As I mentioned on Instagram, it took me about three and a half years to finally buy this book and read it.

So far I’m halfway through it - to be specific, I’m about to start reading Chapter 6 - but before I do that, I thought I would share a few things, or lessons, that have stuck out to me as I’ve been making my way through it.

Keep in mind that I have a note in my Notes app that’s getting pretty long with all of the tidbits and nuggets that I wanted to note for myself to refer back to, so I’ve narrowed them down to five lessons.

Let’s get into it!

Alt text: The cover of the book, “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon is shown along with the title of the blog post underneath.

Lesson 1: Be consistent with posting bits and pieces of your work, your ideas, and what you’re learning online.

Maybe you post once a week. Maybe you aim for three times a week (yup), or want to do five. What matters is that you're showing up and doing it. There isn’t a one-size-fits all number, as I’m learning, and we all have to see what works out best for us individually, our needs, and our schedules. (Because hey, chances are, you’re also juggling your Instagram account with a dozen other things, right?)

Lesson 2: Take people through your process.

I know there are times we’re so focused on getting things started or completed, that it doesn’t cross our minds to record our screens or set up our phones on tripods to capture us while we’re working on our current projects. But you know what? There's a very high chance that your followers are interested in seeing exactly how you created your last piece. Personally, I know there’s a part of me who thinks that no one wants to see me design a carousel or Instagram feed post, however there is at least one person looking at your feed, thinking, “So that’s how they managed to create [insert thing here]! That’s where they found [blank].” So yeah, share that process. (As much as you feel comfortable sharing.)

Lesson 3: Find one piece of your process to share every day.

Yeah, I’m not the best at this. I aim to post to feed three times a week and remember to post to Stories maybe twice or three times during said week? I can’t say that it’s all of my process, though. Sometimes it’s just things I’ve come across that I’ve decided to share with followers while scrolling. Other times, I use that “One Year Ago” feature in Stories to highlight a post I previously made. In this case, it can be a snippet of a video you took while working (like we just talked about in the previous point), it can be a Boomerang, or a bit from a blog post you’re working on, etc. Maybe you’re torn between two ideas and decide to post a poll in Instagram Stories to see what your followers prefer. There’s a wide range of possibilities with this.

Lesson 4: Your work doesn’t need to be perfect.

I’m working on this one. Show the imperfections with your still-in-progress scribbles, ideas, and all of that jazz. It doesn’t give you the green light to go ahead and skip that last read through of what you’re going to post. Rather, this means to not be so hung up on making things “perfect” every time you post. We are bound to miss a few things. We’re human, after all. If we’re spending a whole day just to create one single post, we probably need to make a few adjustments, scale back, and post whatever it is.

I know that we are our own worst critics so it can be hard to just let go and say, “This is fine. I shouldn’t be fussing over this [sketch/wireframe/prototype/moodboard/brainstorming session/whatever else] to this extent.” This isn’t the final or the end result. Get messy.

Lesson 5: Get your own domain

Please, please get your own domain. This is kind of self-explanatory and important, but there’s a simple reason: you can’t put your eggs all in one basket. When you have your own domain, you get to decide how you want your website to look, what you want to share and offer, as well as how you share your content. It’s yours to do with it what you want.

Case in point: I bought this domain three years ago, mainly to have a portfolio, along with a place to document my #NotSoDailyUI progress. I knew that some point I wanted to have my own online shop. Yes, I still sell on Etsy and will probably keep that shop going for a bit, but I also was determined to have a shop under my name, on my website. Something to call my OWN. Not under this website’s banner, or that website’s banner.

Domains can be affordable, depending on the type. I bought mine for $20 and renew it annually. Checking a domain is at the top of the list of things to do when you’re starting a new venture. If it’s available and you can afford it, then snap it up.

If anyone is on Twitter and remembers the domain kerfuffle that happened a few months ago, then you’ll understand why this is so important. Sometimes people purchase domains for others genuinely because they want to see them get off to the right start, then transfer it over to the new owners. Other times (like in that particular case), wires get crossed, miscommunication happens, and people throw around accusations. It’s not always a case of someone buying a domain so you can’t have it - although that does happen.

via GIPHY

Alt text: Woman waves hands and says, “It’s a mess!”

Or, other times, the domain you want isn’t available and now you have to rethink your original idea. Basically, save yourself the hassle and get that out of the way at the beginning, my friend.

And that’s first part of this blog series! The second part will be coming at you sometime soon. Hopefully you’ve learned or had things reaffirmed for you as just as much as I have throughout the first part of the book.

Happy reading!