I truly believe that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Can you tackle 10 different things at once ? Yes.
Should you? As your piece says, No.
This is hard for creative minds to understand sometimes because there is a tendency to have overconfidence bias in our ability to want to be and do everything, all at once. Let’s Focus and choose a lane. Thanks Anna!
Another great read, Anna! My portfolio has gone through many iterations and variations over the years, but one of the things I still struggle with is knowing when to move on if something isn’t working.
How do you know if a project is worth holding on to, or when to let it go to work on something else?
This is SUCH a good question and is deserving of its own post. I've wrestled with many times in the past. When something isn't quite firing properly, whether it's a project, business or income stream, it's so hard to discern whether it's not firing properly because you're no the wrong path and need to quit and move on, or whether it's not firing properly because you're truly on the wrong path.
When something is really difficult and I'm not making progress no matter how many ways I try to tackle it, I ask myself "is this the right kind of hard, or the wrong kind of hard?". Ultimately, I'm a big believer that quitting is a strength not a weakness, and that the best way of knowing what to do is to listen to your gut.
100% agree with this! I experienced this as well within my freelancing business. At first I was trying to pitch myself as a generalist online marketer who can help with social media, blogging, email marketing, the works! And it was very hard for me to sell myself and for potential clients to understand my value. As soon as I narrowed down to content strategy and writing for blogs everything fell into place and once that was running smoothly, I expanded my services (still writing), but for more channels like landing pages, email marketing, white papers/guides, etc. Now I'm exploring more "lanes", like Substack as another income stream. Sort of accidentally. I was just very curious about how things work here, especially as a writer, but many people seem very interested in my freelance writing career, so I'm leaning into that! Thanks for another great post, Anna!
I think it’s once the other parts are running smoothly (and making money) and I have all the right processes in place. When I’m no longer scrambling to “figure it out”. Wish I could give a more precise answer, but I think you just feel when the time is right.
Yeah, that’s what I understood from it! 💛 It’s like when you start a new job and at first you feel like WTF, how am I going to learn/do all this. Then over time it gets easier and you become an expert. 😉
You're welcome! I'm trying to do little voice memos at the end of each article, sharing how I apply the lesson to my business and life. Good to hear it's valuable :)
Really like this. You "get" the creative mind... and the succeptibility to "squirrel" off on new exciting directions. You offer actionable advice. Looking forward to hearing more ;)
Thank you, you captured this perfectly - a thoughtful meditation and extremely practical guide for overcoming something that is perpetually an issue for me (and apparently many others). I'll be re-reading it, probably weekly, for the foreseeable future.
Loved this read! So timely for where I’m at right now, which is struggling to begin and commit to one thing! Saving this as a guide for future reference🙌
I’m working on creating some consulting/service offerings, but am struggling with the details of exactly what I want them to look like; ie how specific to make each offer, how many offers to have in the first place, what audience I want to work with vs. who I can realistically serve right now…getting stuck in the overthinking/research mode! Very typical for me🤪
This challenge has been coming up a lot in the portfolio career research that I’m currently doing, so you can expect a post on it soon!
So many people get caught up trying to define who they are and what they can offer, but most of the time clarity about your offer comes from getting out there, landing a few clients, doing varied work and getting a feel for what you enjoy and what potential clients need.
Data (ie. having lots of sales conversations and landing varied types of projects or engagements) needs to inform your offer strategy, rather than having a perfectly buttoned up offer before you go out and speak to market.
So much insight in this article. That's the trick of being a generalist, there are so many things you feel like you can do. And as someone who is multi-passionate and has a love of learning and exploring new ideas. I think it's also important to note that some people do juggle all the things well. Although I do completely understand the context of 'focus' that you have given in this article. Now time for me to consider "do I give up the job applications / job search process" and focus on going all in on my own portfolio career, and have that as my focus.
