#itsagroupeffort

[fourbulliesandacookie]

The mama’s cleaning and we’re helping get all our fur and toys back where they belong. #mamamovedallourthings #wearehelping #itsagroupeffort #fauna #holland #luna #cookie🍪 #deucethediapeydog #fourbulliesandacookie #englishbulldog #dogsofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CkBTNJNrKGo/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[datingbetweenthelines-blog]

Welcome To Pick Me Up!

Hello wonderfuls!

Welcome to the first Pick Me Update

(see what I did there?)

I will be posting insights of the evolution of the book, of the work of It’s a Group Effort (more to come on what Group Effort even is), and whatever else feels relevant.

Right now the book is still a baby fetus, perhaps the size of a mango book. There’s a lot of behind the scenes stuff that needs to happen all at the same time. Of course I decided a few weeks ago to switch jobs, so I’ve been settling into a new job while working on the project. Oy vey. Onward!

This project has already been a rollercoaster of feels. Right now the sticky part is keeping my fears at bay and staying organized. I tend to react to overwhelm by freezing: I don’t know where to start, and just do random stuff that isn’t number one priority. A lot of people are like that, and I often find myself looking back on my week and feeling like I was busy and stressed out, but I didn’t actually get anything done. I’ve found that if I have a large volume of work, I need to take a couple of steps:

Sit with myself and jot down all the things I want to do

Look at what I’m putting off

Look at what’s of most importance

If any of those intersect, I need to focus my energy on that first

Procrastination is fear, simple as that. When I sat down with my to-do list yesterday, I saw that I had put off writing a blog post for two weeks. I also recognized that it’s the most important marketing tool I have. I had to sit with myself, admit that blogging is scary for me, and write the damn thing. And here we are.  It wasn’t that bad :)

And I think our addiction to busyness doesn’t help. We are inundated with the subtle message that busyness is the goal. Busyness is our real business. However, I have seen many a busy person that is running around working very hard, and not really getting anything done, and certainly not having a very good time at it. There’s a huge difference between working hard, and working well. I’ve done it, sometimes I’m doing it. It’s icky.

But what does this nonsense have to do with the book? Well gosh, just about everything. Because Pick Me Up is about taking something that is proposed as intrinsically difficult; being single, asking someone out, talking to someone new, and saying “HEY, you’re doing a fine job, don’t beat yourself up about it.” It’s giving a hug instead of a reprimand. It’s offering comic relief over advice. I would like to give you this same message about being productive and fulfilled in your day to day. We’re all figuring it out and you’re doing just fine :)

Have a lovely week, y’all! If you missed it, click here to see the intro post explaining Pick Me Up and sign up for the newsletter

Thanks for reading

[emmacraigblog]

It feels good having Bob watch over me while I work on a new blog post for #PickMeUp itsagroupeffort.com I've been procrastinating it, which just shows me that it scares me and I need to give the writing process some extra love. If it's the last thing you want to do, DO IT FIRST! Wish me luck and sign up for the email :) #zerotohero #writer #itsagroupeffort #bobthegiraffe (at Oakland, California)

[datingbetweenthelines-blog]

We’re Creating A Book!

It is an illustrated book of pick up lines. It will be silly, funny, pretty and will empower you in a sneaky way. Pick up lines have a bad rep for being sleazy and sexual, but they don’t have to be. They’re just a way to be brave, while showing how funny and dorky you are. Pick Me Up will also hold a bunch of love tidbits; stories and advice from all sorts of people about dating relationships, love and the like. We want to give you something to read about dating that isn’t telling you that you’re broken, and isn’t trying to fix you. We just want to remind you that you’re doing great and make you laugh a little. 

Pick Me Up is the name of the book, Its A Group Effort is our self-publishing company. This is a community project that rests happily on the energy and time of FAR more people than just the author and the illustrator - it is truly a group effort. 

We hope you tag along and love on the book with us. Emma (me!) will be posting updates and ramblings every week, with the occasional sweet pic of Puja illustrating, or the Group Effort crew doing creative and fun stuff. 

To get emails, click this dope link