Notes

Ray Lamontagne's songwriting has inspired me for years now. There's a specificity in every song that draws you in and leaves you searching for meaning.

Over the weekend, I was pleased to discover that Ray released a new album called Monovision last summer. This one is particularly special. Ray wrote, produced, and performed every song at his home studio. Moved by this new batch of songs, I went searching for more background and was surprised to find a rare interview with the notably low-profile songwriter.

Listening to Ray speak is as soothing as hearing him sing. In the interview, Ray likens his process to catching fireflies.

"I don't like to think about music all the time. I wait til it comes to me and asks for my attention. The other side of that is that when it does ask for your attention, you have to give it. I could be in the middle of the grocery store and a melody will come knocking ... [these melodies are] like fireflies, you see them for a second then they're gone. If you don't catch it, you won't give another chance."

When asked how Ray develops a song, he replies "I try to just get out of the way." He speaks as though the songs are in control, guiding him where to go.

As a songwriter, I cherish those moments where I sit down with a guitar and the words flow through me. Lately, as a writer, I find myself struggling to find my flow. I've had a hard time letting an idea come to life, too focused on writing and re-writing "to get it right."

Ray goes on to share his past struggles with songwriting, almost leaving it all behind years ago.

"In life in general, I was driving myself with a negative, self-critical voice. ... At a certain point, it became clear that it was not healthy. It was taking all the joy out of everything. It took me a couple of years to figure that out. No music, just being home trying to figure out what was going on. ... [It's the playfulness] that I was really quashing in the early years of songwriting. I would just crush any playfulness out of tunes because of my self-criticism."

Sometimes we look at our idols as gods. We forget that they, too, are human. I find comfort in Ray's story and a renewed energy to find the playfulness in my writing.

For more insight into Ray and his process, I highly recommend listening to the entire interview here. Also be sure to check out his new album "Monovision." Currently on repeat.

I curate a song, playlist, podcast, or... vibe for just about every moment of my life.

When I brush my teeth, go for a drive, step out for a walk, cook, exercise, play a board game, write... I always seek out the perfect soundtrack. Am I in the mood to relax? Am I in need of a lift? Am I in the mood to learn? Am I in the mood to think?

What I've noticed is that I'm not always aware of my mood. I've enjoyed using this as an opportunity to pause and acknowledge how I'm feeling.  If Dana is with me, I do my best to capture her vibe as well. It's a fun challenge.

I hadn't thought much about this tendency until I noticed how I've subconsciously applied it to reading.

For some time, I carried the belief that I could only read one book at a time. I don't know where I got this idea from... I guess I couldn't imagine following more than one storyline and enjoying it.

After buying a Kindle Paperwhite (big fan of the easy highlights and waterproof body) at the suggestion of my friend, Max, my view changed entirely. I purchased a few eBooks to get started, and suddenly, I was reading three at once.

What happened?

To make a better habit of reading, I started reading every morning for 30 minutes after waking up. Since the act of reading was non-negotiable, I found myself tapping into my mood. What story do I feel like getting into this morning? Am I in the mood to think about my role as a manager? Would I prefer to join a father and son for a ride on their motorcycle?

Looking back, I was reading less because if I wasn't in the mood to read the ONE book I had chosen, I wouldn't read. Now, I'm leveraging my DJ tendencies and loving every minute of it. Books are just another part of my soundtrack.

Today I ran our Monthly Team Meeting with the Barrel team. Each month, we use this meeting to share team changes, celebrate wins, discuss recent launches, and catch up on important announcements.

Since going remote, it's been a challenge to replicate the energy of being in-person but I've come to realize that's the wrong mindset. It's not about once was, it's about what can be.

With this mindset, I started experimenting with a few adjustments (read here for more insight on the driver of these changes). Today it paid off. Engagement was at all time high and the Zoom chat was on fire.

Below are some of the recent updates:

• Moving from Google Slides to Pitch: From the Giphy / YouTube / Vimeo integration to the overall user experience, Pitch has helped amplify the interactivity and look of the deck.
• Co-creation & delegation: Instead of one meeting host, sections are delegated across the team. For example, our Director of Business Development, Dan, leads the "BD Report" sharing new wins, clients in talks, and account activity. This has turned what used to be more like a keynote presentation into a festival of speakers. Not only is it nice to hear from different team members but it gives people an opportunity to present in front of the group.
• Pre-recorded site walkthroughs & details: To showcase recent launches, team members used to scroll through the website and provide background. The transition between the deck and the browser was always distracting and the presentations were often inconsistent. Now, each launch has a slide in the deck with pre-recorded video walkthroughs. The slide also includes the project name, services, team, a fun fact, and platform. Much smoother and insightful.
• Project kickoff highlights: This was a suggestion from a team member after our last meeting. The intent was to celebrate the projects kicking off each month. After doing it today, I realized that it actually addresses another topic that we've always struggled with: how teams are tackling similar challenges. In addition to celebrating the kickoff, this is a great way to talk about how each team is approaching the project and what new steps that might be trying out.
• Barrel Trivia: Every presentation now ends with one trivia question about a client and another about the team. This has been a fun way to educate the team on Barrel history while making the meeting more interactive.
• Background music: We recently had a guest speaker who had music on while people were entering the Zoom meeting. This reminded me of how I used to play music during weekly design meetings at the office. In today's meeting, I had music playing as everyone joined and kept it going the entire meeting. Not only did people dig the playlist but it was a nice touch during any quiet transitions. If you're looking for some upbeat background music, I highlight recommend Spotify's Lo-Fi Beats playlist.

Here's to getting 1% better every step of the way!

Powerful excerpt from a favorite, “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. Thanks to Peter for resurfacing it for me today.

"Often the only way to make a hard decision is to come back to the purpose of what you’re doing."

This concept been on my mind a lot lately. The past year has brought on a number of changes to the way we operate as a team. As we solicit feedback from the team, this is a good reminder to take a step back. It is easy to react and quickly implement changes that feel good in the moment but may not have the intended impact down the line.

I've recently found writing to help provide clarity. This means making the time to capture the purpose of every initiative in writing from the start. What do we hope to accomplish? Why are we doing it?

Later, when faced with feedback, the writing acts as a guide. Instead of acting impulsively, we can recalibrate and decide how to address next steps. Have we lost sight of our original purpose? Has that purpose changed? What will get us closer to where we want to go?