Inspired by the “build in public” movement, artist in residence programs, and summer fellowships - we created our own Host in Residence program to help three of our Flow Club hosts make progress on a project they wanted to make time for.
Keep reading to learn more about who are Hosts in Residence are, what their goals were, and what they were able to accomplish and learn about themselves through this experience.
Our Hosts in Residence:
Sipho
Bio: A former mathematics teacher now teacher educator working out of London, UK.
Project: Launching a website + writing articles for the website
Ashley
Bio: a freelance animator and illustrator in Los Angeles
Project: Creating an adult animation show pitch
Joshua
Bio: a Full-Stack Web Developer and Military Veteran who found his breakthrough within the tech industry as a UI/UX Developer.
Project: Bootstrapping No-Brainer Mentoring Video Consulting Service
What exactly did you accomplish and what's next for your project?
Sipho: My monthly goal was to create and write content for a website – I partly achieved this. Putting it all together was a lot more daunting and work than before. To some extent, because I wasn’t quite sure what I was focused on, what my ‘niche’ was. I guess, in a way, my goal was not specific enough – how many articles I was going to write, what were they focused on, etc.
Part way through the month; I recognized this. I had already worked on the website's backend, so it is ready to ‘go’. I modified the other part of the goal slightly, wrote eight smaller ‘atomic’ essays of 250-300 words, and put these on Typeshare, which is a social blog.
In addition, I completed many other activities and tasks in my ‘Host in Residency’ 80 hours.
- Journaled daily
- Meditated daily
- Finished a first ‘shitty’ draft of a book I am writing
- Planned some of my lectures for September
- Graded eight assignments
I experienced flow states for maybe 80% of the 80 hours+ that I was in Flow Club, and in that respect (experiencing flow), August was a total success.
What's next for my project? Expand on the essays that got the most engagement (from 250-300 words to 500-750 words) and put them on the website. Continue writing smaller essays and watching the engagement metrics.
Ashley: I was able to put together a show overview packet and had the time to explore many character and layout designs. With this work, my writing partner and I were also able to make a strong first pitch to animation producers who were able to give us notes to begin our prep for studio pitches next month.
Joshua: I initially had set two monthly intentions and completed one since the birth of my third child took precedence over the other. The one I did manage to accomplish involves my Christ-centered developer podcast called codeFellowship( ). While in the hospital during the birth of my daughter, I was able to start working on the official website for the podcast using some new web technologies for static site generation, book upcoming guest episodes, network, and think of the restructuring of the codeFellowship( ) Community on Discord. I am looking forward to finishing developing the official website and pumping out more podcast content.
How did the Host in Residency program help you achieve your goals?
Sipho: It forced me to put in 20 hours a week during August and it provided part of the structure for a flow state to manifest. I held myself accountable by holding others accountable and helping them achieve their goals.
“What I am doing may be a spark to others, just like others can be a spark for me.” - Adam Savage.
The positive feedback was overwhelming – I was hosting previously and got maybe 2 or 3 comments a week; during the host in residency program, I had 20-30 feedback comments a week – excellent. It kept me going, particularly hearing how to help others get into flow. I enjoyed meeting others, hearing their stories and facilitating their flow experiences.
Ashley: It pushed me to use this dedicated time and really focus on this project.
Joshua: It encouraged me to not only use the platform a lot more but also receive accountability for my monthly intention; whether it was a fellow Flow Clubber asking how my monthly intention was going or just glancing over the star with my mouse as a reminder of what I could be doing to achieve this particular goal I had set.
What did you learn about yourself or how you work from completing this program?
Sipho: I work well when declaring goals to others and in public. I also experimented with different times of day - evenings were good for writing, and mornings were good for my work activities. I will continue experimenting with timings from now on.
Ashley: I learned that if you truly are passionate and want to get something done, you have to prioritize it and make time for it no matter what.
Joshua: I learned that I am capable of setting an intention and sticking to it as long as I set 1 intention (not two) and devote the right amount of time to work on the intention, take more frequent breaks for better clarity, and stay disciplined in my craft.
What advice would you give to future hosts in residence?
Sipho: Be really specific about the goal you want to achieve. Allow yourself grace if you don’t get exactly what you want. Helping others is a great way to help yourself. Remember flow is all about the experience, not necessarily the outcome.
Ashley: Scheduling 2-hour sessions in the morning and 1.5 hours in the afternoon were the most helpful for me.
Joshua: Stay humble, stay hungry, and always remember that any progress is good progress! Always acknowledge your fellow Flow Clubbers when they come in, be transparent with any technical difficulties that could affect your session, encourage one another, and attend a fellow Host in Residence session as a demonstration of support.
Want to be one of our next Hosts in Residence? Apply to be a host after attending 10 Flow Club sessions and you’ll be the first to learn about when we relaunch this program.
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