Rowan Spazzoli

Strategist. Lecturer. Consultant

Finding and developing my (blogging) voice

Over the years I’ve attempted blogging a number of times. I have four or five blogs that have a couple of posts on them, and all of them have died out. So this is the first time that I’ve managed to blog consistently, and I think I have the momentum to sustain my writing.

Having overcome the hurdle of building a habit of writing, my next hurdle is finding and developing my blogging style. On this site I’m aiming to be a blend of personal-professional and academic-casual. However, I’m finding that striking this balance is quite difficult, and I tend towards professional/academic at times.

A previous blog of mine, that I had called “Parenthesis” was the opposite. The writing wasn’t very structured and most paragraphs would end in quirky comments set in brackets (kinda like this, but less forced). I enjoyed this style, but it was a bit too muddled for what I’m trying to achieve here.

I think that my style will develop in time, as I become more comfortable with writing. Additionally, as much as I’ve started to overcome it, the fear of my posts being out in public results in my writing being quite conservative. I don’t let myself be too weird, just in case a student or colleague of mine were to happy upon the site. Again, this will also develop with time.

My blogging inspirations

My ideal writing style would be a blend of my three favourite bloggers, with my own flavour coming through. The three bloggers below have inspired me to write and have had a significant influence on my thinking. They are:

  • Seth Godin – Seth is a business/marketing author who has written a number of best selling books. He was the person that inspired me to write daily. His blogs are sometimes less than 50 words, but contain such incredible nuggets of wisdom. My writing at the moment emulates him a little, but doesn’t have the same brevity
  • Tynan – Tynan is an adventure/writer/entrepreneur who lives the most incredible life. His blogs are always so interesting and are usually around building habits, travel and other cool things he’s doing. For example, he used to live permanently in a decked out RV, travelling the world (mostly spontaneously) with just a 50l backpack and recently he bought an island with 10 friends.
  • WaitButWhy – This blog is run by Tim Urban, and ultimately I’d like my writing style to be similar to his. It’s entertaining while still remaining  informative and interesting. His blogs are ridiculously long, so I might have to sprinkle a little Seth in to keep it brief

Over the course of the next few months, I’ll aim to develop my style into something that reflects me best.

I can’t wait to look back at in November next year and see how far I’ve come 🙂

Image is from last week Friday, when I had my chaotic day. I’d just been let on the plane because there was a free seat and I snuck a selfie on my way up the stairs. You can see just how happy I was to make it on to that flight

Blog number: 39/365

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Working on Sunday; Resting on Wednesday

My regular day and week looks quite different to that of other young professionals, particularly those in corporate. I usually wake up at around 8.30/9, and spend each day working on 3 or 4 projects. These might include lecturing, working on my startups, consulting or writing my thesis. I’ll usually stop working at about 2 or 3 in the morning. So my work day starts later and ends later than most.

My most productive day is normally a Sunday. I love working on Sundays because most people aren’t working, meaning I can clear out emails, get nice parking on campus and can get stuff done without distraction. I then usually rest on a Wednesday or Thursday, when the rest of the world is being busy.

Not All Good: The Problems

There are a few things about this schedule which don’t work so well:

  • Often I’ll be trying to get work done but am limited by the fact that other people aren’t working. For example, if I need to call someone and can’t because it’s 3 in the morning
  • Not having a boss is cool, but the problem is that I have no one to check up on me or to prod me when I’m going slow. So sometimes a few days will go by with very little work being done
  • Working on multiple projects at the same time means that some end up filling up too much time and others get shoved to the side

But Still Pretty Great: The Benefits

Some of the things that are awesome about this include:

  • Having complete control of my time means that I can set my priorities. For example, as discussed in previous post, when friends come to visit I can schedule my time around them.
  • One of my favourite things about this life is avoiding traffic. I only ever travel outside of rush hour, meaning that I’ve sat in traffic only a handful of times this year
  • I can set up my time for maximum enjoyment and spontaneity. I can do what I want when I want to, as long as I get my work done

Age of the Freelancer: Every day is Sunday

I can go on about the pros and cons of this life schedule, but will refrain from doing so. I don’t think it’s for everyone, and it is definitely a lot more difficult than it looks. You have to be your own boss, secretary and employee at the same time.

