What January Taught Me

The longest January in the history of Januarys is finally behind us — there was political turmoil, tech chaos, and in my world, some big business decisions.

I found my perfect-for-now downtown Ann Arbor studio space, spent a weekend in New York City with some business bffs, and did work in both the sun and the snow.

Here are a few of the lessons I thought were worth passing along.

What I Learned:

• Planning is the most important part. In 2024, I was in a constant reactive state. Never sure where I was supposed to be or what I was supposed to do, I found myself deeply unsatisfied and wildly unsettled. Then I read The 12 Week Year and got unstuck. If you don’t want to read the book, I summarized it here.

• Going back to basics never gets old. Despite an endless sea of productivity apps, I’ve really struggled with getting things done lately. This month, I picked up a trusty notepad and Sharpie — the tools that helped me write the daily checklists that built this business years ago. Surprise, surprise: old tricks still work.

• We’re all gonna die alone. I keep making this joke, but it’s really not one. I thrive in partnerships but can stand on my own, and we all have to learn how to. Entering a new year as a single woman for the first time in 15 (!!!) years is a wild feeling, and a realization that I am so graciously loved in so many ways. Basically, I’ve been living a combination of Free Now and People Still Show Up.

What I Created:

• I made seven YouTube videos in the month of January, which is almost on track to reach my goal of 100 for the year. I still need to find my groove with getting ahead of my filming schedule, especially when I travel, as well as outsourcing vs. editing myself. I hired an editor last year but heard from the audience that my simple production style was missed. Does it matter? Does the ability to produce more trump that concern? We shall see! Join me in VCC if you have video goals yourself.

• I wrote about four songs I don’t hate, which started as a halfhearted challenge, then turned into therapy. I’ve always joked that my goal is to anonymously release an EP by 35 and turns out I just needed to get my heart broken a couple times (while my therapist was on leave for a month) to actually get started.

• A column for Freelancer Magazine’s Copywriting & Content Creation issue on repurposing video content into text (read it below!) I truly believe the pendulum us swinging back to slow, digestible marketing and with a still uncertain TikTok ban, tech bros becoming oligarchs, and most of our anxiety at an all-time high, maybe it’s not a bad idea to start leveraging the written word again.

What I Was Inspired By:

• New York City, a city that I’ll always kind of hate, yet feel changed by every time.

• Tarot, because even if it’s all in my head, it makes that head think deeply.

• Gracie Abrams. Gracie Abrams. Gracie Abrams.