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Destination: Procrastination.

August 30, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Me. Modeling the art of active nothingness.

I recently listened to a Ted Radio Hour podcast called “Slowing Down.” I was sort of amazed to hear that there is real, scientific data supporting procrastinators as more creatively productive than “do’ers.” This is sort of annoying for all of us who hustle to meet deadlines, who prepare for everything weeks in advance, and roll our eyes at the people who say “I just didn’t have time to do it,” because as we all know, no one has more time than anyone else — but some people plan better.

It got me thinking about how good I am at “working” and how bad I am at free-range-nothingness. What I mean by that is — it’s not the art of actually doing absolutely nothing (which I would argue is also a good skill/practice), but more specifically, the sport of non-productivity while still actively living life. If most of us look at our days, and measure them by the hour, we are mostly under an illusion that we’re being productive. It’s applauded in our culture. We feel betterdoing than just being, even when we don’t’ have much to show for it. Especially Americans. But what if we knew that doing the opposite might be lighting some creative flame? I think I’ll take the bet.

So this week, as a celebration of the last week of summer, I’m going to practice procrastinating – actively. I won’t be on vacation, but I’m going to be at my desk less, schedule fewer calls, and try to produce less — than usual. I have some client obligations, which I will deliver. But…I am going to do everything I can to avoid being goal-oriented or look for the results of my labors. Good luck to me! And good luck to you if you want to join me.

The real discipline for busy, productive people is to not be afraid of loosening the reigns. Because, hey, you never know — if the science is actually right on this – a great novel / podcast / piece of music / work of art / essay / idea … may come of it!

Uh oh. That sounded like a thinly veiled goal.

Revel in the last days of August with some slow time, if you can. And here’s to disciplined procrastination. #youcandoit.

Platforms.

June 7, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Yes, I realize these are heels, not platforms. #stillmakesthepoint

I probably can’t say anything new about social media that hasn’t been said. But here’s how I feel – as small business owners have a lot of questions about “the best platform.”

I look at them like this: When I read anything on Facebook, or post anything on Facebook, it feels like no matter what I say or what’s being said, it’s for sale. The UX encourages that, the ads, the un-beautiful design – it feels like FB is a way to raise your voice. It’s woefully inelegant, but very useful for some things. Instagram, on the other hand, feels more like a “by the way, this happened.” When I see posts or post myself, it feels like a snapshot of a thought – a moment in life – sometimes with words or hashtags, sometimes without – but I rarely see any shouting going on there. Twitter feels like talking at a Mets game. No matter how loud you might get, or clever, or funny, or cool, the game and the crowd are the real characters in that show. I see Twitter as a breaking news source – so for me using it sort of feels like whatever I’m saying should be as urgent as a Tweet from Anderson Cooper or as important as one from Malala. LinkedIn feels like a civil conversation that I should be more disciplined about attending but I have a full plate as it is so engagement there feels disingenuous.

All of this is to say – everyone has their “platform” – and the type of business you’re in is the main consideration. Beyond that, channels express voices, and while I personally have thousands more followers on Twitter than anywhere else, it’s not where my voice feels the truest, which is Instagram.

The takeaway – know where you shine. It’s all just a conversation happening in different interfaces. But we all want to be our best selves, so choose the face that brings out the best you.

Solving Obvious.

April 27, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

It’s easy to think that all the “good” problems have been solved. With thousands of apps populating our universe, many of us lean toward a feeling of apathy. With a market saturated with solutions, it can feel like everything interesting has already been designed, launched and “solved.” But there are so many problems – obvious ones – that have yet to see the light of a solution. Some of them are global. Some of them are local. World peace feels too pie in the sky, while local trash pick up feels adorable, but not very potent on the impact scale.

Yet we all want to do something. So what if we approached problem-solving (and business creating) from a more obvious point of view? What if we said: What’s close to me (in passion or proximity) that I can affect? What’s in my immediate world? What group of people – big or small – need me or what I know?

Not everything has to be a business. And not everything has to be a volunteer project. But it would be nice to know that at the end of our lives (not to be morbid), we left it all on the field. We wrung ourselves out with giving our gifts, and bettering other people’s lives. Within this benevolence there are needed boundaries and self-care – but if we spent less time thinking up dynamic, never-been-done-before ideas, and more time solving the obvious issues in our midst…healing, supportive hospital food, global access to maternal health, natural deodorants that actually work, meditation/calming resources for teens…to name a few out of thousands. We could make change we can see and feel.

Remember that some things are NOT obvious to other people – but once you know them, you can’t ignore them.

First step? Open your eyes. Someone needs you.

The Ensemble Life.

