This is something that stuck with me, cycles of work (kind of reminds me of the 12 Week Year if you have heard about it). The idea is to do a focused burst, he (Cal Newport) suggests 6 weeks, then have a short cool-down period to reset before the next cycle. It makes work feel more sustainable than trying to run at 100% all the time. Do you plan in seasons or cycles like this, or just take it week by week?

I’ve shared a few posts this week from Slow Productivity (Cal Newport) and thought I’d close the loop with my own takeaways. The three concepts that stood out for me were: Pull-based workflow - Finish what’s in front of you, then pull the next thing. Work cycles - Work in seasons of focus, then rest before the next one. (This one I’ve tried something similar by doing the 12 Week Year, which I really like, but find it can be hard to stick to it but I would really like to get back to it). Company of One - That bigger is not always better and enough can actually be enough. All three together made me really think a lot about how I could build and run my own projects with less chasing and more intentional choices. Thanks for the conversations this week. I would love to hear if you had one takeaway from these ideas? Which one would fit you best right now?

I want to talk about something that’s been on my mind after wrapping up my first client project. (Here goes me being vulnerable!) When you step into something new, whether it’s freelancing, consulting, or launching your business, it’s way to easy to put enormous pressure on yourself. You may think something like: “If this doesn’t go perfectly, it means I’m not good enough.” (yes, we've heard this all before but...) That’s the trap I found myself in this week. My first project didn’t go the way I wanted. I delivered value in some areas, but in others, I fell short. And because it was my first (in this business), I carried the sting of shame a lot harder. It felt personal, like it was a verdict on me. But here’s what I’m learning: early projects are experiments, not verdicts. They’re calibration. This project has shown me what kind of clients I want to work with, what systems I need to build, and where my skills shine versus where I need support (i.e. the not-so-shiny skills). It doesn’t mean I failed. It means I tested. For you: it won’t mean YOU failed. It means YOU tested (& where have we heard that before… 🤪) In short, my lesson really is with every test, you refine. You learn. You get better at spotting red flags (I ignored several), setting boundaries (guilty as charged!), and knowing what you actually want your work to look like. So if your first project didn’t go how you imagined, that’s not proof that you can’t do this. It’s proof that you are doing it, because the only way to get better really is to get started. If you’ve been through a tough first project/iteration/test yourself, what’s one thing you learned that you still carry forward today?

The last idea was from another book by Paul Jarvis called “Company of One”. It’s about not chasing endless growth and instead, staying small, intentional and defining what’s enough for you. This really resonated with me. It takes the pressure off that bigger is always better, and puts the focus on building something sustainable. Do you relate to this mindset or do you prefer aiming for scaling your business to the biggest it can be?

So, the first concept from Slow Productivity is the idea of a pull-based workflow. Instead of chasing a never-ending to-do list, you only ‘pull' in the next task when you’ve got the space and energy for it. It feels calmer, more focused and less overwhelming. Has anyone here tried working this way before?