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Issue No. 647
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Oh, hi friends!

I’ve noticed a few patterns that can happen if you’re stuck on a project. Tell me if you agree.

You don’t have enough information to move forward.
You don’t have a functioning relationship with your collaborator or colleague.
You’re bogged down by logistical or legal or other jargon-y delays.
You don’t know what your next step should be.
You don’t have enough time.
You’re tired/out of energy/bored.

These are all valid and reasonable! 

But most of them have some kind of solution, don’t they?

Finding more information, through research or asking for help.
Improving communication with your collaborator or colleague.
Spending time to fix the delays (annoying in the short run, worthwhile in the long game).
Signing up for classes and looking at how people before you did it.
Cutting something from your schedule.
Sleeping more, staying active, speeding through the boring bits.

I just wonder if sometimes the narrative of being stuck is more seductive than the narrative of making progress.

Photo by Mark Boss on Unsplash

Finally, New York has entered the best season. (And I don’t mean baseball playoffs. The Mets didn’t make it. I don’t wanna talk about it.)

“Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.”
 

Wait, so it’s not your 3pm M&M habit? Or plowing through a bunch of emails? Or doing tedious paperwork? Or surveying Twitter for story ideas? It’s meaningful work?!?!

Well. That actually makes a lot of sense. 

So if you need an emotional or motivational boost today, ask yourself…where can I find meaning?

From this oldie but goodie HBR article about the power of small wins.

If you want a lesson in how to be funny, just watch Elaine May in her salute to Mike Nichols at the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. (This is my version of bingeing Netflix.) (h/t Robby Macdonald)

New! Newsletter! Alert!

Brass Ringer Nikki Carter has launched a new weekly newsletter funneling creative and tech job opportunities to women of color — her first one was chockfull of great-sounding jobs. Subscribe to Will & Way here and pass it along to your friends!

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Thanks, as always, for reading.

Love, Kara

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