From the Desk of
Susan Lin
Susan Lin Photo

Dear Morgan,

I'm listening to the ocean waves at night far away from home. It's all at the same time—pleasant, romantic, and unnerving.

One of these feelings is not like the others. I've found myself unable to relax completely.

In our fast-paced field, it's easy to follow the noise, believing it is signal. It's so easy to follow along and say "Yes!" to everything.

Lately things have looked like this...

  • Yes! I will work as hard as the solo designer in the start-up
  • Yes! I will help on this illustration side project
  • Yes! I will come sketchnote these events
  • Yes! I will meet you for coffee to talk about all things design
  • Yes, yes, yes!

When I chose to leave my last role, I received advice from a mentor:

"Block off free time on your calendar, you'll need it to guard it tightly."

I thought little of such advice at the time.

I wanted to be the one that replies, not ignores.

I wanted to be the one that gives everything a chance, not shuts down opportunity immediately.

I thought the inability to relax was due to my work, but it was really me. I believe we don't say or hear this enough:

It's okay to take time for yourself. Even if you are otherwise available to be somewhere or do something.

And furthermore, there are no right course of opportunities to take. Take the ones you wholeheartedly want to take on and see through. Five more opportunities will take every one's place when you let it go. You don't need to be busy all the time, even if being busy will tangibly move things forward.

If you ever feel creatively burnout, I urge you to take a break, Morgan, you deserve it.

Cheers,
Susan

 

RECENTLY...

Doing: Wrapping up a great week out of Amelia Island, Florida for CSSconf & JSconf.

Reading: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Connecting with high school me and reminding myself that life has turned out much different than what I tried to journal then. I should expect the same now.

Listening to: Sanctuary by Infinity Sanctuary Give them a spin, it's been one of my go-to playlists for work and relax time.

Watching: The waves on the beach and the microorganisms which occupy it. Have you noticed some of the shells are alive? When the tide washes them up, they dig themselves back into the beach.

Needing: Inner peace. I recognize how fortunate it is to have work that allows travel and remote contributions. Now, to truly internalize that.

Wanting: More hours in a day!

 

Want to respond to Susan? Even if it's just a little note—email, tweet, or simply hit "reply" (I'll make sure he gets it too).

If you are wondering why these letters seem to be addressed to a random person, you're not losing your mind. These letters are a part of a public letter writing series for The League of Kind + Kindred (that's you)! It's like dominoes with letters...

Follow this public letter writing series from the beginning:
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