I think, though, that the world is moving towards this kind of flexible work. Technology has given us the ability to communicate fluidly and work dynamically. The only reason there is a lag in this type of work being adopted is that it isn’t what people are used to, a companies are still caught in old ways of doing things.

For me, I know I still have a long way to go until I have mastered it. I’ve been living in hierarchal structures my whole life. But this year I’ve learnt a lot about how to manage myself. And it means that, ultimately, I will have the autonomy to direct my time and energy where, when and how I want to.

And also, that any day can be my Sunday.

Image is from a trail run I went on with a friend around Devils Peak at 8am on a Tuesday morning. It was an epic run and I ended up getting home just after 11. Another perk of my flexible lifestype

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The Perks of Being Stoic

Today was so ridiculous that I accidentally got to practice being stoic for the first time. I’ve read about the concept before but never really tried to apply it.

A brief definitely of stoicism might read something like this:

Stoic philosophy asserts that virtue (such as wisdom) is happiness and judgment should be based on behavior, rather than words. That we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses.- DailyStoic.com

Basically, it one of the key tenets of it is the idea that you can’t influence what happens to you but you can influence your reactions to it. In doing so, you’re able to weather anything that is thrown at you.

So I spent the day being stoic. And this is why:

  • I woke up at 4am for a 6am flight to Joburg. I needed to be in Pretoria for a meeting from 9.30-12
  • The plane was delayed by 2 hours.
  • I arrived at the meeting at 10.45
  • One person at the meeting was actively hostile towards me and went against almost every point I brought up
  • Got really bad news about a family member’s health
  • Got caught in the middle a major (unrelated) family fight.
  • Got back to the airport for my flight back to Cape Town. The flight had been overbooked and I had been kicked off it.

I was sitting in the airport waiting area reflecting on all this when a lady sat next to me. We started chatting and I told her that I’d been bumped off the flight.

She asked why I wasn’t complete losing it with the airline. How could I just be sitting there so happy and patient?

Part of the reason was that I didn’t have the energy to fight. I was exhausted. But also, shouting and getting angry would not influence the external environment. It would not put me into a worse headspace. The only thing I had control over was my own mind, and I just aimed to look after that instead.

I grabbed myself a cool drink and waited it out. And at the last minute, got a call up as there was one free seat.

I made it back in time and got to watch the cricket at Newlands with friends.

And despite everything that happened today, I go to sleep happy

Image was taken at 4.30am when I was leaving the house. The image doesn’t quite capture it, but the clouds were suspended and so still that it looked like a painting.

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Activating Superman Mode Wisely

I’ve come to learn recently that what I thought was one of my biggest strengths is actually one of my biggest weaknesses. I’ve dubbed this my “Superman” mode, where I’m able to be hyper productive, fix problems rapidly and can juggle multiple tasks simultaneously.

I used to love this mode. I thought it was the best version of me, the one that helped me achieve and excel at anything I did.

The problem is that Superman mode comes at a cost. I’m able to activate it for a very brief period, and once it runs out, I don’t go back to “normal”. Instead, I end up in a burn out state for a day or two.

I imagine it as putting all the available wood on a fire at the same time. It may make one hell of a flame and warm things up quickly. However, it burns through the wood much more rapidly than anticipated and then you’re left with no fire and no warmth.

I used to think the solution was to have more Superman mode… if I could just get it started again then everything would be fine. However, I failed to realize that there is a finite amount of psychological fuel available to us and once that’s finished it takes a while to build up.

So my new solution is to use Superman mode less frequently, not more. On a day to day basis I aim to keep a steady burn, just enough to keep things warm.

And then, when I need Superman mode (like tonight, as my marking deadline is tomorrow) I can activate it for a brief period to get the job done.

Image is from September when my dad and I ran our first full marathon together. He hurt his knee so I helped him hobble over the line

Update: marking is finished!!!!!!

Ps: a great song to listen to that fits this post is Superman by Five For Fighting. Check it out

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The two words that make it worth it

This year I’ve been a course convener for the first time and been a lecturer on another course, with a combined 600 students between them. It has been extremely difficult at times. I’ve handled over 1400 query emails, lectured 20+ times and had over a hundred hours of consultation time with students.

