Pressing Pause
Posted
I will pause Wiggle Work applications for about a month starting on Saturday, February 8th. In the spirit of transparency and getting my head straight around the decision, I wanted to write up a couple of notes regarding the reasoning and ultimate goal.
Regular Housekeeping
Part of this is that I am overdue for some basic housekeeping and operational considerations. The back of house stuff, even in a small community, can get messy from time to time when this work is not a full-time endeavor. I have found that I manage this best when I shift from growth to thinking through how to enrich the existing state of things—so, leaving room to slow down.
I also have an increasingly convoluted Notion board to organize, some automation to consider and implement, and a new onboarding strategy to map out and test. So, nothing glamorous, but all important. It’s just me on this end of things and sometimes that means I manage these files and spreadsheets like no one is watching—because no one is!
Financial Considerations
Wiggle Work is a labor of love but also involves me using my personal money in the form of the Discord server boosts, shipping, and fun prizes. I’ve always been so happy to do this, and will continue to, but the scope or structure will have to change fairly drastically to be sustainable.
Every once in a while there are some kind, generous folks that contribute to our Ko-fi account. It’s greatly appreciated but doesn’t cover base operational costs. I need time to think through impactful but realistic options here and weigh this against what sort of time investment I can put into Wiggle Work in the future based on the solution.
I’d love to fully commit more resources to this space that I believe to be so important and influential, so I need time to consider a more solid financial plan. And if I hit dead ends here, I need to be honest with myself about what that means for my existing resources I can spare.
Reflection
I’m in a separate group for community builders and we’ve had a lot of motivating conversations lately, with a larger theme of slowing down and reflecting before taking action. Part of this reflection involves reevaluating goals, both personally and on a group level, and changing the current trajectory when necessary based on how much of this is not overlapping. I want to make sure I understand my current goals and hopes, how it compares to where I started, and what this all looks like from now on.
I’ve done this before when leading other communities and it’s led to some incredible, energizing changes, clarity, and resolutions. For instance, depending on the specific goals of course, bringing on an engaged co-organizer, getting sponsors, prioritizing new events, updating purpose statements, or retiring on a good note are all things I’ve carried out in the past to start down a new path.
Honesty and transparency are core values I work hard to uphold personally and professionally, and I simply wanted to take a couple minutes to let everyone in on why there is a temporary pause on applications. Our small, cozy Discord space will still be full of chatter and calls, and I’ll be back with another blog post when I get these things sorted out in my head and on paper.
See you are around if you’re an active member, and see you in March if you are a future member 🧡