Thank you ❤️ I do agree that’s it’s possible to juggle a lot of different things at once, but I think that in the beginning and before you’ve found product-market fit or some traction/momentum with your idea, it’s much harder to do it effectively. Down the road (pun intended) once things are humming, it becomes a lot easier.
I gotta let a big, BIG thank you for sharing! Thank you for sharing the bridge between 'having so many interests on so many topics' and 'being consistent, keeping my focus on one thing'. It still feels so far away for me, but at least I know the steps I have to apply to navigate it. Appreciate it a lot.
Also I like this format of 'essay, put a voice over version of it, and add another voice note for further sharing and elaboration' you're doing. Much more personal touch to the 'stacks.
You’re so welcome! I’m happy it’s helpful. In reality, it always looks messier than this, but I find that doing my best to stick to one thing for a 3 month sprint gets far better results, than just totally winging it.
And I’m happy you enjoy the voice memos! I want to offer more depth and some personality within each post and I feel like the audio allows for just that 😊
This article highlights a crucial point about success: it's a marathon, not a sprint. Your Portfolio Career Layering Method is a refreshing take on achieving big goals. It emphasizes sustainable growth over quick wins, which is a message we all need to hear in today's fast-paced world.
I’m heavily influenced by James Clear, who talks about focusing on daily habits and systems rather than big milestones and goals. This framing has worked wonders for me.
I truly believe that just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
Can you tackle 10 different things at once ? Yes.
Should you? As your piece says, No.
This is hard for creative minds to understand sometimes because there is a tendency to have overconfidence bias in our ability to want to be and do everything, all at once. Let’s Focus and choose a lane. Thanks Anna!
It's the whole capacity vs. capability thing! Just because you're capable of doing something, doesn't mean you have capacity to.
Easy to understand, very hard to implement.
Another great read, Anna! My portfolio has gone through many iterations and variations over the years, but one of the things I still struggle with is knowing when to move on if something isn’t working.
How do you know if a project is worth holding on to, or when to let it go to work on something else?
This is SUCH a good question and is deserving of its own post. I've wrestled with many times in the past. When something isn't quite firing properly, whether it's a project, business or income stream, it's so hard to discern whether it's not firing properly because you're no the wrong path and need to quit and move on, or whether it's not firing properly because you're truly on the wrong path.
When something is really difficult and I'm not making progress no matter how many ways I try to tackle it, I ask myself "is this the right kind of hard, or the wrong kind of hard?". Ultimately, I'm a big believer that quitting is a strength not a weakness, and that the best way of knowing what to do is to listen to your gut.
Would love to read (and listen) to that post 👀 😊
It's coming! ❤️🔥
This was awesome and I'm saving it, thank you!
You’re welcome ☺️
100% agree with this! I experienced this as well within my freelancing business. At first I was trying to pitch myself as a generalist online marketer who can help with social media, blogging, email marketing, the works! And it was very hard for me to sell myself and for potential clients to understand my value. As soon as I narrowed down to content strategy and writing for blogs everything fell into place and once that was running smoothly, I expanded my services (still writing), but for more channels like landing pages, email marketing, white papers/guides, etc. Now I'm exploring more "lanes", like Substack as another income stream. Sort of accidentally. I was just very curious about how things work here, especially as a writer, but many people seem very interested in my freelance writing career, so I'm leaning into that! Thanks for another great post, Anna!
At what point do you feel confident to layer on the next one? Really curious about how others assess this.
I think it’s once the other parts are running smoothly (and making money) and I have all the right processes in place. When I’m no longer scrambling to “figure it out”. Wish I could give a more precise answer, but I think you just feel when the time is right.
I totally agree with you. It’s a feeling. I think that’s what I meant when I wrote “when the friction starts to ease” 🥰
Yeah, that’s what I understood from it! 💛 It’s like when you start a new job and at first you feel like WTF, how am I going to learn/do all this. Then over time it gets easier and you become an expert. 😉
What a helpful dissection. 90-days of sprinting in one lane here I come.
