This is the newsletter sent out to my mailing list at the start of February 2021. If any of these topics interest you and you’d like me to go more in-depth, let me know!
Goals Contextualize Projects
There’s been a lot of discussion in my household this month about mid- to long-term goals. As we prepare ourselves for a couple big changes in the next year, figuring out exactly what it looks like in terms of our day-to-day lives has been a challenge.
There is a big gap between “everyday” and “someday”. Goals and Projects are stepping stones in between, but in order to make it across safely, we still need Strategies to act as the bridges that connect it all together. Only when we have and can make use of all these tools, can we reliably, efficiently, and purposefully move closer to our ideal lives.
Throughout these discussions, I’ve noticed a trend:
Projects and responsibilities that we dislike or feel unmotivated by, often gain a new life when seen through the context of our long-term goals.
Deciding to look for a new job, for example, might bring up all kinds of negative emotions. Job searching is difficult, tedious, and often grating for our self-esteem. Things like dreams and aspirations — especially of the creative sort — don’t translate well to resumes or cover letters. Neither do the truly significant achievements in our lives. Most of us don’t dream of dedicating ourselves to a company and everything they stand for, but saying that throughout the hiring process is still the expectation — even though most companies these days actually rely on and encourage turnover to keep their labor costs low.
But re-contextualizing that process, understanding that getting a job for 6 to 8 months to gain much needed financial stability is just a step towards a much bigger move, makes it much easier to swallow.
Nothing has fundamentally changed about what needs to be done, we’ve simply reminded ourselves of why it’s important, and what it has the potential of leading us to. It may not make the task enjoyable, but it might make it easier for us to knock it off our list if we can understand and imagine clearly what it’s all for.
How We Can Help Each Other
I’ve been thinking a lot about collaboration and mutual aid, especially within the context of Neurodiverse and Disabled communities/networks.
While my articles are free for everyone, my 1-on-1 services come at a modest price. But, given the nature of my work and the difficulties our communities too often face, I want to have other options available for people who need my support but cannot afford to pay.
From the start I’ve had the hope of fostering a community around the topic of Neurodivergent Productivity. Instead of help and support being a one-way street, I’m sure we could all benefit from each other’s experiences, techniques, tricks, and ideas.
Which brings me to Time Banking.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, in a time bank time really is money. Essentially, you exchange time for credits, which you can then spend to receive someone else’s time. In this model, 1 hour is always equal to another hour. Everyone’s time has equal value regardless of the market value of their skills. As long as someone else in the group has need of your time/skills, you can gain credit for their time and exchange it for something you need.
While I believe that time banking has the most potential in local communities to bring people together, improve community relations and community spaces, etc. I think it can also help bring our largely digital communities closer together.
What do you think about time banking and exchanging time and services at strictly time value? What would you offer? What would you spend your time-dollars on?
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