The Ideal Life Round-Up: Work

“Angelica…Eliza! (And Peggy.)” So, so, so, so sorry that I got that in your head. Maybe it will stop cycling through mine now, though.

No endless diatribe on this theme. It is what it is: the Ideal Life theme of Work is what it takes to make ends meet.

In my Ideal Life, I am a person who:

• has a vision and can see it through
• loves what she does
• inspires others with creativity
• understands her creative process and lives in harmony with it
• does not overvalue the fruit of her labor
• has a work plan and goals for today, for this week, this month and this year
• is her own boss
• makes time for what is important
• has a plan and gives herself the time and space to accomplish it
• can financially support my family
• does not have to sell anything
• trusts that if my priorities are in order, everything else will fall into place

Where are you coming from?

With my moratorium on taking on any kind of commitment in 2021 which did not naturally spring from activities to which I was previously committed, I missed out on some free-lancing opportunities. Now, let’s say this: had I really wanted to take these opportunities, I would have found a way around my rule. The rule was not the problem.

What was important was that I gave myself cover to be able to say no to things that didn’t immediately have the potential to make me feel alive. If I were to say yes to something, it would have meant breaking a promise to myself. I do not promise myself things lightly.

So a rainbow of opportunities came and went, the only one I made an exception for being a voiceover project because it was the continuation of a project I had worked on years ago, one for which I believe in the life-saving potential benefit for humanity, and for which I got paid in chocolate. Priorities, amirite?

The creative work, obviously, is that in which I find the most satisfaction. That is the writing, the podcasting, trial and error of learning new techniques. I would even venture to say that sound editing falls into the category of creative work which I find intensely satisfying, even though it takes me for-e-ver and as soon as I can afford to, I will gladly pass that creative work onto someone else.

The less satisfying, but nonetheless important work of querying, editing my writing, “marketing” etc…well, that I kind of have to force myself to do. But it is the part which, eventually, will pay the bills.

In my Ideal Life, I don’t have to sell anything. But if I want to make a living out of this, then I will have to figure that out, now won’t I?

For the less satisfying part of the work, I have to give myself carrots, set little goals, knock them outta the park and reward myself. I wish I weren’t this way, but….so it goes. At least I know this about myself and can boss myself around in a way that gets stuff done!

Where are you going?

I desperately do not want to put the cart out before the horse, but: Sing With Your Feet, the Podcast, will be launching in January. This podcast has been my dream for years, and the material to produce the podcast has been my reward for achieving a number of my little goals throughout 2021. You will be the first to know how that goes!

Depending on the reception the podcast gets, I will be launching a Patreon to help defray the costs of internet hosting, marketing and, maybe (oh, the dream) paying my buddies over at Seven Productions who have been helping me out thus far for the slim pickings of my eternal gratitude, to edit the podcast for me.

My French-language project will be launching at the same time, which, honestly, seems like bad planning on my part, but so it goes. I do love to be busy.

In my Ideal Life, I am a person who trusts that if my priorities are in order, everything else will fall into place.