This is a personal update, instead of an article.
A while back I asked this list if you all would be interested in these from time to time, and almost all of you said yes, so here it goes…
I always take a break from sending this newsletter from the end of November until the start of January. So this is the last email of the year from me. This is a time of year that’s fairly rampant with promotional emails and general noise about sales, deals and holidays, and I opt out of all of it – your inbox doesn’t need extra stuff from me. I’ll be back in the new year with some fresh, holiday-free articles, just for you.
Company of One
My next book is humming along! It’s gone through a few rounds of revisions with my amazing editor Rick Wolff (he edited Cal Newport and Alexis Ohanian’s books) and it’s just about ready for copyediting. So far, I’m really enjoying the traditional publishing route with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The people I’m working with on it are making me a much better writer.
And note, the book will probably be out early 2019 (no firm set date yet). Yes, that’s a ways away, but traditional publishing is a long process.
We’re already starting to think about marketing and cover design! And my publisher just published Tim Ferriss’ latest two books, which is pretty neat.
Business
Note that my book’s premise and the general mindset of being a company of one doesn’t literally mean you work alone 100% of the time. What it means is that you challenge the idea of growth in all areas of a business.
To that end, I’ve realized that I take on far too much, far too often, so I’ve been working with some pretty talented freelancers and partners to collaborate with on specific aspects of my business or to create joint ventures. I never want to have to manage others (I’m awful at it anyway), so I always work with people that know exactly what they’re doing, are masters of their craft and can just do the work. I’m lucky to have found and started working with rad peeps like Kaleigh, Zack, Justine, Matt, and Kim. I work with a tiny team of PRO players (who are all smarter than me), and it’s awesome.
I also want to try some new things in business next year involving less “me the expert” and more group efforts towards common goals. More on this super cryptic note in the new year...
Personal
As I alluded to earlier, I opt out of the holidays. What that means is that I don’t buy presents for anyone, holiday shop, have any Black Friday deals on my products, or participate in the flurry that can be holiday consumerism. No, I don’t hate xmas, nor am I Scrooge McDuck. I just don’t need it. My wife and I have what we need, aren’t fans of gift giving to each other or our families, and hate travelling in December (and both our families are 1000s of miles away). This isn’t even a judgement – if the holidays in its current form works for you, by all means, enjoy it! But if not or if it stresses you out, perhaps examine why.
I love my version of this time of year because it involves absolutely nothing from me. I can avoid everything but the grocery store, and on the 25th, I can wake up and lounge about (probably with a bunch of Netflix documentaries).
Til next year,
Paul Jarvis