Anatomy of a Project
Current location:
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Reading:
The Dollar Trap
by Eswar Prasad
Listening:
Jersey
by Barrie
(if you have a moment, reply with your own 3-item status)
Anatomy of a Project
Projects are encapsulated sequences of tasks, educational undertakings, and practices that I use when making stuff, refining things, and/or shifting from one set of norms to another.
I make a project called Brain Lenses for which I write and produce audio twice-weekly, and that project has a bundle of duties, deadlines, and deliverables associated with it.
I started running each morning a handful of months ago, and the progression of getting proper shoes, establishing baselines and rhythms, and ultimately achieving a steady three-mile-a-day cadence was planned out and pursued based on a project outline I set up ahead of time and then adjusted according to what I learned along the way.
I sometimes undertake a weeklong "no familiar recipes" project, which requires I find a gaggle of new-to-me recipes to prepare each day.
When I go on tour, I have a complex set of lists and to-dos and accounting documents to guide me so I don't lose track of where I'm at, spend more than I make, or misplace my notes about things I should tweak or rethink for the next stop.
To me, a project is a means of organizing things I'd like to accomplish, including how and when I'd like to accomplish them. And that's true of projects that revolve around making things, doing things, and acquiring knowledge and skills.
In my experience, projects with a time-limit—a deadline at which point you'll check in and see if it's working, whether you want to keep going or not, and how you might tweak your formula moving forward if you do keep going—is more likely to be successful.
It's also generally prudent to ensure what you're doing is philosophically and ethically aligned with your beliefs and ambitions, that it's energetically and economically sustainable, and that it's growth-oriented in some way (even if that growth is limited to something like "I tried a new thing, and now I know what it's like to do that thing").
Bonus points if you can set things up so that some kind of value is generated for other people as a consequence of your project—though this won't always be possible or optimal for the outcomes you want to achieve, and that's okay.
A concrete start date is also fairly vital to a successful project, in my experience.
Starting something new can be tricky, so it's often helpful to put a firm "time to start" milestone on the calendar so you don't endlessly justify pushing it back and back and back—which is easy to do, especially if the project will be challenging and frictionful in some way.
Project-based organization won't work for everyone the way it works for me, but it's a model worth considering, especially if you (like me) sometimes find it cumbersome to convince your brain to allow you to invest in "non-productive" undertakings (things that won't earn you money) lacking such a framework, or if you might benefit from the structure such an approach can provide.
If you found some value in this essay, consider supporting my work by buying me a coffee :)
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Projects
Select, recent works from across my project portfolio.
Aspiring Generalist: Cognition & Well-Being
Brain Lenses: Infinite Scroll
I Will Read To You: Annabel Lee
Let’s Know Things: BA.2 Bump
Curiosity Weekly / Daily: March 29 / March 28
One Sentence News: March 30 (podcast version)
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Interesting & Useful
Apollo 14 launched in the late afternoon of January 31, 1971 on what was to be our third trip to the lunar surface. Five days later Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell walked on the Moon while Stuart Roosa, a former U.S. Forest Service smoke jumper, orbited above in the command module. Packed in small containers in Roosa's personal kit were hundreds of tree seeds, part of a joint NASA/USFS project. Upon return to Earth, the seeds were germinated by the Forest Service. Known as the "Moon Trees", the resulting seedlings were planted throughout the United States (often as part of the nation's bicentennial in 1976) and the world.
Explore the art collections of Central European museums and search for artworks based on specific iconographic motifs. You can select a motif or combination of objects, and reveal the artworks across the centuries.
World Photography Organisation 2022 Professional Competition Finalists & Shortlist On 22 February we revealed selected works from the finalists and shortlisted series celebrated in the 2022 Professional competition. The finalists go on to the next stage of the competition to compete to be the winner of their category and, if successful, then go on to be considered for the coveted title Photographer of the Year, announced 12 April.
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Outro
Long-ish essay today, so I'm going to keep this short this week.
I say this a lot and I truly mean it: if you're reading (or listening to, or otherwise engaging with) my work, I'd love to hear from you.
One of the best parts of my weird career (and life) is having the chance to engage with folks from around the world of all ages, professions, lifestyles, backgrounds, and beliefs.
Receiving emails from folks on the other end of my missives serve a similar role as travel for me, as it exposes me to different perspectives, new ideas, and often random, delightful things like new music and recipes to try, photos of strangers' backyards and pets—all sorts of wild stuff that I just love.
So!
Whether I've heard from you previously or not, if you have a spare minute, consider dropping me a quick message and telling me something about yourself (you can also vent, ask a question, or whatever else: I answer every email I receive) :)
Tell me what's up and/or just say hello by replying to this newsletter or writing to colin@exilelifestyle.com.
You can also communicate via the usual methods: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or exceedingly readable writing.
If you’re finding some value in what I’m doing here, consider supporting my work: Become an Understandary member / Buy me a coffee