Follow Along:

The Six-Month Project — Week 1

The Six-Month Project · Week 1 Recap

Say yes first.
Figure it out second.

Week of June 1 60 hrs logged 5 things I didn't plan on

I started this on June 1st with three goals, a loose plan, and a lot of nervous energy. The plan lasted about 24 hours before real life showed up and started rearranging things.

Week one was chaotic, humbling, emotional, and — if I'm being honest — kind of great.

verse one

I jumped in without
overthinking it.

On the very first day, I saw a reminder that The Craft House — the songwriting community I'm part of — was hosting a live song critique session. Instead of watching from the sidelines like I would have done last month, I submitted a song. Right then.

It was terrifying. It was exhilarating. The feedback I got was genuinely really good. That moment kind of set the tone for what I want this whole six months to feel like.

say yes, figure out the scary part after

verse two

The email disaster
and the silver lining.

Moving from Mailchimp to MailerLite was a top priority. I got it done. And then I made a rookie mistake that made me want to crawl under my piano and stay there.

I accidentally triggered a welcome automation that blasted a "welcome to my mailing list!" email to everyone who's been subscribed for years. The unsubscribes rolled in immediately. I felt genuinely sick.

Then the replies started coming in. One person said I always piqued their interest. Another said even a mistake from me was a pleasure to receive. The migration is complete. Calling it a win with a dent in it.

MailerLite

new home.
welcome email sent.
to everyone.

migration complete

it all worked out. mostly.

"You win the prize for the most interesting subject line. You always pique my interest." — someone who unsubscribed, and then made my whole day anyway

verse three

158 songs.
Yes. 158.

I had my first one-on-one coaching call with Mark McDermott, founder of The Craft House. He told me I have great ideas and great talent and also approximately too many of both at once. His advice: narrow the focus. Start with the catalog.

So I went into Disco and made a playlist of every song I've written that hasn't been properly recorded yet. Just demos. Voice memos. Piano sketches. "I'll get to this someday" files.

One hundred and fifty-eight songs. I narrowed it to 22 with real piano in mind. Start there. Keep moving.

Handwritten song lyrics and piano notebook

158 songs waiting. narrowed to 22. for now.

verse four

I hit record.
Scared. Did it anyway.

I got into the studio and recorded the piano for "Just Be." Four takes. One interrupted by my watch buzzing mid-moment. I listened back carefully — not just for technical quality, but for feel. Which one has the most emotion? Which one can I live with?

The last take. I had the click track turned up loud enough to feel the tempo in my bones. Done.

I have OCD and a specific recording anxiety that kicks in the second someone hits that button. I can play for hours. I can do a full show. But "the permanent version" breaks my brain. This week I pushed through it. That matters.

four takes. found the one. the last one, obviously.

already on my radar for week 2...

Sync news ↗

A co-written song caught the attention of a sync agent. Stems are exported and ready. Watching this one closely.

Christmas in June

A brief just landed from my UK publisher — Christmas songs due early July. Actively letting holiday energy into my brain. In June. Send help.

Gym experiment

Moved workouts to 7am at Planet Fitness to protect afternoon creative hours. Day one: two men argued about hearing aids the whole time. Still evaluating.

where did 60 hours actually go?

~45%

Admin & Tech

The MailerLite migration. Bulk-editing YouTube descriptions. Learning new things the hard way.

~20%

Music Creation

Recording piano for "Just Be." Four takes. The goal is for this bar to be the biggest one by week 4.

~18%

Coaching & Learning

Song critique submission + feedback. First coaching call with Mark. Both deeply worth the time.

~17%

Exercise & Other

Including the experimental early gym run. And the sanitation truck soundtrack for a mile and a half.

the actual wins list

✓Submitted song to live critique — terrifying, worth it
✓Completed Mailchimp → MailerLite migration
✓First one-on-one coaching call with Mark McDermott
✓Catalogued 158 unproduced songs; narrowed to 22
✓Recorded piano for "Just Be" — four takes, found it
✓Exported stems for a sync-shopped co-write
✓Learned bulk YouTube description editing
✓Tracked every working hour in a spreadsheet

week 2 — in motion

More creating, less admin.
That's the whole assignment.

Record demo vocal for "Just Be"
Piano recordings for more of the 22
Monday 4pm ET livestream (always)
Let some Christmas ideas percolate

Follow Along:

Say yes first.Figure it out second.

I jumped in withoutoverthinking it.

The email disasterand the silver lining.

158 songs.Yes. 158.

I hit record.Scared. Did it anyway.

More creating, less admin.That's the whole assignment.