Overthinking Is Ruining You

1 Tip (For Growing Online)

It wouldn't be entirely accurate to say I didn't write my newsletter last week.

Indeed, you didn't receive it.

But it was written.

Almost completely finished.

Yet, I didn’t hit “publish.”

Why?

• I know the importance of consistency in branding

• I understand my commitment to sending it weekly

• I recognize that honouring my commitments gives me confidence

So, why didn’t I publish?

Overthinking.

Pride month is here, and as a Queer woman, I feel a responsibility to talk about it.

Not to say that I only talk about my Queerness in June. No, this is a fun responsibility many marginalized individuals carry daily.

But it's especially present now as Queer people continue to be targeted, particularly US Trans folks.

So, I began to write, like I do every weekend.

But I was stuck on what to cover:

• My beautiful Queer family?

• My journey as a Queer woman in professional sports?

• My advice for creating space for Queer creators in Web3?

I tried them all.

Still, nothing resonated.

Generally, an edition takes about 60-90 minutes to complete.

This time, hours passed with no clear results.

I was overanalyzing every detail, unable to answer my own fundamental questions when writing:

• What’s the purpose?

• What's the value for my readers?

• How should they feel after reading it?

So, I paused.

I promised myself I’d return, knowing deep down I wouldn't.

Big shocker, I didn’t.

Like I’ve done many times before:

• My desire to deliver huge value prevented any value

• My internal critic overshadowed my creativity

• My pursuit of perfection stunted any action

It’s a bit hypocritical.

I speak about the importance of consistency in content creation often.

However, consistency isn't about flawlessness. It’s about knowing you’ll have “misses” but not allowing them to define your journey.

Am I less of an advocate because I didn't discuss Queerness in my newsletter last week?

Hell no.

And I think you'd agree.

So, as you head into this week, take this 1 tip with you…

You’ve worked too fucking hard to get here and no internal voice or inconsistency is going to derail you.

That doubt and fear only symbolize your mind recognizing:

• The power of your vision

• The value in your unique insights

• The impact you're making on your community

Your mind is afraid because it knows that you’re on the right path.

And deep down, so do you.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering ;)

1) What’s the purpose of this edition? A personal call out for not publishing last week. Maintain accountability by doing so. Spend time reflecting on WHY I let overthinking affect me.

2) What’s the value someone (you all) get for reading it? An explanation for no newsletter last week. Share the ways overthinking negatively impacts me. Share tactics for how you (the reader) can manage it.

3) How do I want someone (you all) to feel once you’re done? That you’re seen. That your challenges are similar to many of us (whether overthinking or otherwise). That there’s a manageable approach to dealing with overthinking next time you face it.

2 Tools (Yay, Efficiency!)

Our content creation philosophy at INTENTIONAL. is three-fold:

1. keep it simple

2. post consistently

3. maximize efficiency + output w/ tech

These things are a must if our small team is going to deliver high-quality results for our clients.

So, here are two of my favourites tech tools this week:

1) ChatPDF: an AI-powered tool designed to analyze PDF documents quickly and create a chatbot around the contents. Upload PDFs from your computer or copy/paste a link to a PDF (note: it must have a .pdf extension to work). It can both analyze and chat in any language.

• How I use it: I use this to quickly get up to spend on client documents, i.e. white papers, or onboarding materials. It’s limited by its current focus only on PDFs, but it’s no secret that PDFs are still widely used in business. Regardless of whether we believe Notion to be better or not ;)

• Costs: Free ($0/month, 120-page docs, 10MB, 3 PDFs daily, 50 questions daily), Plus ($5/month, 2000-page docs, 32MB, 50 PDFs daily, 1000 questions daily)

2) Audiopen: a voice recorder that takes your messy thoughts and turns them into clear text within seconds.

• How I use it: I used this to draft this newsletter outline today! I knew what I wanted to talk about and wanted a clear outline of how I would present that. I’m new to this tool but, I can easily see myself using it for content ideas on the go. Record as they come to me and easily save and go back to them later for a final draft.

• Costs: Free ($0/month, 10 saved notes). Prime ($120/lifetime access or $60/year, use different styles, save unlimited notes, customize shareable images to your brand/social handle, etc.)

Note: these are not sponsored or affiliate recommendations. Just tech we like, try, and use.

3 Tweets (With Gems From Me & Others)

Here are some of my favourite tweets from this past week:

1) Jon Brosio: reminding you to stay focused on the content value, not the content engagement, here.

2) Artificial World: reminding you that you don’t need to figure out the perfect Midjourney prompts on your own, here.

3) ME: reminding you of some of my top Twitter writing lessons, here.

That’s all beautiful humans.

Keep pushing and remember…you got this 💪 

See you next Sunday,

kristina, with a “k”

P.S.

Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

#1: Specific Questions: respond to this email with them so I can share the answers in future editions! I personally read every single response.

#2: 1:1 Coaching: each month I help 2-3 high-potential artists, creators, and founders build their online brands quicker with 1:1 coaching. Is this you? Then respond to this email with 💪🏻🖤 .

#3: Prefer Social? Follow on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram or Tik Tok for even more tips and tools to build your badass brand online.

P.P.S

• I’m Canadian. There will be extra “u”s, double “l”s, and more. This is not a mistake. It’s willful.

• I’m Queer. A mother, a wife, and an advocate for equity of all people, not just Queer folks. Openly, and without filter, sharing the journey of building my personal brands means being authentically me.

• I’m living with mental illness. I’ve been in psychiatric care for depression since I was 12 (I’m now 39). My experiences with anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia, panic attacks, and ADHD shape my perspective.

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