Together
Not
Together

On keeping normalcy: "I'm a freelance strategist and a yoga instructor and I'm teaching 5pm classes four days a week which gives me structure and accountability to show up for folks from my dining room reformed as a yoga studio (it also gives me a reason to hold off on a glass or four of wine until 6pm). My mantra these days is the Buddhist phrase coined by Ajahn Sumedho: "Right now, it's like this." Even though my mind can spiral into future-tripping and the fear that it'll be like this forever, this helps me call BS on that and remind myself that things are *always* in transition and nothing –– the harrowing times AND the happy times –– is permanent. "

On pro tips: "Shall I begin with "In these uncertain times..."? OK. In these uncertain times, I am on a reduced work schedule so I'm giving myself creative projects like planting a cutting garden, cooking every recipe in Alison Roman's book Dining In, and making music videos with my husband. None of these things restore lost wages, but they do restore my sense of being a creative soul on my own time and on my own terms. As a matter of practicality, I'll share this nugget: If you have a credit card with a point system you don't check very often, have a look online. I discovered that I'd accrued a billionteen points, which I was able to convert to cash money—$800 worth. Maybe that anecdote will help someone else discover some funds that can help out—wait for it— in these uncertain times. "

On compassion & creativity: "The other day, when asked by a friend how I was doing, all I could muster up is this: Up and down and mostly upside down.
Since then, after having had a chance to sit with these feelings a bit more, I’ve come to realize that the one thing that may overcome all of these emotional storms is compassion. Compassion for the world around us, of course, but also the much more challenging notion of self-compassion. Without it, my creativity cannot thrive—as it yields to the weight of whatever pressures may occupy the monkey brain at that moment. As a lifelong creative, the lifelong pursuit of perfection is familiar, almost like a magical cat hopping on my desk without being called upon. Except today, as I sit at my newly constructed WFH and freelance space, I am learning to pet said cat until it purrs, and until perfection arrives in being present. "

On time management: "Staying productive at home has been hard. So I created a little system, and it revolves around lighting a candle. When the candle is lit, I'm heads-down working. When the candle is not lit, I'm officially offline, and I have full permission to do something fun—like cooking, running (read: walking with spurts of light jogging), or video chatting with a group of close friends who happen to also be female copywriters. It's a small thing, but it's helping me focus, consciously and subconsciously. The only downside is I think I'm a *candle person* now. Ugh. Great. "

On structure: "The biggest challenge in working from home for me is the slow down of information –– questions that would take a few minutes to be answered in person can now take hours because someone misses a slack message or email. So having a super clear brief, direction, deliverables and due date right at the beginning of a project has become more important than ever because circling back can waste hours or even days instead of minutes now. More than ever, as a freelance creative, you've got to really be your own project manager too. "

On WFH mental health: "Many of us attach a lot of self-worth to our creative endeavors and to work in general. And when these things are threatened or go away, we take it personally. I know I do. So for me, I try to approach periods like this in two ways: 1) I work hard to be less hard on myself. And 2) I try to do one thing each day that I’m proud of, and verbally tell myself so out loud. Small things like a run or some pushups, writing an email I’ve been putting off, trying or learning something new, working on a hobby, etc. Then after a few days, I have a streak going that I can point to, be proud of, and build off of. "

On community: "I think the best way we can help others right now is to constantly remind ourselves that this is a collective experience, globally. The fears, frustrations and anxieties you feel are the same ones I'm feeling. Empathy will save us. Generosity of spirit. Generosity of time. I love that you've created this site, as yet another incredible tool to connect creatives and allow us more power to help each other through not only this pandemic, but whatever is lying in wait after that. #Squadgoals. "

On downtime: "I give myself a week to do nothing, stay up late watching movies, play video games, sleep in, take the time to rest and reset and not feel guilty about it . Then I pick a personal project and I treat it like a job. I make a schedule, set a routine, and self produce the project. I also bring in partners/collaborators to work with, personally I find that I am much more productive if someone else is relying on me. "

