WEEK 1 - Keep, toss or throw away?
Hey there, welcome to Week 1 of HOMwork 2020!
#HOMwork GIF stickers for Instagram Stories are finally here! The next time you share your #HOMwork in your IG Story, search for homwork in the GIF sticker section to use these fun stickers, created by my studio designer Kristle.
For the first assignment of the year we are going to get reflective and do the HOMwork version of “keep, donate, throw away” to clear out our metaphorical junk from the previous year. You’ve probably heard of this approach in relation to cleaning out your closet.
The idea is to make three piles. One pile is stuff we love or works SO good for us. Another pile is stuff that is still in good shape but doesn’t work for us anymore. And the third pile is stuff that we probably should have gotten rid of a while ago (and won’t work for anyone else, either).
Instead of focusing on clothes, we're gonna work on sorting through our creative processes. The goal for this assignment is to do some self-reflection and tweak our practices so that our work in 2020 is more productive and more fulfilling. I’ll give you some examples of stuff in my own piles so you know what I’m getting at.
My “keep” pile: this is the stuff that has been working really well for me. One of the things I’m going to “keep” in 2020 is reoccurring weekly content (like HOMwork!). I tend to be very fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants and - while that can be exciting - I’ve found I actually do way better when I have a regular, reliable timeline for creative work. So I’m gonna do more of that!
My “donate” pile: this is the stuff that was totally my jam for a while but isn’t working for me anymore. My big donation item for 2020 is my tendency to say yes to every client project that comes my way. When I started freelancing, I made my career on saying yes to lots of different kinds of projects. I'm more selective now that I used to be, but deep down I know I'm still taking on way too much. So, I'm donating this habit in hopes that it finds a new home with someone who is hungry for all the opportunities they can get
My “throw away aka TRASH HABIT” pile: this is the stuff that is pretty much useless, and one of my big ones is sleeping with my phone within arms reach. I am a night owl (and I love my bed!) so I tend to stay up later than I should. And having my phone close by means that I waste hours dicking around on my phone when I could be catching some magical ZZZ’s. This is truly a trash habit with an easy fix, so it's got to go.
Your assignment: Think of what you want to keep, donate, or throw away in 2020. Then letter or illustrate them into categories in a creative way.
Ideas:
Letter one “thing” from each pile
Illustrate an actual pile of the “stuff” you’re sorting through
Draw some boxes and clothes that represent each of your things
Caption idea: Highlight one thing from each group and explain why it belongs there. It can be SO helpful to understand how and why other people in our creative community are prioritizing their work and well-being!
Bonus points: Spend some extra time thinking about your “donate” stuff and make that the focus of your post. Recognizing practices that don’t work for you but would work for someone else is like a masterclass in mindfulness.
For me, I realized that most of the things that are wearing me out lately would have been things that energized the heck outta me a few years ago! I’ll bet there are people out there who would love to have some of the “stuff” that is currently wearing you out or not working for you anymore! Use that as a guide for your “donate” post.
Don’t forget to use #HOMwork and #HOMwork2020 and tag me @homsweethom when you post your work on Instagram. I’ll be sharing my favorites in my Story all week!
Okay, time to get back to sorting through my pile of stuff. Can’t wait to see what yours looks like! Marie Kondo would be so proud of us.
Love,
Lauren
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P.S. To celebrate the launch of the HOMwork GIF stickers, please share even MORE process shots in your Story than you usually do, use the stickers, and tag me in your Stories so I can re-share them in mine!
