The Undoing

Crawling out from under nearly 20 years of working in newsrooms has led to some wild self-discovery. Turns out, I have some habits that no longer serve me.

Here are the beliefs 5 I'm actively UNDOING:

1) The sound of silence is terrible. Nothing gets done without multiple monitors blaring, screaming scanners and people interrupting. There's comfortable in chaos. Yet the heightened state it triggers isn't actually needed for me to produce great work. Who knew calm can also be creative?

2) Live and die by deadlines. The crush of pressure is an addiction. I wasn't prepared for going from 4-10 meetings a day on top of timing stories to the second to make slot. Unstructured time scares me, because it was so rare. Sure enough, there are other speeds I can run at and still get that rush without sending my nervous system into fight or flight.

3) Jump down the rabbit hole NOW. Investigative journalism built this longing to become an encyclopedia about every topic I tackle. Turns out, some things aren't that deep. In the transition from journalist to storyteller, I'm learning edit my research in new ways. Especially how I prioritize what needs depth vs. what needs urgancy.

4) Chain yourself to the desk. While virtually no one in news works bank hours, I felt like I needed to always be at work from 8 AM to 6:30 PM reguardless. Now, I'm discovering I write best before dawn. By 3:30 PM, my brain is shot. Leaning in to my inner early bird is paying off. And I'm learning that I don't have to wait until after a story airs at 6PM to wrap up my day. In adjusting my hours to benefit my natural rhythm, I actually get more done, faster.

5) Be a Multitasking Maven. I'd pride myself on being able to do 12 things at once. Editing a script, talking on the phone and muting myself to take bites of salad with a livestream blaring in the background and the pinging inbox flashing and begging for attention.

I'm Erin Peterson, part of the team at Scout Stories. We specialize in innovative storytelling, production services, and media coaching. We help brands and creators craft compelling narratives that resonate with audiences, driving engagement and success in today’s dynamic media landscape.