On isolation: "During my first year of freelancing full-time, I struggled with anxiety induced by isolation. It took some time to pinpoint this stressor because I viewed myself as an introvert by nature. I realized that, in fact, I need daily connection, conversation, and collaboration. Prioritizing these needs has guided me to a more balanced lifestyle. Amidst the onslaught of global pandemic, it's more important than ever to recognize the therapy of social interaction. I make an effort to call family, share crit with peers, or chat with my neighbors everyday. After a good talk, my work and my mood improve without fail. "

On self-reflection: "These days it's easy to go into panic mode, second guess your self-worth, or feed into productivity porn. I try to remember there's no blueprint to being freelance, especially during a global pandemic. Getting clear on my personal value system has been an ongoing exercise. It has included self-reflecting on: what do I want to do? / how can I be useful? / how do I like to work? I've given myself a brief on “why do I want to stay freelance?” And in my best angry voice, I've journaled about “why am I doing this?” (gotta keep it raw, right?) While it's not always easy I try to go back to my "why". And I continue to keep an experimental mindset and stay curious, it helps me feel like I'm moving forward. "

On connection: "I live outside of the U.S. currently, yet this is the most connected I think I've been with people back home in a while. With everyone being at home, we have more time for each other. And, our physical locations aren't as much of a barrier for who we can work for anymore. There's so much opportunity for people in different locations to connect on projects. I got my first project with a client in a different country than I live in as a result of all this. Which is amazing, and something I hope can continue to happen. "

On rebranding: "I’ve found that giving myself imaginary titles is a cool way to cope. For instance, I made some sourdough, now I’m a Chef. I fixed a washing machine motor, I’m a Mechanical Engineer. I talk to hummingbirds, call me a world-renowned Ornithologist. In all seriousness, I’ve been busy with “projects.” I tend to bees, smoke copious amounts of meat, and I even renovated a pantry picklin’ parlor to pickle stuff in. I luckily still have a couple of actual paying work gigs that keep me focused and prevent me from going full-Walden. Sort of.
I’ve been in a similar, albeit less deadly situation before during the recession, when work seemingly dried up overnight. I think that experience has helped me understand how this all works itself out eventually. In the meantime, I just try to keep busy with “projects,” big and small. When you master said projects, give yourself a new title. You deserve it. "

On hustle: "I've been asked if it's in poor taste to reach out to recruiters right now, and it's not. But, try and remember that we're struggling, too. A lot of us have lost our jobs (me!), or worry it's coming soon. If we still have jobs, it doesn't feel great to not have anything to offer folks when everyone's scared and the work has dried up. Try not to take it personally if we don't respond. I can't even face my LinkedIn in-box right now. It's too overwhelming and depressing. Go easy on yourself if you're not cranking out side projects and getting mentions in Fast Company. For the love of God, don't go live on LinkedIn with some thought leadership on productivity. If it makes you feel good or better to hustle, absolutely do. But if you're struggling, that's OK, too. This shit is fucked up. "

On rethinking remote: "Being productive and getting things done is at my core. I’ve been called a creative problem solver, so I’ve been working with a DP friend on a hi-end remote filming solution. It’s not the same as all being on set together, but it’s allowing us to safely capture new content while the remote DP and Director monitor the shoot along with a live camera feed for the agency and clients. It’s not for all creative executions but it sure beats using stock footage, and in the future it will allow fewer people to travel and still be involved in a shoot. I also find offering my skills to pro-bono projects is super inspiring and it helps fill in the freelance gaps. Right now, I’m producing a video honoring teachers. They are the first responders in the virtual classroom, and it feels good to use my skills to help. "

On reality checking: "I think this is an important time for us to recognize that, although we are all experiencing a pandemic “together,” that doesn’t mean we are all experiencing it in the same way. We live in our own echo chambers, and those chambers are getting smaller. So, as an industry that is often marked with privilege, we should acknowledge that the reality of baking bread and pants-free conference calls is only one version of the quarantine experience—not an experience shared by all. For those of us fortunate enough to have jobs (and many of us aren’t), it is our duty to be more aware, to be more critical of our messaging, and infuse our work with more empathy than ever. "