March 22, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

I’m gonna give some love to Gwyneth Paltrow today. Hold the tomatoes please. I see a lot of love/hating about GOOP and GP’s seemingly impenetrable veil of superiority. But I view it and her differently. I actually think she’s doing a lot of things right, and I’d venture that she’s a lot more vulnerable than most people perceive.

Although we aren’t friends, what I see is someone living an ensemble life. Her interests are varied – to the point of nausea for some – but I think they are genuine. So she acts, she sings, she writes, she’s an entrepreneur, a style icon, a mother, a conscious divorcee, a tech leader, a beauty expert…a chef. Ok, it’s annoying but ONLY because most of us feel like…well, that’d be nice…easy for her…I coulda done that…big deal. And I think what she also may spark in some is a sense of under accomplishment. I know for me, when I see everything she’s able to do and impact, I feel a little like – am I living my potential? And, what else? What’s my next adventure? Side hustle? Interest? Investment?

So I’d like to say something without inviting too much negative mail – this can (kind of) be your life. I’m not saying that you too can rent this villa in Italy and the private yacht that comes with it with your Spanish speaking children and two-hours-a-day-workout-body if you just work harder, but, I feel like for a modern American woman, this TYPE of life is sort of possible — just taken down a few decimal points (basis points?!). It’s textured, interesting, multi-dimensional, adventurous, brave. Yah she’s got a lot of advantages, but who cares? She could sit back and enjoy being wealthy and gorgeous, with a few selective acting gigs. But she stepped out, threw her hat in the ring, and if anyone can say “good for you” its people like us – doing the same thing. GP is a solid muse for being unselfconscious about her ambitions, and really looking out at the world – and having it her way. I’m betting she’s having a lotttttttta fun.

Do your thing. Express. Write. Start. Join. Lead. Follow. Innovate. Make. Be who you want to be. Have hobbies, interests, ventures. Channel Richard Branson, Tim Ferris, the barrista who also tutors math, is a classical pianist, writes a blog about art and flips houses on the side. It keeps you engaged, interesting and walking the sh$t out of whatever path you’re on.

I’d venture to say this…is the new normal.

Adaptation.

February 23, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Playboy, in an effort to reinvent, has made the decision to discontinue images of naked women. They’re just too easy to find everywhere else. Movie theaters are struggling because most of us would rather skip the crowds and watch things on demand at home. Instagram has made having a point of view as hassle free as it gets – no need to start a blog – just create an account and press play.

We are living in a time where it’s easy to blame digital for the elimination of entire categories. People blame a sharing economy – Air BnB and Uber – for putting their competitors out of business, or at least at a disadvantage. But digital is just the medium. What it’s done is teach us to think and interact with our worlds in a totally different way – and it’s been a bit like boiling a frog (sorry)…so gradual we aren’t even aware of how much we want short cuts, efficiencies, ease in our consumption.

Port this behavior over into your own business now. See if you’ve adapted to the very things that make you happy or bring you down about the experiences in your consumer world. Is your website responsive? Are you using tactics from five years ago to build your list, convert customers or drive new business?

All you have to do when it comes to relevance is look around. As brands reinvent, go out of business and new miracle utilities are born, the messages are as good as on the wall. Just look at the battle between the WSJ and NYT. As one pulls ahead, the other retools (and catches up) because they both know that a paper in the hand is worth a lot less than a subscriber online these days. You don’t have to invent an app that aggregates fitness sign ups or makes getting a blow out easier (as they already exist), but you do have to continually think of shortcuts on behalf of your customer.

Watch. Listen. Learn. Adapt.

Rebel Rebel.

January 13, 2016 · By Amy Swift Crosby

Photo from www.pleasekillme.com

Real stars are original.
They are inspired by and moved by and informed by other art, culture, poets, writers, leaders – YET… they are totally, radically, uniquely themselves. They don’t imitate.
Many worthy stars are never recognized, and others do something, usually for a long time, with only a little recognition. You get the feeling they’d do it whether anyone was watching, or not.
Others go big – take big stages, draw millions of sales, become household names and references.
But what I love about a David Bowie, for instance, is that he expressed despite disagreement or finger pointing or rejection. He said what he had to say in the way he had to say it. Masculine. Feminine. Androgynous. In Spandex.

That’s brave. That’s rebellious! And that was before digital had the power to take your weirdness and multiply it – in seconds. He did it despite….whatever resistance was there for him.
A real star leaves you with a message, a question or a thought-provoking dream. You can buy it or not, play it or not, read it or not. They’re going to say it whether you’re listening, or not.

As a business owner, you can’t take “promotion” off the table entirely because essentially you’d be muting your message. But what if you just changed the intention from, “how can I sell this?” to “how am I going to express myself today?”

It’s a little more artful.
Long live Bowie. A rebel worth remembering.