This is Slow Cooked, a collection of weekly musings, ongoing projects, and the media I’m consuming; delivered every Thursday.
What’s cooking
Last week I asked, "What strategies do you employ that help you out of a rut?" and whether you’re “able to detach your professional life from your personal life?"
A lot of you reached out via email and Instagram. So thank you for that!
I thought I'd share some of those answers with you, because like me, you may find them helpful too.
Here goes.
Stop taking yourself and your work too seriously.
Have gratitude for doing the work you love, with the team you love.
Separate your day job, i.e. "work" from creative projects. It lowers stress.
Or as Joan said…
It's important to set boundaries for yourself, to be aware of them, and work at actively enforcing them.
Recognise that it’s not easy.
On the front burner
After college, I returned to India and was still finding my feet while grappling with the idea of living at home again for the first time in 10 years — when the pandemic threw my plans off course.
If things had gone to "plan" I'd have probably gone with the flow and taken up jobs I didn't want, which would have eventually have led me down a path based on circumstance, not will.
It's almost as if someone called a timeout, reminded us of the fragility of our existence, and prompted us to re-evaluate our priorities.
Although its taken me some time to regroup and reassess what it is I want; it’s important that I arrived at a clearheaded decision, rather than be rushed by the situation.
This is also the first time I'm working by myself, for myself. As compared to being part of a larger team. Freelancing definitely has its benefits. But I'm still getting used to the period between jobs. And the uncertainty of it all.
I’ve made a habit of wavering from long term plans in the hopes of reaping short term gains. But it hasn't been working out for me lately. And it’s not something I want to get used to.
In the past, long term goals felt insurmountable because I thought of them as a mountain I have to climb. Instead, I’m now focusing on the steps I have to take on the way to climbing that mountain.
It’s the realisation that progress, although slow and not always apparent, is progress nonetheless. It also gives me something to look forward to and work toward.
Tomorrow is my 28th birthday. Even just saying that feels weird.
As an 18 year old, 28 felt like a lifetime away. I thought I knew where I'd be by now. But like most things, you don’t know till you know. Things take time and it's hard to appreciate that when you're younger. Timelines shift, even if the goals themselves don't.
Hopefully, I’m on my way…
Thank you
As always, thanks for making the time to read this. I appreciate it.
With Slow Cooked, I'm trying to build a community of sorts. So, it would mean a lot to me if you'd share this with others who you think would be interested in it too! Every little helps.
I hope you have a great rest of the week!
Talk soon,
Vihan Shah