Let me know how you go!! I'm so curious to hear if this same strategy works for others 😊
So true
I am.soooo guilty for trying to do everything at once and then getting burnt out from trying. Great reminder to build one at a time. 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Same. Guilty as charged!
Thank you for sharing your approach to how you applied the layering method. It was really helpful to hear your example!
You're welcome! I'm trying to do little voice memos at the end of each article, sharing how I apply the lesson to my business and life. Good to hear it's valuable :)
Well said. Notice the squirrels. Remember what trees they hang out in. But only chase one at a time.
🐿️
Really like this. You "get" the creative mind... and the succeptibility to "squirrel" off on new exciting directions. You offer actionable advice. Looking forward to hearing more ;)
I have moments of squirrelling at least once per day 😂
Thank you, you captured this perfectly - a thoughtful meditation and extremely practical guide for overcoming something that is perpetually an issue for me (and apparently many others). I'll be re-reading it, probably weekly, for the foreseeable future.
I wrote this for myself too! It’s something I’m constantly needing to remind myself off as shiny objects zoom into my orbit (and then back out again).
What torments you is not the thing itself, but your perception of it.
——Meditations(written by Marcus Aurelius)
Loved this read! So timely for where I’m at right now, which is struggling to begin and commit to one thing! Saving this as a guide for future reference🙌
The struggle is real isn't it!! What are the things you're thinking about starting or already working on?
I’m working on creating some consulting/service offerings, but am struggling with the details of exactly what I want them to look like; ie how specific to make each offer, how many offers to have in the first place, what audience I want to work with vs. who I can realistically serve right now…getting stuck in the overthinking/research mode! Very typical for me🤪
This challenge has been coming up a lot in the portfolio career research that I’m currently doing, so you can expect a post on it soon!
So many people get caught up trying to define who they are and what they can offer, but most of the time clarity about your offer comes from getting out there, landing a few clients, doing varied work and getting a feel for what you enjoy and what potential clients need.
Data (ie. having lots of sales conversations and landing varied types of projects or engagements) needs to inform your offer strategy, rather than having a perfectly buttoned up offer before you go out and speak to market.
So much insight in this article. That's the trick of being a generalist, there are so many things you feel like you can do. And as someone who is multi-passionate and has a love of learning and exploring new ideas. I think it's also important to note that some people do juggle all the things well. Although I do completely understand the context of 'focus' that you have given in this article. Now time for me to consider "do I give up the job applications / job search process" and focus on going all in on my own portfolio career, and have that as my focus.
Thank you ❤️ I do agree that’s it’s possible to juggle a lot of different things at once, but I think that in the beginning and before you’ve found product-market fit or some traction/momentum with your idea, it’s much harder to do it effectively. Down the road (pun intended) once things are humming, it becomes a lot easier.
I gotta let a big, BIG thank you for sharing! Thank you for sharing the bridge between 'having so many interests on so many topics' and 'being consistent, keeping my focus on one thing'. It still feels so far away for me, but at least I know the steps I have to apply to navigate it. Appreciate it a lot.
Also I like this format of 'essay, put a voice over version of it, and add another voice note for further sharing and elaboration' you're doing. Much more personal touch to the 'stacks.
You’re so welcome! I’m happy it’s helpful. In reality, it always looks messier than this, but I find that doing my best to stick to one thing for a 3 month sprint gets far better results, than just totally winging it.
And I’m happy you enjoy the voice memos! I want to offer more depth and some personality within each post and I feel like the audio allows for just that 😊
This article highlights a crucial point about success: it's a marathon, not a sprint. Your Portfolio Career Layering Method is a refreshing take on achieving big goals. It emphasizes sustainable growth over quick wins, which is a message we all need to hear in today's fast-paced world.
I’m heavily influenced by James Clear, who talks about focusing on daily habits and systems rather than big milestones and goals. This framing has worked wonders for me.