work projects: To set the stage, I’m a freelance journalist specializing mostly in outdoor recreation and its intersecting topics. I pitch and write my own pieces, but I also copy edit and fact check other people’s stories for various publications. This year so far, I’m splitting my time about 50/50 between writing and editing, which makes financial sense but the variety also stimulates my creativity and prevents burnout.
For my editing load, I choose to work with clients that align with my interests, specialties, and values (another post for another time). I also prioritize working with really good people. By good, I mean people who are professional, thoughtful, brilliant, and compassionate. I truly love and admire everyone I work with right now. Of course they also have to pay well so that I can live, but good people and good pay often go together. They aren’t as likely to exploit you.
When it comes to prioritizing my own writing projects, I consider a few different things. First, am I even interested in this topic? Do I really care? Or would I be chasing something out of obligation or desire for notoriety? Because I don’t want to get too deep into something before I realize I’m not really invested. That’s a lot of time and energy to waste when there are other stories on the back burner. Second, is this idea going to be timely if I sit on it for too long? Do I have a scoop or exclusive? Do I need to move it up in my queue because it’s a story that’s better told now rather than later? And third, maybe the most important, do I have the bandwidth for this right now? A lot of the time, ideas get pushed because of this last criteria. I only have so much time and emotional/mental capacity for so much.
I have a long list (right now the count is at 10) of solid story ideas that I really want to write. By no means do I have time to write them all this year, let alone spend time on crafting really compelling pitches that editors are sure to love. Some of those ideas might fall off the list because someone else gets to them first or because they become no longer timely. That’s just part of the game.
Other things I consider before saying yes or no to a project:
Is this a publication or editor I’ve been wanting to write for?
Will this piece fulfill something within me?
Is this the right home for my idea?
Will this project lead to future opportunities?
Once it’s all wrapped up, will I be proud of this work?
To answer the second question briefly, I always finish projects. I kinda have to. Sometimes I accept revisions begrudgingly, but I always know that my piece will turn out better than the first draft.
Play projects: Right now, my main creative hobby is sewing. I’m also working on a collection of personal essays, but my process is such a mess so I’m not even gonna go there. There’s definitely value in letting my creativity guide me. But sewing is expensive and time intensive, and I don’t want to make things I’m not going to wear. The first thing I reference when I get the sewing bug is my physical journal of project ideas based on patterns and style inspiration. I also have a style Pinterest board. The two come together in my “wardrobe wishlist,” which I keep in my phone’s Reminders app. These items are holes in my wardrobe that I’m hoping to fill with either handmade, secondhand, or new garments. Within that list, I separate things I can easily make (a black linen bias skirt) from things I can’t make or don’t want to make (loafers and a cable knit sweater).
I prioritize projects based on time and energy, motivation, and what’s in my fabric and pattern stash. I’d rather sew a pattern that I’ve already printed and that I already have fabric for than follow my lust for something new. It really boils down to: Am I going to wear this over and over again? Is this going to last?
As for completing projects, I’m usually really excited to wear what I’ve made so I’m eager to finish it up. Sometimes a project will take me a day, other times I spend a few weeks on a bigger piece. But it always gets done at some point.
I hope this is useful or at least encouraging and interesting! I’m constantly adjusting my processes, and this is just where I’m at right now in my business and personal practice. Please please please comment below if you found any of this insightful and if you have your own way of prioritizing projects. I’d love to hear from you 💙
Thank you so much for responding to my questions, Amelia! I really appreciate your thoughtful answers and I loved getting a little peep into your creative process. You seem very skilled at following your intuition.
It's really interesting to notice that you don't like the idea of starting something that isn't right or won't be a good use of time. I feel that massively! Which is why I'm struggling so much with my loooongest creative project, my novel. I am in the process of finishing it. But one of my big doubts is that it's taken *too long* and then when it's done I'll think it was a *waste of time*. But, I'm pretty sure those are the thoughts that are having a party in my brain like yours in your share at the beginning. Sigh. We creatives keep going though don't we!? Very chuffed to see you've entered a good creative period.
Hi Amelia! I’m a new subscriber and so happy this is my first read of your newsletter!
I think your process on deciding about a writing project-- “am I even interested in this topic? Do I really care? Or would I be chasing something out of obligation or desire for notoriety?” -- is so helpful. Taking projects without considering those things definitely have led me to burnout 🥴 I hope to be more deliberate in the future.
Thanks for sharing!