Furthermore, there were protests towards the end of the year and we had to make decisions under conditions of extreme uncertainty. At the same time, the protests triggered my anxiety, which I had to try as best I could to work through.

To top it all off, some students are unbelievably difficult regardless of how hard you try.

At one point I decided I didn’t want to come back.

I had had enough.

However, I changed my mind. And today I was reminded of the two words that did:

Thank you

Two students sent me heartfelt emails saying thank you for the courses, and all the work I’d done. The simple gesture of saying thank you made me feel like I had achieve my objective, that I had done well.

And suddenly, those two words made it all worth it.

Image is from the exam tents on campus. It was incredibly hot and noisy. We had to write in these tents because it was the only way the university could fortify against protestors. There are 50+ police in riot gear that surround the venue as well as fences, barbed wire and a bunch of emergency services. Really not the best conditions to write an exam under. But the students made it through, and that’s all that matters

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Persevere

The motto on the badge of my primary school in Harare was “persevere”. I remember not knowing what it meant, but finding it strange that my Grade 2 teacher, Mrs Vere, had her name in on the school logo. Clearly she was quite important.

As I grew older I learnt the meaning of the word, and I have held on to it quite tightly ever since. Two very important events yesterday brought it back, and were quintessential examples of it.

The first was the resignation of Robert Mugabe as president. It reminded me that Zimbabwean people are the embodiment of perseverance. Many have stayed in the country despite the economic woes. Many have left but still send money back to support their families or are involved in various other ways. Through all the hardship, Zimbabweans have been resilient, and they have persevered.

The second event was much closer to home. My brother received his exam results and he had passed the last course of his degree. He will now graduate in March next year.

My brother’s journey is the greatest example of perseverance I will ever know. He has been through mental illness, heartbreak and our intense family drama. He has failed many courses, but each time he dusts himself off and gets back and does it again. He made it through the final course on his fifth attempt, and this time he received a distinction in the subject.

I am so deeply proud of what he has achieved. And I take inspiration from it. I have learnt that being resilient isn’t just about being fierce, it’s sometimes the quiet voice that says “I’ll try again.”

I think if we were ever to have a family crest, it would have the same motto on it as our alma mater, Highlands School, does:

Persevere

Image is from my recent visit to Pretoria, where my brother and I managed to fit in a very quick coffee before the meeting I was going to.

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Saving for Experiences

My normal day to day spending is quite frugal. I rarely splash out on fancy things, I limit my grocery shopping to the bare necessities and I maintain a really small wardrobe.

On the other hand, when it comes to sharing experiences with friends I am happy to spend any amount of money. This includes trips and holidays, meals at fancy places and any other adventures.

I save on the everyday and celebrate the extraordinary days, whatever they may cost. Because these extraordinary days will forever be in my memory and form part of my shared experience with my friends.

It’s in these moments when the true magic of life happens

Image is from my adventure with two of my closest friends today. It broke the bank account, but it was worth every cent

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Make Hay While the Sun Shines

On my white board at home I’ve begun writing up a list of potential blog ideas that I didn’t use on the day I thought of them, cause I had something else to write. One day, when I get writers block or begin to run out of ideas for #365of25, I’ll turn to this list for inspiration.

Such fluctuations in life are inevitable and often out of our control. We experience intense highs and deep lows, in almost all spheres. One of the ways in which we can handle this is taking some of the up and helping it smooth out the down.

This may sound cliche but it’s a genuinely good strategy for managing turbulence. Some of the ways I do it include:

  • Going over an above the required work on the courses I manage so that when I’m not managing other people can step in.
  • Preparing food for myself when I have the energy to so that there’s something for when I’m tired.
  • Saving as much money as I can when it’s available so that I can draw on it when I need it.
  • Setting up systems to manage any mental health problems when I’m in a good head space to help when I’m in a bad one
  • Then blogging example mentioned above

It’s not a particularly revolutionary system. It’s essentially an inter-temporal shift of available resources. But it’s a simple and effective tool for managing life’s inevitable ups and downs.

Image is from a recent holiday with school friends. It was taken somewhere on the road between George and Cape Town

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