Heyaa
Did I tell you about the time when I went backpacking across forgot to pay for an order?
I often forget thingsā¦ lately, a lot of things. Thanks to my list, at least, I remember the must to-do things. (let me check my to-do)
I often forget my personality, too. Strange, right? But I do. And it's stressful when I canāt remember what version of me I was the last time I talked to this particular person.
Itās Sunday, April 14, 20.51.
And I have been thinking of doing a poll.
Done voting? It takes only a second. Pick the first thought you have. Iām no Kim Jong-un, so you donāt need to speak up only nice thoughts.
Okay? Okay, letās move on to todayās newsletter.
I have made up way too many personalities. Itās not intentional. It just happens, depending on how our interactions have been. And itās dynamic, like an in-built AIā¦ constantly processing data.
Waitā¦ the song! Currently, this is on loop.
It looks like thereās a switch that keeps me jumping from one task to another. For personality, too, maybe. Oh, I must mention my newest favourite song: Bread - Anya Nami. Played it for a few hours, then bored.
It has been chaotic in here. Mostly because half the day is spent sleeping.
Waitā¦ Yes, I forgot to pay for an order. It wasnāt intentional. Not at all. It was for a book. (no brownies for guessing that)
So, the thing is that I had to send a book to a friend.
I checked with a bookstore that had that friendās address on file already. And they had the book, so I asked them to parcel it, along with a personal message.
Then, I asked for the QR, because I was unsure if they still had the same UPI address for payment. They said theyāll send me the details the next day.
I forgot, they forgot.
It was only after someone messaged me a month later that I had an unpaid invoice. I was clueless. I have no eidetic memory like Sheldon, unfortunately.
They sent me the invoice and I searched through my conversations and past payments to find I actually didn't pay for the order.
I asked for the QR and paid right away.
And then, not sure what happenedā¦ Maybe I just wanted to cleanse my reputation. I asked them for two other books, which they thankfully had, and which I ordered and paid for promptly.
It was such a relaxation.
But my tryst with forgetfulness didnāt end there.
Yesterday (think Saturday), I scheduled bulk posts for the first time. Instagram Reels. Some 6-7 months ago, I tried Reels on book quotes and some of them brought plenty of engagements.
Bulk-created quote videos on Canva, generated randomised posting times with ChatGPT and scheduled them all with Postly.
Butā¦ I forgot to add music. In my excitement, I forgot to add music. They were simple, short quote videos. Still, imagine the horror of watching them without audio. To have your speakers on at full but no sound.
So, today, I added music and downloaded fresh clips again. Re-scheduled the postsā¦ but with the old videos. Yes, I made a boo-boo. AGAIN.
Had to delete and schedule one more time. Just hoping they go live as scheduled.
Itās good thoughā¦ Now, I have enough practice with scheduling. It will be easy next time hopefully.
But do things really get easy? We wish so, that time and practice will make everything easy for us.
Sometimes, itās not so.
You know, recently I started on a web copy project. Received quite a detailed brief. Plenty of links and guidelines to give an idea of what theyāre actually looking for.
On top of briefing documents, I also received a hour plus long audio of the founder explaining the app. It was definitely helpful, but ate up my 3 hours, going back and forth.
Next day, I made the outline and then, sat watching the document for 2 hours.
For 2 hours, I wrote nothing else. I played games, I watched Reels, I read some pages off a bookā¦ Literally everything I felt like doing, but didnāt write one word. I just couldnāt.
Now, doing web copy wasn't something I was doing for the first time. But I couldn't understand how to begin it. Does it happen to you, too? Do you forget how to do your job every time you face a new project/assignment?
I face this lack of ideas, you know, every time I pick a new type of assignment, either with existing clients or a new one.
When working on similar projects, you get a comfort zone where ideas pop out without even thinking it out. But when you get a new project to handle, you're unsure of the expectations.
Maybe, it's just the pressure of repeating your old performance. Probably, it's just the anxiety of being in uncharted waters. After all, you are unsure of what the client will like.
Recently, a client approached me with an editing project. They needed me to complete the work and submit to their client urgently.Ā
It was something I was already working with them. But I still spent an hour looking at the existing content.
Becauseā¦ Because this editing task was for content by another writer. The one who completed it was unavailable and I had to take it up. And I was clueless where even to begin.
I knew what I had to do (received a clear brief and research material) but I just couldn't start writing. As if something was broken inside.
Does it happen to you, too? Is the grass greener at your work?
Will like to know about that.
And yes, please vote on the poll, too. Spent half an hour finalising the options. I would like to know what personality am I.