“We gotta make a map!”
At first I thought my daughter was imitating the characters on her favorite PBS game. Then I assumed she was stalling for bedtime when she would run up the stairs to grab a piece of paper and a crayon. Finally, I realized what she was asking for: A step-by-step process on how to get ready for bed.
Otherwise known as a standard operating procedure, or SOP 🤗
As an Enneagram 1 and former project manager, this is a symphony for my ears—and proof that my list-making prowess has rubbed off. Yet we write most SOPs to:
Address a mistake.
Satisfy a guideline or policy (usually for certification).
Counteract the anxiety that someone’s going to get “hit by a bus”, meaning their progress will grind to a halt.
The result? A dusty binder on a shelf—or even worse, an electronic labyrinth of documents no one reads or updates (minus the person who wrote them).
Please don’t misinterpret that to mean documenting your work isn’t valuable. But to expect another person to duplicate your step-by-step process with 100% accuracy is a recipe for disappointment. It’s like Googling a recipe for a homemade baguette, printing the recipe without giving it a once-over, and expecting to get the same result of a professional baker. Maybe your house is too cold for the yeast to rise. Or you don’t measure the flour properly. It’s only through repeatedly messing up that you remember there’s a proofing setting on your oven. That measuring your flour by weight is better than scooping-and-leveling.
In other words?
Aim for practice, not procedure.
SOPs are important because the more we train our mind to follow a step-by-step process, the more cognitive space we have to solve problems we haven’t encountered. Even though I practice yoga every morning, stick to a mostly gluten-and-dairy-free diet, and turn on brain.FM before every deep work session, there are some days I write nothing usable—and other days I text screenshots of my work to my best friend and editor. If the former repeatedly keeps happening, then I can either:
Go back to step-by-step processes and analyze if I’m skipping or ignoring steps.
If I’m not, prompt myself with factors that might be affecting my performance, like:
Have other routines changed in the past few weeks?
Am I anxious or stressed about factors out of my control?
Is there an opportunity to hit the pause button and/or shift focus to another activity or project?
Moral of the story? If an SOP works for a four-year-old, it will probably work for you.
What are your experiences with standard operating procedures? Do you love them or hate them? Did an old boss coerce you into writing them for a month straight? (Just me?) Have you ever had to tout the benefits of writing checklists in an email campaign? (Also just me?) Leave me a comment and let me know.
WRITE 👩🏽💻
We’re halfway through April, and the whirlwind has yet to die down (See Life section). Last issue, I talked about dropping a timeline in my story, which means I have some big plot holes to fill. So instead of banging-my-head-against my desk-waiting-for-the-solution, I’m working on a secret project that does involve some writing—just not on the manuscript. I’ll share more when I’m ready 🤫
LIFE 🛟
In case you missed the news, my husband has a new job! 🥳
After watching this man battle cancer, lose his father, and stand his ground against an abusive family member; he is more than entitled to a win. Of course, this also comes with an adjustment period—him being in the office 1-2 days a week. My daughter is devastated, wanting the reassurance of having him nearby, only to ignore him when he’s physically present 🤣
Add in Spring Break and the explosion of her vocabulary (Translation: Incessant demands for more cuddles, paint, and snacks), and suddenly I’m logging in at 10 pm to work because it’s the only time that’s quiet.
BALANCE 🧘🏻♀️
I find it so easy to blame “lack of time” as the reason someone isn’t inching towards their goals. Yet I can’t think of a writer I know—with or without kids—full-time or self-employed; who believes there’s enough time on earth to craft their masterpiece. After holing up in a cabin in the woods for five days, I can say with certainty that swaths of free time do not mean you magically produce more work. As much as we want to light a fire under our ass and get it done, it’s equally important to double down and prepare ourselves for the thing that’s waiting to reveal itself (Hint: It’s probably not the answer you wanted or were looking for).
READING 📚
After starting and abandoning half a dozen books, I’m wondering if I’ve been too busy searching for the new and unexpected, when I should double down on religiously studying books I know and love. I first learned of this technique from my friend Ly Tran, who reads the same ten books every year because in her words:
I’m a different person every year. So I’ll get something new out of it every time.
So it got me thinking: What are the books I could take me to a desert island and not get bored? Here’s what I came up with so far:
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
I’ll share what I love about each book in future issues. In the meantime, leave me a comment and tell me what your “desert island books” are.
STREAMING ⏯
After a week at home with an opinionated preschooler, I was desperate for a few hours out of the house (Mostly, to write this newsletter issue). So when a guy got up on stage and started playing guitar, I was like, “Seriously?!” Then he played a soul-wrenching cover of Matchbox Twenty’s “3 AM” and all was forgiven. Not only is this a lesson for me to be open to my plans changing, it’s also a lesson in artistry to get up on stage and start playing, regardless of whether people are listening or not. Because 90% of the time:
Their opinions are about them, not about you.
So thank you for the impromptu (for me) concert, Garbers. I’m looking forward to listening to more of your work.
COOKING 👩🏽🍳
What, you thought I used the analogy of baking bread for kicks? Of course I made bread—Alexandra Stafford’s no-knead recipe, to be exact. It’s a lengthy recipe filled with lots of tips and tricks, so pay attention to the instructions. Next on my list: The gluten-free version, because as delicious as fresh-baked bread is, I always notice a dip in my productivity when I eat wheat. (See? This is why SOPs are important!)
Cheers,
Sophia :)
P.S. In case you missed it, here’s the essay I wrote earlier in the month on why you are never too old to pursue a creative calling.