š Good morning from Los Angeles! I'mĀ Nate Kadlac, and this is #92 of Plan Your Next. A Sunday newsletter that connects design, creativity, and how you prepare for your next thing.
š Iāve been reading more regularlyāthough slowlyāas youāll see below. I recently finished Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and now Iām slowly cruising through Storyworthy by Mathew Dicks. Both are hilarious and easy to read, and Iām taking copious notes Iāll share.
šØ Approachable Design is being pushed to a future date; the date will be announced soon. Itās been a wild end/beginning of the year, and I had to take my foot off the gas with a few personal priorities that came up. Iām more than excited to do it soon, so Iāll give you a heads up!
šļøāāļø Iām starting the Wearable Challenge this week. For about a month, Iāll wear a continuous glucose monitoring device and monitor my blood levels while not drinking, eating sugar, or eating processed foods. Each day I fail, I throw $20 into a pot that can be won at the end. Iām mostly curious to see if I can bribe myself to get my shit together after a disappointing year at the scale.
I just made a risky move.
One that accidentally ended up in ruin last time, leading me to kill this little newsletter for well over a year.
This time, I intentionally tore my writing streak in half to poke holes in my writing process.
Maybe youāre like me and know that breaking a routine means game over. When this has happened in the pastāespecially when I move apartmentsāa period of chaos kicks up so much dust, I canāt see straight for a few weeks.
Then, after carelessly walking blind, I accidentally create a few new habits. But these habits are based on what Iāve been doing the past 3 weeksāwalking like Lawerence of Arabia crossing the Nefud Desert through an impossible sandstorm.
This endless downward spiral can sometimes take months to adjust to. So why take this calculated risk?
I wanted to risk my consistency to patch holes in my craft.
Patching my potholes
Iāve got a number of bad habits. Theyāre not destructive physically (unless you count the 11 #dadgirl pounds Iāve put on over the past 18mo), but they tear holes in my calendar more than Iād like to admit.
My writing process was barely hanging on, and I can only write so many stories about the vacancy of creativity. So, I decided to take a break to figure out where I could improve and maybe some of this is helpful to you too:
ā
Start earlier in the week
Any writer will tell you, it never gets easier to sit down and punch out a few words. This is why so few people make the time, but conversely why itās such a large lever to pull.
Because of this tension, I tend to wait until the last minute to write my stories, and somehow Iāve made it work. But while I work well under pressure, my sleep suffers, and so does my motivation.
Another important goal of mine is to get feedback earlier on my essays, so having a draft done earlier in the week should help with this.
š” My intention is to put together a rough outline before Wednesday of each week.
ā
Never run out of fun ideas
Can you remember what happened two Tuesdays ago? Last week was a blur to me, and itās difficult to discern between Tuesday the 28th and Tuesday the 4th.
Rarely is the first idea the best, and it takes some effort to figure out your five-second moment as Matthew Dicksāauthor of Storyworthyālikes to call it.
Matthew never runs out of ideas because he has one simple approach: Every day, write down one story from that day. It only needs to be a sentence or two, to be used as a prompt for later.
On top of this, I find myself enjoying writing more when I look for the silliness in life. Itās why Iām drawn to hilarious writers like Packy McCormick, Tim Urban, and friends like Kevin Rapp, Will Steiner, and Charlie Bleecker.
This should probably be its own bullet but Iām trying to focus here!
š” My intention is to focus on one comedic moment every day. (Or just any mindnumbing moment after that)
ā
Read slowly every morning
If there is, āone weird trickā that improves my writing, itās enabled by improving my reading habits. If I donāt read, I donāt write.
Iām not talking about reading 50 books a year. Itās about spending 15-30 min a day in a Kindle (or a book if youāre one of those people). Usually I tend to read ājust enoughā to cover my ass. But this isnāt enough to build up my own platform of ideas.
Iāve found that reading the first thing in the morning helps stave off bad habits. Iām not one of those people who canāt check their phones in the morning. I find it impossible. But opening a book within the first hour of waking helps set a tone for the day, which has been difficult to do through meditating or even journaling.
š” My intention is to slowly read 15-30min every morning.
ā
Find motivation through inspiration
This newsletter started out based on a single idea: Itās easy to find momentum by having your next step planned. (Even if it turns out to be the wrong thing!)
What should you be learning in your current job that will help you in your next job? What can you be doing today to build out your next product or business? Who are you becoming, and what can you do today to move in that direction?
For me, I find inspiration through travel, and I feel completely depleted from not having taken a real trip over the past couple of years. By escaping every now and then, I know I come back refreshed and energized. So we have trips to NYC, Europe, and SF planned in the first half of the year.
Thank you Chase rewards!
š” My intention is to make time to safely travel 4x over the next 12 months.
After reflecting, I realized Iām doing a lot of things right when it comes to writing. Itās the activities around the act itself that I hope to improve upon, and to find consistency in sitting down with the right energy.
It feels good to be back. Thanks for your patience and Iām glad to have taken this risk.
š See youĀ nextĀ Sunday
If youāve forgotten who I am, hereās a little bitĀ about me. As always,Ā my calendar is openĀ to chat about your next adventure, crazy idea, or if youāre feeling creatively stuck.
Have a great week,
p.s. If you enjoyed this letter, would you please let me know by tapping on the heart below?
what a wonderful post! and idea. cant wait to read more. the theme and tone resonates with me, and our writing echoes the same themes
hope you get a chance to check out my platform
thanks
Ric
Welcome back, Nate! I can relate to this piece. I used to be better about writing earlier in the week, but that's suffered now that I'm way more busy with other things lately. What I've found useful in the pastāwhich I'm going to get back to soon hereāis writing at least 200 crappy words per day. Chipping away on ideas throughout the week makes it so much easier to polish up a piece for my Saturday post. Thanks for the nudge!