Real footage of me crawling out of the hole of silence I've been in for the past two weeks… 👇
Thanksgiving came and went, I blinked my eyes and two weeks went by? Wtf?
I feel like I blink at a 3-day rate at this point. 😂
Maybe you didn't even realize it's been two weeks since I sent my last newsletter or (fingers crossed) you actually missed my weekly unhinged story in your inbox (reminding you we're all more similar than we like to think).
If I'm being honest, I feel like I haven’t had the space to write. And by writing I mean this newsletter. On average, my newsletters take anywhere from 1-3 hours to write from start to finish. 😦
And before you think, “3 hours a week just for a newsletter? Sounds like a lot of time spent…”
My newsletter has become my audience’s favorite type of content from me (says them and the analytics). I have readers all over the world in varying ages and stages of life. I have readers who are business owners and some who aren’t.
But the common theme after over a year of sending this newsletter out on a consistent, weekly basis (spare a few weeks I skipped here and there) is that this is my most powerful tool in connecting with my audience.
Notice I didn’t say “selling” to my audience. It first started out all business with lots of “selling” happening, which is completely normal and a GOOD thing to do in the right scenario. Most people use newsletters effectively to sell. You can literally read the first newsletters I ever sent over on my Substack. Cringe.
But I realized quickly I’m constantly selling in every other creative space (my website, my social media, my business relationships, etc). I wanted to find something attached to my business where I could be creative and still have an impact without feeling a constant need to always sell.
And then the newsletter slowly morphed from a 2-3 minute business-focused anecdote littered with more nonsense and links and biz updates to now an 8-10 minute read of a real story from my life that led me to a lesson (and that lesson is shared with you).
But back to my process…
It usually starts with a story. I have an ongoing Apple note in my phone where I add stories, anecdotes, and observations about life in the moment. It’s like a comic’s joke book, except less funny and slightly less unhinged 😂
I litter this Apple note on a daily basis in real-time. When it's time to write a story, I pick one of these little unhinged moments and BAM. There's my newsletter content.
Granted, I may do an embellishment in my stories a little here and there, but everyone loves a strong story line. 😜
(Like the time my son, my dog, and myself all vomited in the same morning. Was the vomit really everywhere or was it actually a little more tame? You’ll never know, but vomit is vomit so who cares!!!)
I then take a story I like and think of a lesson I learned in the process.
Sometimes this process might be flipped. For example, I might ask myself, “Hey, I’ve been so stressed lately — what’s a story I can use from my life to share the theme of giving yourself grace?”
However it starts, it always begins with a rough draft. Straight up elementary school English class style. Sometimes I’ll type it out on my phone if I’m in a creative vibe in the morning on the treadmill. Or I’ll sit at my desk, turn my phone on DND, and BLAST away. Not stopping to read or edit or even fix grammatical errors until the full story is brain-dumped on the page.
From there, I edit, revise, add, maybe add a hint of embellishment and get my anecdote to a story line with a strong beginning, middle, and end. I always ensure there's a problem and a solution/ life lesson.
It’s a classic writing structure, and sometimes it takes multiple rounds of edits to get the story just right, just creative enough, and just long enough to hold your attention.
(side note: how am I doing so far? 🤓)
From there, I record it so I can provide any audio version (don't come for me since there was no audio version today 😶🌫️), and then I publish my newsletter on Substack and send to my email list.
Phew — what takes me 3+ hours to create and send is in your brain in less than 10 minutes. Wild.
It's not that I don't want to write lately. Because I do. It feels like a therapeutic art at this point. Be it the story I'm excited to share or the pure act of writing, it's always a relaxing process.
I was thinking about my baby writer's block, and perused the “story graveyard” of unfinished podcast storylines and newsletter paragraphs on my phone that never made it to light.
I asked myself, “What is blocking me?”
And it came down to a few things:
overwhelm (all the things to do in very little time)
stressing about problems that don't exist yet (like what if I can't find a wedding dress even though I haven't even started looking yet)
and over-stimulation (everything about this time of year compounding into one big weight on my chest)
Pretty solid reason to put off writing a newsletter, right?
I was quickly brought back to reality when I realized all of those things are under my control. And more than likely, there's things in my day I'm doing right now that I could cut out or shorten to accommodate real time for rest, or writing, or an extra walk outside for some vitamin D.
Like spending five less minutes scrolling on Amazon… like I need to buy my 4-year-old another gift he will probably forget about by January 1st.
Or spending five less minutes flipping through IG stories without intention…
Or giving myself grace that some of the chores I stress about can wait another day if it means I get in time to do what lights me up…
If you're still reading, by now you know I'll end this anecdote with a solid life lesson that will bring some warm fuzzies to your morning read.
And the lesson is this: what are you missing out on in your life because you are getting in your own way?
What do you keep putting off because it takes effort, but you know the reward is always worth it?
Maybe it's the workout plan you said you would commit to.
Maybe it's that course you bought and promised yourself you'd finish.
Maybe it's that newsletter you said you would start but haven't made time for.
Or maybe it's as simple as giving yourself rest when you know you need it.
In the midst of everything we ALL have going on in our lives right now (good, bad, heavy or light) don't forget to make time for the things that will move the needle and push you closer to the person you believe you can be.
Meanwhile, I'll be here reminding myself to squeeze in the writing time I have even when it feels like work… because the end is always worth it.
Thanks for reading ❤️
Show yourself some love today.
You’ve earned it.
As always,
Taylor Torres