I had the luck (or maybe very intentional choice) of being paired with an incredibly like-minded mentor this week. With Maggie’s advice and guidance, I learned how to best balance priorities across the requirements of the project (don’t waste time on small things), how to find your niche journalism industry (have patience), how to write for audio (be descriptive), and so much more. Most importantly to me, however, I learned that I can be true to myself while still toning it down a notch. Being focused is great, but the people around me need to understand how I’m feeling and how they can help.
Something I would have done differently would be to clear my plate exclusively for NextGen so that I could have my full attention on it at all times. I would have put less pressure on the week, because as important as it was and forever will be to me, I created so much stress for myself about doing things right, and not messing up, that I felt paralyzed by it at times. I would have communicated those feelings earlier, too, because Maggie would have told me from day one that it would all be OK and there’s a difference between being motivated to finish the project and being too intense.
From here on out, I’m going to take a breath every once in a while. I’m going to consider how I’m feeling, and how I can let the people around me know it, so that they don’t have to guess. With everyone on the same page, we can proceed together with no doubts about whether everyone’s on board and feeling good. I’m not going to allow doubt to creep into myself or my work because I don’t need to put roadblocks up on my own behalf. I just need to work hard, keep learning, and go make things happen.