When to let something go

Something that you’ve built up over time. Nurtured, put your blood sweat and tears into it. You’re done all you can with it, and now others are ready to take it on, to run with it, to take it further.

Yet you are not sure you are quite ready to let it go. To let it be someone else’s baby, their project, not yours.

Is it safe to leave it in their hands? Will it thrive without you?

It’s hard to let something go that you’ve built up. That You’ve put so much of you into. But maybe it’s time to take a step back and see if it can survive without you. Something You’ve created, and put out into this world.

Knowing when it’s time to let something go.

There needing to be a purpose

I’ve been thinking about my need for there to be a purpose.

If I can’t see how something will help me in my career or goals in life then I keep putting it off, never doing it. Why? Why not do something just for the fun of it, or because you want to? Does there need to be a reason, a purpose, a part of a bigger plan?

You can just enjoy something because it’s fun. It makes you happy. No matter how temporary. There doesn’t need to be a purpose. You don’t have to have a reason that serves something bigger. It can just be this one thing that doesn’t improve your skills, up your experience level, gain you a certificate, or earn you a reward. You can do it just because you wanted to.

You don’t always need a purpose.

The joy of writing manuals

I’ve had to be a technical author on several occasions. I don’t mind it. In fact I kind of like some aspects of it. Like reading all the technical data on the subject at hand, then distilling it down into an easy-to-follow step-by-step format. I sometimes play around with the text, if I have time. Tweak this bit or that. Make a sentence or paragraph read better, to be more clear, or to say the same thing with less words. Concise.

It’s usually under-appreciated though. Your target audience just wants the bare facts. The how to information as fast as possible. They don’t care about how you do it, only that you have, and that anyone can follow it.

Sigh.

The joy of writing manuals.

Drop a pin

Drop me a pin.

A what?

A young’un asked me to drop them a pin. To let them know where I am. I should know how to do that, but I don’t.

Maybe you have to go to maps and get your current location and then share it? Seems arduous. Must be a faster way. I could ask how but then I’d have to admit to the circle of life coming true. Like me showing my dad how to program the VCR. Geez, VCRs, how old am I?

Old enough to not know how to drop a pin apparently.

About you

Sell yourself.
Write about you.

Ever had writers block when having to create an About page for LinkedIn or a website, explaining who you are and what you do. Your credentials. Your bonafides.

Takes me back to English class. Write a short essay on yourself. Five thousand words. All about you.

It was compulsory in the early days of the web. Your website must have an about you page. As compulsory as a running dog chasing a ball or construction worker to signify that your site is coming soon or under construction. Just don’t use blinking text.

Tell me about you.

Free WiFi

I’m at the beach staring out to sea. The sun is high, the tide is out, and I’m relaxed.

I glance around and spot a sign on a nearby pole. Free WiFi.

The local council is providing free WiFi for anyone that wants it.

How safe is public WiFi? I’m guessing not very. I Don’t connect. I’m fine with my data plan. I don’t need to save the bytes.

If I did I’d probably use a VPN. And then I couldn’t do any financial transactions over it. Too paranoid.

How secure is free WiFi?

I don’t plan on finding out. Instead I look back out to sea watching the boats on the horizon. I wonder if they have WiFi?

Having enough not to care

There’s something about having enough not to care.

What do I mean by that?

I mean having enough money, enough funds, that when problems occur that don’t cost enough to break the bank, your bank, that you don’t have to stress.

You can think: it’s only money. And not stress too much.

I can stress a lot about costs. Hidden charges, contractors bills, medical bills, lettings agents, bank charges, and so on. You begin to get anxious when the post arrives, or an email from that company. It may be nothing, but sometimes..

Having enough money not to care must be nice. Having just enough not to care.

Zero results found

Back in the early days of the internet there was a game we played with Google, where we would try to search for something that would return no results. We would do this on purpose. As more and more data made its way onto the internet it became harder and harder to find something that returned zero results, or even just a single result.

These days it’s practically impossible. Google will always return something, even if it’s just a page of sponsored links. And now there’s AI adding content to the results of your search.

So much data. Zero results.

The benefits of being indispensable

I’ve been thinking about the benefits of being indispensable. Being truly indispensable.

When looking at companies, analysing where costs can be saved you quickly identify the linchpins and bottlenecks. Linchpins are those that the company needs to function, and were they to leave, the company may struggle or even fail. Bottlenecks are those that slow processes and functions down. They need improvement or more help in order to unblock the flow.

Being a linchpin has its pluses and minuses. You get to feel how every employee should feel: needed, appreciated, respected. Time off is permitted (as long as you come back) and your requests are quickly addressed. Mistakes are not overly chastised and even HR likes you. The company needs you and makes you feel needed.

The downside is that they call you when you are sick, when you are on holiday, when you are not on the clock. Usually because no one else can do what needs doing, or answer what needs answering.

If you were to think of leaving you have to give a long notice period and your contract contains clauses into the future preventing you from working where you want, with whomever you want. Among other restrictions.

The benefits of being indispensable.