The last two weeks I’ve achieved more than in the last two years. By this I mean those projects I cared, thought and talked about the most. I actually can’t tell you exactly what came over me. But I can tell you this. It feels great. Now, I’m a firm believer in taking a brief look at the risks involved in doing anything, well, risky, but ultimately everything is a judgement call in that respect. Taking a hold of our passions in life and giving them some oxygen and giving them a chance is a risk worth taking. Just like before jumping, you have to let go of something else. It’s Now or Never. Go get yourself unstuck.

A few moments in my life changed everything. They were actually very humble, very calm, and full of reflection. The first time was in Italy, sitting in a café, and I decided to write down the moments or projects where I had felt closest to “me”, closest to doing what I want to do in life. That first time already gave me many clues of the directions I should explore further. The second and third times, the list became shorter and shorter, and the answer more and more clear. In the end I was faced with that which I had perhaps felt for a long time, but not been able to really know or admit, and on paper it stared me right in the face. It’s not easy finding these moments sometimes, and you have to think quite hard and be frank with yourself to identify them sometimes. If you can’t think of any, consider trying something that is just outside of your comfort zone, but that you’re curious about. It can even be something quite private. Wait a few weeks and see how you feel about that moment. Once you have two or three put them down on paper and look at them. Score them out until you are left with one. How do you feel? Does it feel right? If you’re not sure try again. Writing things down is like saying them out loud; you can stand slightly further away from the idea and get some perspective. Good luck, and go get unstuck.

While it might feel like we’re alone in our “stuckness”, it just ain’t true. I’ve had really nice feedback from people reaching out from various corners of my life sharing how this topic affects them, and it gives me energy to not only continue, but to know that it’s such a shared feeling. Of course being stuck can take many forms, but what often links almost all of them are time and energy - we often have too little of either of them. The answer is to take stock of our lives and actually and honestly check whether there are any “spots” free or that we can make free to undertake that which we want to do, and if not, to be brutal and make some time. If you don’t put it on a calendar or into a certain part of the day, it ain’t gonna happen, 9 times out of 10. The next thing we have to keep in mind is setting ourselves a reasonable expectation for what we can do with that time, and just as importantly find a workflow that will allow us to realise what it is that we want to do. Making this podcast is made possible because I plan to make time in my day to do it and because the method I’m using is very simple and I refuse to over complicate it. So people, you’re not alone - go make time for your passion or whatever it is, and make it so that you can achieve it, no matter how modestly. Go get unstuck!

My phone has slowly but surely sabotaged my ability to concentrate and get things done. Finding a place to put it, out or reach and out of mind, has made be happier and more productive. When I do reach for it I know I’ve “earned” it, and I quickly yearn to get back to my projects.

For the last 3 years I’ve been tormenting myself with one topic (Brexit and my future in Belgium, where I live) and it’s drained me of energy for so much else. Here I talk about the way I found to stop letting it block everything else in my life.

This podcast is about how we often get bogged down or stuck by our own internal instincts, thought processes and habits.

I left my carefully curated career in architecture six years ago and I’ve been gradually getting myself ever more unstuck since, becoming happier and getting closer to a work/life balance that I really value. I’m a musician and photographer but I also work in quite a few other fields. I’d like to share what I’ve learned, and what I’m learning ——- This episode is about sharing what’s happened since I’ve started doing the opposite to habits and instincts that have been getting me stuck; perfectionism, planning, over-thinking. An example is this very podcast, which usually I would have spent a long time planning, pondering, asking people’s opinions on, and so on. I might never have even started. Instead I just jumped in and here we are, imperfect but increasingly unstuck! What I’ve also seen is that just like when I designed buildings in architecture, you have to make some basic sketches and scrappy models first, to be able to turn the thing around in your hand and understand it better. I think ideas are the same - if they only exist in our head they will be very difficult to examine, measure, and consider. Build something first, stop, look again, and then continue. —— I also talk about another opposite I’ve tried out; being publicly very honest and vulnerable; for my latest video on YouTube I just explain how hard it’s been to just hit record and even more to click “publish”. Doing so let’s you not only tell people a story (instead of just trying to show them a perfected result that has no depth to it) and creates the possibility that they might invest in your journey and idea. It also let’s them know that you, like them, share some similar fears and issues, and this builds empathy. ——- Lastly I touch upon them idea of helping others selflessly now and then, and the wonderful feeling that this can leave you with. I think that there really can be a sort of karma between people who engage positively with each other, and take a risk now and then. That’s it for now - go get unstuck! Andri Søren

Over the years I’ve seen that creating a framework for how you say yes or no to work and to obligations in general is a fantastic way of avoiding getting stuck in the first place. Furthermore if you’re open and honest about these with yourself and others, you experience far fewer problems down the line. Another thing to keep in mind is mental bandwidth, and this relates to the actual amount of data and decisions that our brains can handle before they run out of capacity to deal with things that might be much more important to ourselves. You need to respect your limits, reduce the number of commitments you have, and create space in your mental garden, for your own sake but also for everyone else’s. —-Let’s get unstuck!!—-

In this, episode 5 of unstuck, I share the habit that, after some years, has helped me get to decide what it is I want to do, concentrate and commit to it, and in turn get so much done. It involves a simple way of putting certain projects on certain days, and taking that as a contract with yourself to do exactly those things. After some years it’s become something I think I’d struggle to live without. The best thing about it? It’s dead simple. Come get unstuck with me! For my youtube channel look me up under Andri Søren.

A quick update on my level of unstuckness - I manage to really get something done, and it feels fantastic. Listen in and check out the result on my YouTube channel (Andri Søren)

In this episode I talk about some recent discoveries I’ve made that help me get unstuck (or avoid getting stuck in the first place) this year, along with a walk through the centre of Brussels. Enjoy!