Happy birthday to me and all my fellow Aquarians this season
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| Welcome. I’m Anna Codrea-Rado and this is my newsletter about trying to build a creative career without burning out. If that’s a problem you’re also struggling with – you’re in the right place. (And if this email was forwarded to you, sign up for it here) I’m also the author of the practical guide to freelancing, You’re The Business, which is an ideal purchase for the Aquarians in your life ♒️
It’s my birthday this weekend. I absolutely love birthdays, especially my own. I like to think it’s ~healthy~ to take at least one day a year to unashamedly celebrate the miracle that is one’s own life. In the spirit of self-indulgence, I’m taking a week off from writing an essay in the newsletter. Instead, I’m resurfacing some of my favourite issues from the archives. On not being Rory Gilmore This was probably my favourite newsletter to write. It was a real curveball for me as it wasn’t at all in line with my usual content. But it was so damn fun to nerd out about an old TV show, about which I have a surprising amount to say. Am I still a journalist? A theme I often return to in these weekly dispatches is my career identity crisis. In this issue, I called it for what it is and asked myself a really hard question. Email roulette I have a love/hate relationship with my inbox. The adrenaline rush of good email is always countered by the crushing blow of a bad one. The art of slow writing At the beginning of the pandemic, I bought a set of two-inch fake nails and inadvertently superglued them to my fingers. Then I realised that I had to write 3,000 words of my book draft. In this post, my most-read newsletter, I wrote about the surprising discoveries I made about my writing process
Happy Aquarius season to you all! ---------------
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💌 P.S. RELEVANT TO YOUR INTERESTS “Having spent the majority of her 20s laser-focused on the watercooler series that made her a household name, Dunham suddenly found herself staring into a creative abyss, fearing that she may have peaked too soon.” A great profile of Lena Dunham, that captures both her strangely compelling energy, as well as her awkward attempts at #growth. (I can’t help but be a huge fan of her work, don’t @ me) A weird fact about me: I hate cold food. One of my greatest everyday pleasures of working from home is being able to cook a hot meal at lunchtime. I’ve been loving this chickpea confit Ottolenghi recipe lately; I stuff a serving in a toasted pita with some avocado and find that the recipe makes enough for two people for two days worth of delicious, warming lunches I’ll confess that despite being a productivity geek, I’ve not read James Clear’s best-seller, Atomic Habits. Then I heard him on Brené Brown’s podcast and I immediately ordered a copy. I devoured the two-part special about how the best way to form a habit is to create an identity around it (EG rather than setting a goal of “write a novel!”, ask yourself “what would a writer do?” they’d probably make time in their schedule to regularly write something) “This was at Madame von Meck’s urging; she did not want Tchaikovsky and herself to ever meet. He had no obligations to her other than replying to her impassioned letters and producing beautiful music.” A fascinating read about Tchaikovsky and his patroness, Madame von Meck, who wanted no more from him than a pen pal (and to generously fund his music) A few newsletters ago, I shared a video of Baz Lurman’s Sunscreen Song. A reader kindly reminded me of its original version, a column written by the former Chicago Tribune columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner, Mary Schmich Something for my fellow productivity dysmorphics, an in-depth guide for feeling more pride in your achievements
📌 ICYMI: Last week, I shared what I learned growing this newsletter to 15,000 readers.
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