For the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to implement a weekly admin day, usually on Sunday or Monday. This is a concept I borrowed from Muchelle B, who explains her weekly routine here.

The idea is simple: take a few hours once a week to capture any nagging tasks, check your calendar for the next week, do some cleaning of your apartment, etc. Because I’m such an Asana lover, I input these as subtasks into a weekly recurring task called “Weekly Admin Day”. That way I don’t forget! It’s been working really well so far.

My favourite part of this routine is the brain dump section. It’s exactly what it sounds like – you think through each area of your life and write down anything that comes to mind that you want to fix, do, or plan. Some of the items will be tiny things, others big, but it’s so reassuring and helpful to have it all captured in one place. Then, as part of the weekly admin day, you actually go through the list and do any of the tiny things you could do immediately without leaving your house.

This does a few things: first, it clears out my brain. I no longer have to feel responsible for holding onto all those little thoughts, because they’re written down for me to see. Second, it makes things into action items rather than worries. If I can see it, I can probably do something about it.

It’s so reassuring and satisfying to go down the list and “cross off” anything I’ve done using a highlighter (I always do this, I think I got it from Elise Cripe). I’ve noticed that so many things seem to happen naturally, on their own, over the course of the week. Others I do actively, but none of it ends up feeling like a very big deal.

This morning I woke up with a lot of little things on my mind, which were distracting and nagging at me. So I started a new brain dump list! Only a few things written down and I’m feeling better already. 

The thing about putting yourself out there on the internet is that you rarely hear back from anyone about it. And it makes sense: the world has become so crowded with content and noise and information that any one single blog post or Instagram story is unlikely to make a big impact. People have so much to scroll through that it would be impossible for them to comment on every single thing they engaged with online (although wouldn’t that be a cool life experiment?). And trust me, I am just as guilty of this! I scroll past tons of things in a day without a single interaction. It’s not necessarily a bad thing.

But it does make it so that as a creator online, for the most part, you don’t get much feedback – at least until you hit a critical tipping point. I remember once on The Joy the Baker podcast (RIP) they talked about how for every one comment you get, there are probably 20 people who read what you wrote, enjoyed it, and didn’t comment. I think when you see someone getting oodles of engagement online, it’s still a 20:1 ratio of views to comments, except they have WAY more views to start with.

The thing is, you never know who is watching. You never know who is listening. You never know what they’re thinking.  Maybe something you shared has gone on to have a tremendous impact on the way someone sees the world! Maybe someone has learned from you and taught that concept to others.

Yesterday I got this beautiful text from a friend of mine who said she’d listened to an episode of my podcast and it had resonated with her, she said it felt like a warm hug. She said it made her remember that we all experience hard things and we’re all connected. How nice is that?

Maybe she’s listened to other episodes, and I never even knew. Maybe she’s had thoughts about them, but I could never have guessed. But had I stopped sharing, because I thought “Nobody is listening or having any thoughts about this,” I never would have created the thing that she needed to hear at exactly the right time. (Note: I did stop making the podcast temporarily, but it will be back!)

The point is: you can’t stop just because you’re not getting the feedback you want. The point is: intrinsic motivation is so important. The point is: your work matters, and is having an impact RIGHT NOW, right AS WE SPEAK, and someone is not telling you. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t count. It means that it is counting without your conscious awareness. And until you become aware of your work’s impact (and even afterwards), your only job is to keep showing up because you want to, because it makes your soul happy, and because it’s what feels right. 

This past weekend, I did a one-day “retreat” with my business bestie Sonja. We spent the day looking at the sticky areas of our businesses, talking about how to fix the problems we’re dealing with and brainstorming simple solutions that might make a difference. It was intense! But it was helpful.

Then last night, I had my personal mastermind group with a couple of friends. Essentially we meet monthly and do a mini version of the retreat, but for our personal lives. We talk about a topic that’s been weighing on us, and get feedback and support from one another. It’s a little like group therapy, but with more love and more opinions.

This week on a podcast I heard someone talk about the healing power of simple awareness and it struck me as incredibly true. So often, once we have awareness and language for what we’re struggling with, the intensity of the problem is diminished. It starts to be resolved on its own. Without even trying, in a few months’ time it’s usually a thing of the past.

I find this helpful to remember, especially when I’m feeling like I need to start applying every single idea and concept right away to fix the problem right now. I can stay calm by remembering that awareness is more than half the battle. When we know better, we do better. 

It makes me feel incredibly grateful for these spaces where I can share vulnerably about the not-so-pretty things. By bringing issues into the light and giving them a bit of focused attention, the healing process has already begun. The problem is already halfway solved.