Topple Your Tower

I'm ready to knock something down, but sad to see it go.

The sun's coming up and I've been awake for hours. Bleary eyes and slurped coffee match the lack of rhythm I feel. But today's the day where I get back on the horse. Not an actual horse but the proverbial one where I get my shit together after letting things slip a bit.

I try to be honest when writing these so I'll level with you—I think adjusting my publishing schedule fucked with me more than it's helped. The expanded space with which to create feels uncomfortable rather than welcoming.

I feel completely out of whack. I used to know which days of the week I'd be working on my next essay and which were reserved for the podcast. I knew how long it would take me to write those 2,000 words and when they needed to be edited by. My workflows were dialed. But now I feel like I don't know what to do with myself. Suddenly my purpose feels clear, but undefined.

After more coffee and a few long exhales, I do something unexpected during my morning routine: instead of pen and paper, I turned to ChatGPT to help me pull at a loose thread that's been bothering me. Here's what I asked:

"If you were to describe me and my work to someone—say an editor, publisher, or even just a casual reader—what would you say and which authors or publications would you reference as examples? Respond from what you've observed about me, not from what I've claimed or described."

Its response certainly woke me up a bit.

It's not like it magically solved everything, but it did what I hoped it would and helped me get a clearer picture for the environment around me. The list of names it provided aren't a group of people to go copy. But I am looking at their sites. Their layouts. At what type of writing they post and how often.

So while clicking around, I'm... excited? Perhaps, even a bit inspired? This conversation with ChatGPT (is that what we're calling it?) helped me remember why I dialed back on my essay output in the first place. Aside from desaturating my readers' inboxes, I chose this so I could have more room to create great work. That's supposed to include space for stuff that'll keep me growing—not just what will keep me going.

For example, I've been planning to adjust my site for a bit. I want to better position Becoming Unobstructed and what it offers. Because it's not just "Derek's Journal." I truly believe it's more than that. I write in service of you, dear reader. ChatGPT agrees (though, I'm pretty sure it's programmed to agree with everything unless specifically told not to...)

With the sun and my energy levels both climbing higher, I'm reflecting on some of the differences between these other author's sites and my own. Right now, I don't think theunobstructed.com does a good job of making things feel reader-first. Probably because it's an evolution of derekmacdonald.com, and while it's come a long way, it still has a hint of "resume chic" built into it.

Well, time to knock it down.

Here are some things I'm working on:

• Make it less "my site" & more "your site"
• Setting the blog as the default home page??
• Maybe setting up a Shopify integration for printed products?

In the meantime, I'm reminding myself that small steps take us far distances.

Our Daily MAP Year Prompt 
32/365

Where are you feeling stuck? Pretend you're writing a letter to a friend. Explain what getting unstuck will mean, not why you're stuck.

onward.

-dmac