Welcome, Elizabeth Hope Harrelson

Elizabeth (Lily) was born this afternoon at 2:30 PM in Columbia, SC. She is 7lbs 6oz (I called it exactly) and 50cm (19.7 inches). She and Merianna are doing great and excited for walking this journey of life together with our family, friends, colleagues, and community!

As I always tell my students on Tuesdays, “It’s the Optimistic Day!”

Why Paper Notes Are (Sometimes) Better

I have no papers that I typed at Mullins High School in 1992-1996. I have a nice collection of hand-written ones.

I have very few (very very few to be precise) of my papers or notes that I typed at Wofford College in 1996-2000 unless I printed those out. Even then, the hand-written notes far outweigh the typed papers and that’s not just because of volume.

I have a few of the papers I typed in Graduate School at Yale University from 2000-2003 but they are in terrible formatting shape. I still have all of my paper notes. I still have the paper notes that colleagues and Professors passed on to me and that I made a copy of either in my own hand or by paying $.10 a copy on the printer if I wasn’t at the Yale Art Gallery where I had unlimited printing abilities.

Take notes. Use paper. Your future self will thank you.

Life in 2023

“I’ll be on the road in one min, Beautiful. I’m waiting for my Watch to update.”

Me to Merianna just now before I head off to 4th of July festivities. What a time to be alive.

Planning Out Social Media in 2023

I’m constantly on the fence about pre-planning or pre-scheduling too many marketing posts ahead of time on social media. It’s handy, for sure. However, given that events happen without warning, there are real risks that could make whatever you’re trying to do look incredibly out-of-touch.

However, there is a benefit to having a month (or week) long agenda of posts to help keep you or your team on track. Social media is a platform that often rewards spontaneity, and you should be building that into marketing efforts. But it would be best if you had a foundation on which to grow, and a good plan can get you there.

For example, I stumbled upon a free monthlong planner for social media posts in January 2023 from Plann. There is any number of these out there. Still, the benefit is that these calendars take away the guesswork and produce dozens of content pieces that can be used across social networks, promotional materials, videos, recaps, etc. 

So spend some time thinking and planning while allowing your marketing efforts to remain responsive and flexible in 2023!