NickVenturella.com 3-28-19 - Get in your write mind

Get in your write mind

March 28, 2019

(Heads up – there’s a lot packed into this edition of the newsletter. It’s a long one.)I often start my day feeling behind. Does this happen to you?I wake up get the coffee going, think about what I need to do today, maybe even make a list, pack my kid’s school lunch, get my younger child ready for the day, my wife takes our older son to school and I take the younger one to day care.Once I return home (which is where I work), I head to my office to start my work day, and by this point I notice the length of my to-do list and my day's available time, and I anxiously realize that I’ll never get it all done in one single business day.Now, I’m feeling overwhelmed, the clock is ticking, and I haven’t even crossed one item off of my list yet. I feel like if I don’t make some major headway in the next several hours, I won’t be able to shake this feeling of being behind, and I won’t be able to catch up.Racing Against the Clock to Complete Daily TasksThe problem is that when you have that overwhelmed, getting-behind-on-things feeling and you allow it to persist too many days in a row, your negative self-talk begins to get louder, which only exacerbates the anxious feelings.Here’s the thing:  not everything can get done today. Not even everything you think should reasonably be able to be done today, will get done today.If you’re anything like me your to-do list has 8 to 10 items on it daily with more being added mid-day as you think of other things. All those things may need to get done, but making yourself feel anxious about getting them all done in one business day (approx. 8 hours) is going to have negative mental and physical effects on you over time unless you do something about it.The Write Plan For YouJournaling daily in the morning can come in handy as a tool to allow you to express some of the things on your mind in written form. This just gets them out of your brain, so your mind can focus on things other than how anxious you feel. (There’s actually science behind this. Feel free to read more about it).What you write about can be mundane like, how tired you feel because you haven’t had your coffee yet, or, how you don’t know what to write and you think this exercise is lame…anything.What’s interesting is, if you compare how you feel the rest of the morning after journaling for, say 10 minutes, to how you feel on the days you don’t journal, I promise you’ll notice a difference. You’ll likely feel emotionally lighter and more capable to deal with the day, on those days you journal.Here’s the other thing…that to-do list…feel free to write out everything on your mind that you need to accomplish so you have it written out. Then, use a new sheet of paper with today’s date on it, and pick the 1, 2, or at most, 3 top priority to-do’s that MUST happen today. Then just focus on getting those items done. That’s it.I promise the world won’t end if the other 15 items you initially wrote down don’t get done that day. Plus, by doing this, you give your brain a manageable plan to accomplish and you’ll have a greater sense of resolve at the end of the day when you’ve been able to complete those top priority items on your list.I'll admit, I don't end up journaling every morning, but the mornings I do, I have far better, more fulfilling days.Try it, and let me know how it works for you.RefinementGiven the essence of this newsletter – to help you be a better version of yourself. To help you embrace your true authentic self and strive for continual self-awareness and personal growth – I’ve updated the messaging on my umbrella website, NickVenturella.com to reflect that. Feel free to check it out.Also, my marketing freelance practice, GrowLoop.com, is undergoing a major shift. I’m no longer taking on freelance clients or project work. You can check out the announcement online.Instead, I’m re-imagining the GrowLoop brand with the Provision Journal System I created a little over a year ago. I’ve retired the Provision Journal System, I’ve updated it and rebranded it to be the GrowLoop Journal.The GrowLoop Journal is a journaling system for professionals to help improve mindset and goal achievement. More specifically, the GrowLoop Journal helps to counter professional disengagement, distraction, and depression that prevents individuals and professional teams from realizing their potential, and meeting specific goals. 

***Upcoming Events / UpdatesEleven - Music Career Center's first musician cohort has finished up with some great success.Here are a couple quick quotes from participants:"I think the most valuable aspect of working with a team was being able to vocalize my plans (and sometimes my frustrations) to a group of people interested in helping. Also, having weekly goals and things to do for the check-in process helped keep things accountable."-Ty Chrstian, band: Lords of the Trident"There were a lot of little victories working for eleven.  I transformed my Patreon tracks into recordings that I really feel like people will want to listen to now...I tried new ways to get gigs...I stepped up and talked to a graphic designer about merch and a fellow musician about traveling budgets...With Eleven behind me, I kept up with two things that might have fizzled out in the beginning of the year if I hadn't had support- joining a songwriting group and teaching students of my own. But the biggest victory, at the risk of sounding fulsome, is the way I look at myself and my career now.  I saw the way the folks at Eleven looked at me and realized maybe I could be who they thought I was - a musician with a solid career and great potential for more.  To put it another way, working with Eleven helped me fight impostor syndrome."-Amy McNally, band(s): Amy McNally solo, The Tooles, Mad City Jug Band, & moreSerious musicians, feel free to learn more about Eleven.Nick Venturella music performances:(more are coming)Mama D's Coffee104 W Main St.Wales, WI 53183​262-968-3500Saturday March 30, 201911am - 1pm​​Yahara Bay Distillers6250 Nesbitt Road #200Fitchburg, WI 53719608-275-1050Friday May 17, 20197:30pm - 9:30pm

Sincerely,Nick VenturellaCreative ProfessionalNickVenturella.comNickVmusic.netGrowLoop.comTurnUpToEleven.com