Why I Share My Work
I‘ve long been a believer in sharing or narrating my work, my first attempt was using VAX Notes probably 20 years ago, then I moved on to detailed highlight reports (that I continue to this day) but my real focus has been blogging. After a good start about 10 years ago, I lapsed, but over the last few months I’ve enjoyed getting back into practice.
I restarted blogging because appraisal season reminded me that one of the most frequent comments I’ve had over the years concerns the need to coach people more in how I work. Blogging provides a useful way to communicate the way I organise myself, my work, the way I think and approach challenges. I’ve very much enjoyed the process and I’m hoping that at least 1 or 2 people find it a useful addition to the work that I’ve always done face to face.
One of the best things about blogging for me is that over time I accumulate a huge body of short articles that are easy to search and share. I get a lot of questions at work and being able to provide answers with a few clicks is very gratifying.
The inspiration for this post was the article Show Your Work: Austin Kleon on the Art of Getting Noticed
Almost all of the people I look up to and try to steal from today, regardless of their profession, have built sharing into their routine. These people aren’t schmoozing at cocktail parties; they’re too busy for that. They’re cranking away in their studios, their laboratories, or their cubicles, but instead of maintaining absolute secrecy and hoarding their work, they’re open about what they’re working on, and they’re consistently posting bits and pieces of their work, their ideas, and what they’re learning online. Instead of wasting their time “networking,” they’re taking advantage of the network. By generously sharing their ideas and their knowledge, they often gain an audience that they can then leverage when they need it — for fellowship, feedback, or patronage.
I agree entirely with this snippet from the article, although in truth the last thing I want to do these days is ‘get noticed’.