On navigating this time period: "Personally, I'm taking this time to be grateful for being safe, healthy, and still freelancing. It has also been an opportunity to slow things down, reset, and spend some quality time with my wife and dog. As a freelancer who works from home, I'm used to this stay-at-home life. A piece of advice for those who are going a bit stir-crazy is to start a daily routine and try your hardest to stick to it. Also, don't buy a Nintendo Switch... I did and it has been the best worst decision I've made this year. Lastly, my heart and gratitude goes out to the hardworking nurses in the front lines–especially to my friends and family who put themselves out there every day. "

On the day to day: "Me every morning: LET’S GOOO PETE!!! WE’RE GONNA CRUSH IT BABY! 1000 EMAILS BY NOON! CARPE THE FREAKIN DIEM DUDE!!! LET’S DO THIS!!! Also me: Everything sucks forever. There’s a concept in meditation where you attempt to reframe each passing moment as if it were brand new. My mind is usually spinning like a top on what’s to come in the future and the uncertainty of it all. But as often as possible I try to re-orient myself so that my day feels fresh and new. Whether it’s an opportunity to learn, re-connect, spend more time with people I love, or just noticing how awesome the small things are. Going for a walk on two healthy legs. How good this muffin tastes. And being one of the few people who can actually do their jobs remotely from behind a computer screen. That’s a big one because millions out there can’t. I think we’re all growing into better, mentally-stronger people because of this. "

On giving back: "The lack of work situation is scary and the anxiety can be crushing. Looking for work is a full-time job. My advice is to find something positive to do for those who need help. Creative wise, video-wise, art-wise, design-wise, writing-wise, donation-wise–basically anything-wise. Use the talents and skills that you have built up over time and volunteer those skills. Lift up a cause that YOU support or those who can't afford your services. They are in the same situation you're in, perhaps in a worse one. You don't want to look back at this time and realize you didn't do anything for your network or those who don't have time, money, and resources. That doesn't mean you take your foot off the pedal in looking for work but it's good to help those who have helped you. "

On flexibility: "I work in advertising. I watch my ideas morph, die and revive constantly; flux should feel routine. But while we’re all trying to piece together this new normal, I keep finding that “normal” changes every day, and sometimes even multiple times a day. There’s only so much you can control, so it’s important to learn and adjust with the each new development. I’ve fully leaned into the fact that none of this is normal, which allows me to brush it off when the campaign we finally got sold through has to be scrapped today (Of course this also means I’m also allowed to be frustrated and have days where I never put on real pants). Embracing change unlocks parts of us that we’d forgotten to cultivate over the years, to try new things, and grow. "

On process: "As a writer, self-isolation comes easy to me. As an extrovert, it does not. I'm used to finding a distraction-free cave to ideate, but after talking to myself for a few days, I need to interact with other humans who can validate my work—and let me know when I'm getting too weird. Although I much prefer connecting in person, I am used to collaborating virtually. Clear communication is critical. Some things get lost, so keeping everyone on the same page requires focus and patience. "

On Right Now: "It's tough to talk about how I'm dealing with Right Now, because Right Now just feels like a big waiting room where people are baking sourdough and drinking a lot. We're all just waiting. Waiting to see how this pans out. Waiting to see what happens when 50,000,000 people are unemployed at the same time. Waiting for Single Payer to become obvious. Waiting for the stocks to bottom. Or top? I have to remind myself to be patient with people because nobody is doing nothing right now. Everybody's waiting. "

On routine: "It may sound ridiculously frivolous, but I think the key to WFH for a long stretch comes down to pants. For me, it's important to get up every morning and get ready like I normally would. If there's not a ton of work to be done, I settle on smaller tasks and go for a long walk. In the evening, I finally switch to sweatpants and can take my place on the sofa and Netflix the night away. It's really important to have structure to the day and not sliding into a sweatpants-forever kind of mindset is an essential part of it. "

On work routine: "I’m not a big proponent of definitive advice, especially when it comes to working from home. So allow me to offer some definitive advice on working from home: take advantage of being at home.
Go grocery shopping at 2pm, go for a run at 10am, do a load of laundry between Zoom meetings. Those small breaks, those little moments of idle time, can be filled with all the things in your life that were previously confined to evenings and weekends. In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity. "