047 - 10 things with Meltem
The field test's first guest post!
I love Amni’s substack and have been an avid subscriber for almost a year. Time does fly when you’re reading the best-curated bits on the internet, hey? But a few weeks ago, as I was reading Issue 045, I had a cute thought—why don’t we do a collab substack? A substack collab, if you will. So here we are, doing the collab-substack substack-collab issue!!
Before we go on, tho, let me introduce myself—which I always find so hard?? I’m Meltem, a Turkish Aussie who’s lived in Singapore for the past nine years. I love pistachio gelato, getting lost in art galleries, and walking for hours. I’m the founder of BILDA (IG here), a design-led company on a mission to help more people build a life and business they love, and the co-founder of Ice Cream Sundays and Sunda Festival.
So as I was saying—Issue 045 (the sell out burn out) resonated with me because, as a founder, I’ve felt the need to build a personal brand and, in many ways, commodify myself. Marketing myself, and BILDA never ends, and to be honest, it’s overwhelming. Each platform requires a unique recipe for success, and I still haven’t figured it out.
When I’m getting in my head over stuff like this, I use a tool called ‘10 Things’ from The Discover Kit, BILDA’s flagship product. (launching soon!!!) The kit is a deck of cards that aims to get us unstuck, find direction, and live more. It’s filled with proven tools from a delicious mash of disciplines which help you get inspired, get creative and think differently.
While chatting, Amni suggested adding to this issue a few notes on my media diet. This couldn’t have been more timely as I can’t stop thinking about how to consume media intentionally, especially when the algorithm gets better at spoon-feeding me.
All the things I love, like cultural zeitgeist, rug-washing videos (why are they so calming to watch?), dogs being dogs, nonna’s reacting to A-list celeb outfits, obscure towns/buildings/brands/food/etc. - all served up on a silver platter, ad infinitum. How to consume intentionally when I have this?
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Honestly, though, I’ve been trying to change my relationship with social media for a long while. I also posted about my goal to shift from pure consumption to creation and inspiration. But it’s really, REALLY hard when you’re a solo founder because not only does your brand need to exist on social media but so do you (or at least that’s what I’ve told myself).
I need to be on social media to grow, so people know about my brand BILDA. I need to be on social media to funnel people TO my brand page. I need to create 3-5 times a day. I need to post at specific times, engage + comment for 10 minutes before and after a post. I need to use a compelling hook/hashtag/caption, and not to mention translate trending audios and relate them to my “niche”. Y’all, I AM TIRED.
Then I saw this video where the creator explains how using social media has made it impossible for her to concentrate and this video on how much time we should be spending on these platforms per day. Spoiler alert: probs way less than we currently do. It also reminded me of this post on loneliness (and how it’s related to social media use). And then I saw this video about this tweet.
And in this messy pre-launch phase, I realise that I’m forgetting a lot principles that I espouse within BILDA. I feel like a fraud. Even I need a reminder sometimes, which is when I love to use ‘10 Things’. When the self-criticism, anxiety, worry and stress kick in, pulling us away from where we are; this tool is my way back to centre.
10 Things
Whenever I find my mind floating away to different places or if I start feeling anxious, I pull this out. By observing the environment around me, I get more connected, aware, and present. I’ve been using it on my travels, too. I carry around a little journal and jot down 10 things I see. Such a nice way to capture the memz. If I don’t have my journal, I’ll use the Paper app for scribbles or my phone Notes.
Below is an example from when I was at Mesa Verde, a lovely Mexican restaurant just underneath one of Melbourne’s iconic bars, Rooftop. I was sitting at the bar waiting for a friend. Usually, I’d scroll mindlessly, but I was taking the week off social media, so I thought I’d do ‘10 Things’.
This week, I challenge you to record 10 things you see, hear, smell, feel, or touch - where you are right now or when you head out into the world. We want to publish some of these in the next issue and on BILDA, too.
I hope you find it as calming as I do! Before I go, I am pleased to present a selection of internet gems; I hope you like:
Addicted to ideas—This article on why we’re addicted to ideas resonates with what we’re trying to do at BILDA: to make our ideas a reality, not just a thought.
How Emotions Are Made – The Marginalian - Are emotions created by external stimuli or internal perception? This piece delves into how we are the architects of our own experiences. It's fascinating.
UX Trends—The State of UX in 2024 - I enjoyed this round-up of trends and how, according to the authors, we’re in ‘late-stage UX. ' Recently, I’ve been reflecting much more on my career and where the industry is headed. Hint: AI.
How Israel's war is erasing Gaza's history and culture - I read this article last year, and it’s still relevant today, sadly.
Mona Chalabi—Riposte—I also started to learn about and follow Mona Chalabi after seeing her data visualisations on Palestine. This article provides an excellent overview of what she does and how she makes the unknown known. I am very inspired by her work.
The 10 Most Memorable Apartments We Visited In 2023 - I’m a sucker for dreamy homes and interiors, and this round-up of the best apartments in 2023 by Design Files hits the spot. Also impressed by how seamlessly they’ve integrated e-comm into their website; this article is a stellar example of that.
Amni here! 🌞 When Meltem reached out I felt honoured and blessed to have a weird and wild network of people who inspire me. Meltem has been exactly that - someone I had always admired in awe from afar and was extremely excited to find an outlet (the field test) to create something and work together! Make sure to follow her, and BILDA on IG!
if you feel like this topic relates to you and you want to give 10 things ago, let me know! We’ll be collecting a few together to share in the next field test!
Also if you want to collab, let me know!
Also also, don’t forget to like, share-re-share and tell others to subscribe!
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