Sept. 8, 2021, 8 p.m.
The Jigsaw of Independence: Putting together an independent life without falling apart
Tom Critchlow
Hey, it's me Tom Critchlow. This is my email newsletter that I send on a relaxed schedule - mostly about independent consulting with a dash of blogging for good measure. Here's my daughter putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Maybe she's trying to figure out her life too.
When we say things like "carving an independent path" or "taking the path less traveled" or "making the leap" we don't typically think about how active those expressions are. If we think about it at all we think of the herculean effort required to step out into an independent career. That first initial leap.
But remaining independent.... ah. Creating a sustainable independent career.... that's something else.
When you're free from the structures of full time 9-5 work you're forced to re-evaluate and re-assess your relationship to all kinds of things. And there's no validation or affirmation. You're forced to create your own identity (if you can believe your own BS). You're forced to create your own routines and rhythms. And this work is continually happening. There are no promotions, no career changes, no awards. There's no one to tell you what to do. Or who to be.
I just published my latest blog post. It's very much part 2 of the Kairos theme that I developed in my last post. We explore the inner life of being independent by examining some of the most emotionally taxing tradeoffs:
One of the ideas in the post is that an independent career is an assemblage of various jigsaw pieces: different types of client work, self directed projects, side hustles and more. And this means that you might need to end up taking certain projects seriously.
For me this book project has become "serious". It's a core jigsaw piece of my independent identity. So it's kind of terrifying to think that I'm nearing the end. What happens to my identity when I finish the book? Will I ever actually finish the book or will I self-sabotage in order to sustain this "book in progress" state for ever?
By my last count there's only three pieces left to write before I ship this book off to an editor.
In the background I'm continuing to experiment with the idea of generative art for the cover - where every book cover is unique. I can handle the generative art side but if you know anything about how to actually print books that way please get in touch...! So far I'm experimenting with the Lulu API but I'm not yet sold on that approach...
Talking of Chronos and Kairos.... We're back in Brooklyn after 18 months on the road and Roxy starts kindergarten next week. If the school schedule and calendar isn't the most rigid Chronos experience I don't know what is... Wish this poor little Kairos worker good luck in dealing.
And of course - if you wanna grab coffee (outside) in Brooklyn then holler.
How do you manage to create a sustainable independent life? Any advice?
Much love,
Tom
When we say things like "carving an independent path" or "taking the path less traveled" or "making the leap" we don't typically think about how active those expressions are. If we think about it at all we think of the herculean effort required to step out into an independent career. That first initial leap.
But remaining independent.... ah. Creating a sustainable independent career.... that's something else.
When you're free from the structures of full time 9-5 work you're forced to re-evaluate and re-assess your relationship to all kinds of things. And there's no validation or affirmation. You're forced to create your own identity (if you can believe your own BS). You're forced to create your own routines and rhythms. And this work is continually happening. There are no promotions, no career changes, no awards. There's no one to tell you what to do. Or who to be.
🧩
I just published my latest blog post. It's very much part 2 of the Kairos theme that I developed in my last post. We explore the inner life of being independent by examining some of the most emotionally taxing tradeoffs:
- Am I willing to turn down this client project in order to take a vacation?
- Can I really turn down this client project to work on my side project?
- After no clients for two months suddenly I’ve got three clients all kicking off next week!
- How do I find uninterrupted time for deep work when managing this client project means I have to be on-call?
The post explores the ideas of capacity, headspace, stress, energy levels and ultimately how to create a sustainable practice as an independent.
Go read it here: The Jigsaw of Independence: Putting together an independent life without falling apart
Go read it here: The Jigsaw of Independence: Putting together an independent life without falling apart
🧩
One of the ideas in the post is that an independent career is an assemblage of various jigsaw pieces: different types of client work, self directed projects, side hustles and more. And this means that you might need to end up taking certain projects seriously.
For me this book project has become "serious". It's a core jigsaw piece of my independent identity. So it's kind of terrifying to think that I'm nearing the end. What happens to my identity when I finish the book? Will I ever actually finish the book or will I self-sabotage in order to sustain this "book in progress" state for ever?
By my last count there's only three pieces left to write before I ship this book off to an editor.
In the background I'm continuing to experiment with the idea of generative art for the cover - where every book cover is unique. I can handle the generative art side but if you know anything about how to actually print books that way please get in touch...! So far I'm experimenting with the Lulu API but I'm not yet sold on that approach...
🧩
Talking of Chronos and Kairos.... We're back in Brooklyn after 18 months on the road and Roxy starts kindergarten next week. If the school schedule and calendar isn't the most rigid Chronos experience I don't know what is... Wish this poor little Kairos worker good luck in dealing.
And of course - if you wanna grab coffee (outside) in Brooklyn then holler.
🧩
In other news:
- I accidentally tweeted the phrase "re-wilding your attention" in this thread which kicked off some lovely blog posts including this one from Clive Thompson. I've got some thoughts here that I'll save for a future post but I'm curious. How do you manage your digital attention? What would it take to re-wild your attention?
- My 7 year indie-versary is coming up soon so I'm thinking about these "year-notes" that I write. I've started a thread here gathering together some good examples but please @-me if you're an independent consultant and have written these year-note reflections!
🧩
How do you manage to create a sustainable independent life? Any advice?
Much love,
Tom