A double whammy (accidentally)
days 2 and 3 of the august challenge 🎨
Good morning and happy grey Saturday, perhaps a relief for some who find the blazing sun a bit much, and a slight disappointment for the rest of us who waited all week to properly enjoy it! I heard rumours it’s coming back. I’ll cling to those.
Right, first things first, the below was in my drafts from yesterday (haven’t quite mastered scheduling on Substack it would seem…) and then scroll a bit further and you’ll find today’s task too!! Both make lovely chilled weekend tasks I reckon. Enjoy!
Day 2/31
I see creatives making the same mistakes on social media over and over again. Then they complain that Instagram is driving them crazy. Let's make a few tiny changes and ease up some of that tension!
It's Day 2 of the August Challenge, 31 days of tips, tasks, and resources to help creatives level up.
First up: you don't NEED to use social media (and I strongly advocate for strict boundaries and regular time away from the digital sphere) but let's be real, it's 2024, and when used well with healthy, happy boundaries it can be an encouraging, inspiring space filled with opportunity.
Today's task is to reset a few things and spring clean your social media. On day 13 I want to share with you some simple strategies for productive, and purposeful social media use but for now let's get our ducks in a row by checking just 3 things.
Social media needs to be a place that doesn't make you want to stick forks in your eyes or robs you of your joy. Let's make it the right kind of space. Scroll through your feed and unfollow or mute anyone who is not inspiring you, educating you, bringing you joy, or making your feed a better place, and then diversify your feed. Follow people doing different things and from different backgrounds. Cut down who you follow - they won't mind, or even notice, I promise - choose quality over quantity.
Your social media is your digital portfolio with a sprinkle of personality. Scroll through your feeds and archive anything that just doesn’t feel right. While you absolutely want to show your journey and your past projects - if you don’t love it, get rid of it. Be selective. You can always unarchive it later.
Check the basics: Update your bio. Refresh that thing. I need to know three things from your bio, who you are, what you do, where I can get more of you. Are the correct links and contact details there? Are you pointing people in he direction you want them to go? Have you got the right pinned posts or highlights.
Check these things every few months to keep it up to date.
Follow people wisely, present yourself thoughtfully, and be super clear about who you are and where you want people to go and know!
See you tomorrow to chat about shoeboxes, Pinterest, and that ghastly storage is full notification. Ok bye!
ps.
wrote a great piece about the algorithm recently, have a little peak here
Ok and now for TODAY!
Day 3/31
Where do you save your inspiration? Pinterest? Camera Roll? Notebooks?
It's time to get organised. And specifically organised with our inspiration.
It's Day 3 of the August Challenge, 31 days of tips, tasks, and resources to help creatives level up. And right now we are in reset mode. It is so fun and important to get interested, excited and inspired regularly... but it’s not so helpful when that inspiration gets buried or lost in your phone, notebook, or studio. And even WORSE when that storage is full notification comes up which jars me so much I can't explain.
Today’s task: I want you to take time to sift through the space where you most often store or save inspiration and set up a simple system that works for YOU. 4 examples of how you might do this:
Organise your camera roll and notes app into folders, and regularly review and delete the rubbish. Or transfer them onto your computer and file them there.
Create digital mood boards using platforms like Pinterest, Notion, or Canva - collect images, quotes, articles, and any visual or textual content that inspires. Organise these into different boards based on themes, projects, or moods.
If you keep a physical journal or notebook where you jot down your inspirations, ideas, sketches, and thoughts, try the following:
The first thing I do when I get a new notebook is sellotape an envelope into the back cover.
Use different sections or dividers to categorise your entries.
Use post it notes to move information around.
Number the pages and create a contents on the inside cover with corresponding titles (this is MAJOR and something I recently started doing. It’s changed my life not to be dramatic).
Use shoeboxes, caddies, or wallets to organise offcuts, materials, magazine pages, press releases etc.
The aim is to make it more appealing to search for, save, and come back to inspiration. Stick on a good album, a podcast, or your favourite film and get sifting and sorting! Use your new or tweaked systems for a few months and then review how it's working for you. You might have to work little to keep it up - but focus making your process of collecting and creating slicker and quicker!
See you tomorrow to chat about MONEY MONEY MONEY. Ok bye!
Thanks for the kind mention!