Some of the items on my Life To Do List were simply put there because I knew I had to get them out of the way. When I set about becoming a documentary filmmaker/blogger/photographer/starving artist a while back, I was aware that I had certain responsibilities that I needed to take care of in order for me to be legit. Call them “career errands.”
Take for instance two recently completed items on the list:
#12: Wipe old PC harddrive, convert to my MAC, and sell the oldie
and
#35: Set up an email signature
These may seem like silly tasks to prioritize, but I also feel that these easier items balance out larger goals on the list such as #2: Travel to Africa. If everything were too difficult to attain in the reasonable time frame I gave myself (5 years), then I would grow disinterested and unmotivated. At least when I cross off these items, I feel like I’m accomplishing something!
And in fact, completing #12 was a big and long overdue feat. My old PC had been sitting in my closet since college. I never used the thing because I’ve had access to a MAC laptop for the last 5 years. Nonetheless, many old music files, old pictures, and old documents were on the PC and I couldn’t simply throw it away. I knew that I had to somehow get the courage to plug the thing back in and get the files that I wanted to keep onto my new computer (or at least an external harddrive). The process took hours to complete, but by golly I got it done. And it’s a huge relief!
#35 on the list was initially added to the list purely out of jealousy. Because my emails had consistently come from a business account for so many years, I was suddenly struck with a sense of confusion when I quit my job and personal emails I sent didn’t have a signature at the bottom. Many of my independent business people friends had cool signatures that linked to all their fancy sites that allowed them to maximize their self promotion. The end of my emails just looked so… empty.
What also perplexed me about being on my own is that I suddenly didn’t have a “title” that I could easily reference on the signature. I had to ask myself, “what exactly is it that you do?” Was it appropriate to put documentary filmmaker/blogger/photographer/starving artist on the bottom of an email? After realizing that I do a lot of things, but all of them have something to do with me in a Producer role, I decided to own that space and call myself what I am: a Producer. Well count me in! The abridged version of my signature is below and I am two items lighter on the list!
–
Janelle K. Eagle
Producer
http://www.twitter.com/janelleeagle
www.journeywithjanelle.com
http://unatti.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/jkeagle
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Janelle K. Eagle is infamous for always having her hands tied up in multiple projects simultaneously. She's directed a lot of theater, worked on some films, and raised lots of money for non-profits. She travels all the time and loves to share her videos, photography and writing via this blog. 
