Busy work vs. Impact work, What you should write about, $10,000/hr work
Growth Currency 💡⚡ 0️⃣1️⃣4️⃣
In October 2020—a psychic called me lazy.
“You have an entrepreneurial spirit. But you’re lazy.”
It was a punch to the gut. But it was exactly what I needed to hear. Who knew it would be through a Zoom psychic reading. #covidlife 🤷♂️
I quit my corporate marketing job in 2019 to start a business as owner & operator. I was convinced I could make money with this venture—and even make MORE money (in time) than in the corporate world.
I was dead wrong. Why?
I hadn’t accounted for my laziness.
To be sure—I didn’t stay home watching Netflix or reading science fiction.
I still went to the shop every day.
But… I toiled in futility: I did “work” that didn’t move the financial needle.
Work that was “easier”. Work that didn’t challenge me. Easy work.
“Lazy” work.
And so when you’re not leveraging your time on high impact work, your business isn’t exactly going to surge ahead. It’s going to starve.
So now, nearly 2 years later, I’m back in the corporate world. And I still struggle with lazy work, but I’m mindful of it and can course correct before I waste the day away getting a lot of nothing done.
I’m on a daily mission to prove that psychic wrong.
What work are you doing right now?
Are your days full of “lazy” projects—appearing to keep you busy while not impacting your pursuits as a creator?
Perhaps a better term is “busy work”.
Busy work disguises itself as tasks that can be checked off but don’t accomplish much:
→ Checking your email every 30 minutes
→ Trying out yet another productivity software
→ Subscribing to another email newsletter (😬)
→ Re-formatting your content calendar
→ Going through every font choice to find the perfect one
→ Refreshing Twitter & Instagram for posts to engage with1
The reason we’re quick to default to these busy work projects—I believe—is because impact work is just that: work.
It’s not easy. It comes with built-in resistance.
It’s a lot easier to check simple things off a to-do list and feel accomplished and successful, despite the needle remaining unmoved.
So turn off social media. Put your phone on airplane mode. Unplug your wifi, even.
Focus on impact work so you can do just that: make an impact.
CREATOR HIGHLIGHTS
→ Kevon Cheung || Kevin’s created PublicLab.co where creators “Develop [their] authentic public voice and grow [their] product in 30 days.” On top of that, he shares his Mind Library resource page, and some great posts (stay tuned).
→ Polina Marinova || No, she’s not exactly an “up and coming” creator, but I admire what Polina has done with The Profile. Truly aspirational.
→ Sathya Anand || Another visual creator not only crushing it with his visuals, but with his joy + kindness. Sathya’s a super bright light of a Twitter follow, not to mention some really fun yellow visuals. His book: Yellow Visuals
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Check out that short thread ☝ for some gems. Seth is a content king: publishing every day for ~15 years straight. He’s the gold standard for creating & sustaining a daily shipping habit 🛳 10/10.
THIS WEEK’S GROWTH CURRENCY 💡⚡
✏ WRITE
Turn what’s working into more of what’s working by Nicolas Cole
A tremendous article about letting data guide your writing choices, and how/when you should turn your writing into a business. A snippet:
Writing becomes a business as soon as you start:
→ Capturing people’s email addresses
→ Making money from advertising revenue
→ Making money from paid subscriptions
→ Selling products and/or services
→ Speaking, coaching, consulting, and/or advising
📈 MARKETING
7 subject line hacks for more opens by Welly Mulia
I’m not really a ‘hack’ kind of guy, but when people are passing around tactical hors d’oeuvres, I might take a nibble.
Here they are—read the article for more!
all lower case
Broken english
Curiosity
Short
Benefits
Contrast
Mini skirt
👀 PRODUCTIVITY
The magic of doing $10,000 per hour work by Khe Hy
Khe’s work has made a number of appearances in my recent newsletters—and it’s because he’s a productivity whiz. Here he lays out the value of Impact Work, or what he calls $10K/hour work.
🎧 PODCAST
#161 – How to Make Millions by Writing Online with Sam Parr of The Hustle
A highly actionable listen for anyone looking to make a living online, even if it’s not with writing. Some highlights:
→ 5:28 - “What do you know that other people putting out content don’t know?”
→ 13:46 - “What are some decisions you’re making with Trends that are helping you grow the subscription business”
→ 29:55 - "How would you start a newsletter from scratch today?"
💰 INVESTING & CRYPTO
WTF are NFT’s? by Brendan Short
A thorough and interesting read on NFT’s and the future. Whether you’re considering purchasing or selling, give this a read.
That’s all for this week!
And welcome to my new subscribers 👋 Happy + grateful to have you here.
As per usual, I love your feedback—whether positive or constructive.
One last thing (DM me or reply to this email with your thoughts):
Would you be interested in attending a virtual Creator Conference?
Think: Coachella for creators, but not as loud and less intoxication (maybe). And with way more tactical takeaways to grow your online brand & business. Would love to hear from you! Just reply with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ :)
Til next week!
-Dylan
PS - If you want to help support this email newsletter, feel free to buy me a coffee. And not one of those super fancy ones. I take a drip, medium roast, black. ☕
cough*guilty*cough
Great article! Focusing on impact work or deep work can be such a challenge in a world of digital distraction.
The Sam Parr pod is probably going to be what I listen to on my bike ride today!