Three Tips to "Un-Someday” Yourself
Have you ever wanted to do something new, but you just kept putting it off until someday? Maybe you wanted to write a book. Or create a blog. Or start a podcast. Or organize your closet. Or fix that pesky leak in your bathroom sink.
If you’re like me, then it always comes down to the opportunity cost of time spent. For example, I could organize my closet, OR I could watch the latest Netflix series. I could brainstorm podcast ideas, OR I could go try out the newest restaurant in town.
But when the pandemic hit, I found myself with more “down” time. My new work-from-home arrangement was saving me about an hour of commuting time—every day—and with restaurants closed and events cancelled, I found myself in need of a creative outlet.
Here’s what I’ve learned in the past few months about how to “un-someday” myself.
Stop thinking about it and start doing it.
The hardest part of starting is finding the starting point—the first action you will take. I spent a majority of my “dream big” time thinking “I could do this” or “maybe it’d be best to do that…,” and I got so caught up in the this-or-that conversation in my own head that I never started anything. I had wanted to start a podcast for a long time, but I just kept making excuses: I don’t know how, it will take too long, I don’t have the right equipment, I don’t know how to edit.
I imagined my podcast as a “someday” goal. And then I read Glennon Doyle’s latest mantra, “We can do hard things,” and I thought, “Why not now?”
Connect With Your “Board.”
Hopefully, you have a personal “board of directors” that you use as a sounding board for any and all ideas that cross your mind. My college roommates have listened to a variety of ideas I’ve had over the last few years, so it made sense that they were my first text. “If I were to host a podcast, what would my topic be?” I asked.
Ironically, the response that kicked things into gear for me came from the roommate who would end up being my first guest and eventually my sidekick for the podcast: Melissa.
“You could interview people about finding their passions and calling in life. How did they get there and why they are called to it. Things they have learned...things they are struggling with, etc. I feel like there are podcasts with well-known people who have succeeded telling their stories, but less so of everyday people who are in the middle of the struggle,” she suggested.
The power of storytelling. That made sense to me. Now, I’ll spare you from the show titles we threw around following that suggestion (but I will tell you the Onion Files and the Onion Layers were both in the mix).
The Bloom Pod helps me share stories of others, and hopefully, provides inspiration for anyone who is listening. My hope is that the podcast is a space for community—a place where innovative ideas and like-minded people cross paths.
Make a Plan.
Once I had the “what” of the show, it was time to put things into action. In April, I created a Google spreadsheet (shout out to Google again; Google, if you’re still listening/reading and want to sponsor the Bloom Pod, we are here for it!) and set a launch date of June 1. Then I set out to find an easy and accessible (and free) podcast hosting platform. Within 10 minutes of Googling, I found Anchor.
Anchor’s easy-to-use, all-in-one platform led to me bumping up my launch date to May 4. Once I interviewed my first guest and realized how easy it was to record, edit, upload, and schedule the episodes, I bumped up the launch date again to April 21.
My original June 1 and May 4 launch date timelines were based on…..nothing. They certainly were not based on any real-life experience I had had with podcasting. My expectations were just the thoughts I had in my own head about how long it would take me to create and publish content, but they were wrong and had been holding me back.
One of my favorite authors/researchers/storytellers, Brené Brown, talks about f****** first times (FFTs) and how there is always a learning curve when we are trying something new. As toddlers, we didn’t walk the first time we tried. We likely didn’t master riding a bike the first time we tried, either. Life is all about learning and growing, but we cannot bloom unless we take action.
If you haven’t already, tune into The Bloom Pod (available on Anchor, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts), listen to the stories of inspiring, everyday people, and start that thing you’ve been putting off.
The world needs to hear your perspective, your voice, your thoughts. Once you start, it will be easier than you think; and you’ll be proud to say, “I did it.”
Keep blooming, y’all.
