Hey friends,
So, I hit 900 days on Duolingo today. But thinking about this milestone it really isn't really about languages; it's about proving something to myself.
Back in school, we all got labels. Mine was something like, "I'm good at art or sports because I get A's there, but languages? Nah. I'm like a C or D" I believed it too. What's even weirder is that I've carried these with me over the years. So when I travelled, I didn’t bother trying to speak the local language. I thought, "Languages are for those Grade A language folks, not me."
But about 900 days ago, I thought I would challenge myself, "Why not?" So, I tried out Duolingo, and started with Mandarin just for fun. What kept me going was seeing that day count go up. It became a game. The idea of missing a day? Nope, not gonna happen. Even on my birthday or a super busy day, I'd find a moment to squeeze in at least a small lesson.
Since then, I've dabbled in Turkish, Greek, Indonesian, and French. Why? Because I wanted to have some banter with locals wherever I stayed. Now, to set the record straight: I'm no language genius. I can barely string a few words together in each of these languages. But, that's okay. For me, it was about challenging myself and making real connections.
Every added day to my Duolingo Streak nudges me to realise:
- I'm capable of more than I sometimes give myself credit for.
- Small, daily efforts really stack up.
- It's not about perfection, but the reasons behind the start.
Just like tasting a local dish deepens the experience of a place, trying a few phrases does too. And this journey? It’s a mix—there are high days, low days, meh days, and days that leave me buzzing. But in the end, it's those little chats, the shared laughs, and the new pals? That's made this whole 900 days worth it.
Here are a few things that I've found interesting this week.
1. 5 Key Steps to Running a Remote Team with Discord
Finally got around to posting my 2nd video. I sent it across all my channels with my social media scheduling tool and it's all about how you can use Discord to run a team with people all around the world. If you've ever wanted to know how to run a remote team. Here's a video that will give you a breakdown of the exact steps you can use to do it yourself.
Discord: https://discord.com/
Here's what we'll talk about in this video. 💪
1/ 📅 Check-ins: Stay in the loop with your team's availability using check-ins. It's a simple yet effective way to know who's online and offline in real time. No more guessing games.
2/ ✅ Stand-ups: Create a daily task checklist and end with a screen recording to summarize progress. A quick and efficient way to keep everyone on track.
3/ 🎙️ Meetings: Keep 'em short and sweet! Avoid overwhelming your team with long meetings by making them time-conscious. Start your week with a 30-minute Monday meeting to set goals and stay focused.
4/ 📞 Discord Calls: Enjoy unlimited calls in Discord! Use weekly video calls to catch up, discuss plans, and ensure smooth collaboration across your remote team.
5/ 🏃 Sprints & Team Calls: Manage work on a week-to-week basis with sprints. Divide tasks efficiently during team calls, ensuring everyone knows their role and responsibilities.
6/ 📝 Tasks & Channels: Organize your team's workflow with dedicated channels in Discord. Share images, videos, and links for specific tasks or projects.
7/ 💬 Effective Communication: Keep discussions under tasks lively and on point. Share ideas, thoughts, and feedback to ensure a seamless flow of information.
8/ 🔍 Remote Team Summary: Implement daily check-ins, efficient stand-ups, streamlined meetings, organized tasks, effective communication, and you're on your way to remote team success!
I hope you found these tips helpful in learning how to run a remote team with Discord. If you want more in-depth insights, be sure to check out more of my content across my socials as I'm working on creating more there.
But that's it for now I'll chat with you next week :)
Matt
xx