Today is #26, 6 months of the Unlearning Labs. If anyone asked me a year ago, if I would reach this milestone, my response would be a stern ‘no’. While 6 months is a tiny milestone, I want to take this edition to speak about the journey, wins and challenges as a creator.
Where did it all begin?
Unlearning Labs has been brewing since 2020 on a low burner. Working in education and experimenting with startups, I had moonshot ideas on how learning should look like and what the future of education demanded.
The challenge with ideas is that they live in your head until they fizz away and make space for something else. I wrote my first blog on the google doc in mid-2020 and kept staring at it until the beginning of this year before I got the courage to publish it.
What gave me courage?
There is no formula for this but after much procrastination, I learnt that:
- You are your own special sauce: Writers create their unique voice by finding inspiration in their stories and practice. We all have something to say, from our perspectives and that is your formula for writing. The tutorials, books and courses for writing help build the practice and create systems but you already have your unique voice that needs a push.
- People are supportive: This one was a good surprise to me. I feared rejections, lack of subscriptions and absolute no support from the world. I got the opposite from you. Your unique voice will click with people and you will find that tribe that will support you.
What keeps me going?
Writing in public is a commitment to the audience. Is the commitment perfect? No. I have pushed two articles by a few days and life will bring situations where I would have to skip one or more. As a writer, I remind myself that perfection is my enemy. Perfection will remove the charm of writing and reduce it to a chore. I believe you will appreciate my consistency and support flexibility if need be.
Every week, when I see you engage with my article and share feedback, it keeps me going. My audience is what keeps me going.
Two unlearnings from the six months journey:
- You will never be 100% prepared: A creator is an experimenter. You don’t start writing online to be perfect. You get better after each post. You learn from your readers, your peers and your reflections. I learnt more from writing 26 editions than from the years of procrastination.
- You are never lonely as a creator: The creator economy is one of the most endearing. The conversations you will have once you begin the journey will keep you going. Writing online has massive return on investment, in terms of friendships, skills, creativity and opportunities.
What is next for Unlearning Labs?
I would like to focus on ‘Labs’ in the next phase. As we dive deeper into unlearning, I would like to bring the community closer to run experiments and build our lifelong learning skills. I’ll send out a note about this soon. Something is brewing!!
Two tips for future creators:
- Keep it simple: If you want to start writing and are unsure about the topic, platform etc, simplify the process. Begin with Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium to test the waters. You will find out your content preference – short or long form, casual or professional etc. Pick the platform you enjoy the most.
- Keep showing up: Block your time to write based on your schedule. It won’t be perfect and you might lose your momentum. What matters is how you show up the next time. Writing is a reflective and calming process. It takes practice to build the habit and then there is no looking back.
A note to you:
Thank you for showing up every week! Cheers to the next 6 and beyond 🙂