Issue #51: Mixing It Up
I’ve been avoiding this moment. After a month off, and before that two months of chaos, my writing brain doesn’t feel ready to return to the office. After stumbling across articles on play in post-COVID life in Bloomberg and Architectural Review, I want to spend time playing outside, enjoying newfound COVID vaccinated friendly freedoms. I have a serious case of writer’s block with a side of impostor syndrome. I was concerned that I ran out of ideas or would come across as not having any answers.
A friend was kind enough to remind me of a few things:
I created this space for learning, so I didn’t need to have all of the answers.
I created this space to connect with others so I didn’t need to have all of the ideas.
I created this space to play and have fun so I had control over how that happened.
With that in mind, I thought it would be fun and interesting to play with format and schedule over the summer to dive deeper into some of the topics that you loved most from past issues and explore opportunities for what lies ahead:
Reddit AMA-style Q&A every other week: These will use the discussion thread feature on Substack. I’ll post on Thursdays at 8 am PT when you can add any questions you might have or interesting signals that you’ve seen for the future of belonging. Over the following 24 hours, I will answer questions and add comments to signals and so will you! If you need a refresher on know what signals are, check out this video and/or Powerpoint.
Guest interviews every other week: I have a long list of people who I’ve been dying to talk to about their perspectives on the future of belonging.
An online event at least once a month: We’ve done games and other interactive activities like 100 Ways Anything Can Be Different in the Future that I’m excited to offer in other time zones and exploring new topics outside of belonging at work.
The first AMA will be next Thursday, May 19th at 8 am PT. I’ll feature a a few longer-form essays through the summer. Until then, I can’t wait to see your questions, signals, and creative insights next week.
P.S. If you are looking for something new to play, this lottery game aims to help you envision your priorities in your post-COVID life.