A newsletter rebrand, why slow isn't bad and why you're a rarity if you create

Hey friends,

Happy New Year!

I’ve started my last few newsletters by writing, “it’s been a while”. And this time, it really has been.

You might be rolling your eyes at how inconsistent I've been and I hold my hands up to that.

But I realised what my problem was.

I had no clear direction. I didn’t understand what the purpose of this newsletter was. Every week it was a blank canvas which I didn’t know how to fill.

Basically, I had no niche.

I'll be honest, I hate the idea of niche. I don’t want to be perfectly categorised and shelved in the right section. I’ve never wanted to conform myself into a box.

But, as an artist, I also understand how constraints can make us more creative. If I only have acrylic paint and 3 colours, I have to think outside the box.

So niche isn’t always about trapping ourselves inside a box, but rather choosing a box as the centre point around which we can explore. The problem I've had is choosing that box.

I spent the holidays in Abu Dhabi with my husband. Every morning, I sat out on the balcony drinking a cup of tea and watching the sun rise. I love those slow moments. And no matter where I am, I always start my day off slowly. It sets the tone of my day, not by making everything slower, but by giving me clarity and helping me to resist the pressure to be busy and mindlessly rush to where everyone else is going.

And that’s when I realised what my box is. I want to talk about the juxtaposition of slow living and productivity; how they seem worlds apart, but collide in perfect harmony.

With that in mind, I've rebranded this newsletter. It’s now called The Good Pace, and I want to help online creators, go-getters and human beings to resist the pressure that society puts on us to “hustle” and go fast. I want to help you reach your destination, but at your own pace- the good pace.

So for now, I’m thinking this will be the structure of this newsletter (there may be some tweaks later, lets see what works):

• On finding a better pace- one idea on slow living and mindful productivity

• A creator’s thoughts- one lesson from my own journey as an online creator trying to navigate through life

• Good finds- one of my favourite things that I’ve found along the way

• Made you think- a quote, question or visual that made me stop and think

Finding your way, especially online, can be difficult. I’m hoping we can figure this out together at a good pace.

So, lets get started!

👣 On finding a better pace

I posted about slow living on Twitter, and this was one of the replies I received.

I was pretty unsettled that someone found it hard to see the word “slow” as a positive.

Since when does the word slow have negative connotations attached to it?

Would you rather be on the road with someone who is recklessly driving at 90mph or with a safe, slower driver who’s checking their mirrors before they switch lanes?

Would you rather have heart surgery by someone who is rushing to get to their next patient, or someone who delicately performs to the best of their abilities, no matter how long it takes?

It’s worrying that society has reduced slow to something we should overcome. New devices come out every year and we rush to buy them because they’re faster than our old devices. We hate walking behind slow people because we’re so impatient. And more and more of us feel behind in life as we strive to achieve goals before we’re 30.

But we all know the classic tale of the hare and the tortoise who had a race.

The hare knows he’s faster. He’s overly confident about winning, so he stops during the race and falls asleep. The tortoise moves slowly but without stopping. He ends up winning the race.

Slow isn’t a bad thing. If anything, it’s the resistance we need in today’s fast-paced world to remind us that the journey is sometimes more fun when you slow down and enjoy the view.

🎨 A creator’s thoughts

I’m currently doing a writing course called Ship 30 for 30. For 30 days, I’ll be writing 30 mini essays.

One of my recent essays got a lot of attention on Twitter:

There’s probably a lot of people who want to create online. Instead, they sit on the other side of the screen worrying about what other people will think. This is so common that anyone who overcomes it joins the rare group of creators who make up 1% of the internet. You automatically gain credibility, respect and attention.

As a creator, I still get filled with doubts about whether I’m providing value. I sometimes think “who do you think you are?” for pressing the publish button. I often look at other creators, worrying that I'm just not good enough.

What I forget is that I’m comparing myself to the 1% of people who create vs the 99% of people who stand in their own way.

We forget that simplfy starting is so rare. And if we have, that's worth celebrating.

🔎 Good finds

4000 weeks by Oliver Burkeman

I know our life expectancy is somewhere around the age of 80. But I never thought about how this translates into weeks.

Reading that humans have an average lifespan of 4000 weeks was quite honestly eye-opening.

This book explores our relationship with finite time and it communicates my own frustrations with productivity content perfectly.

I highly recommend this book if you constantly look for time management advice and stress about having the perfect planning system. I also made a video about it.

💭 Made you think

So, that’s it for my first issue of The Good Pace. What did you think of it? I’d love some feedback on this new structure and if you find this sort of content helpful.

Thanks so much for sticking around and have a good week.

Love,

Akta

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