Worth the Make

What are LABs?

Worth the Make is a series of challenges provided by Worth the Wake for interested participants (read: anyone) to dip their toes into a new skill or project. The Worth the Make program consists of self-contained, short-term projects that start off as a real-time project or challenge, in which the creator of Worth the Wake also participates, usually as a beginner herself.

If you’re constantly wondering “how do I get started on (blank)?”, both in the sense of what steps should I take and how do I make myself just start, or want to join a community of experimenters ranging from beginners to enthusiasts, then this might be for you!

How do LABs work?

Via the Resource Library (hosted on Notion), select the LAB you want to join on the LABs tab. Active LABs (i.e. those that run in real-time) will be indicated.
Fill out the corresponding form. Most fields are optional, including a reason for joining (“know your why”), and a place to put a link to a public tracker.
Make sure you read over the official project plan before you get started.
If you are joining during the real-time run (synchronous projects), make sure you are tracking progress using the approved channels, if specified in the project plan, and starting/ending by the specified dates indicated.
Track your progress, whether privately, via social media (hashtag #worththemake or #wtmlabs) or otherwise.
Reflect using the weekly reflection template or posted reflection questions (optional, but recommended).
At the end of the LAB, fill out the project retrospective template (optional, but recommended). And feel free to grab a badge showing completion of the LAB!

For new launches and drops, keep an eye out on Instagram and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Planned launches for the quarter can also be seen on the table below:

Scheduled	LAB Code	Description
April 2024	N/A	N/A
May 2024	N/A	N/A
June 2024	AMPROD 101	Intro to Music Production

2024-Q2 Worth the Make: Scheduled LABs.

Terminology

There are two flavours of LAB projects: synchronous (real-time or live) and asynchronous (on-demand).

Real-time projects have a specific duration you are intended to follow. The creator also participates during this time.
Asynchronous projects are project plans released after its initial live run, or are test projects (dry runs) that never make its way to becoming a real-time project. Additional resources may be released as well after the real-time project has been completed, such as a summary of what the creator has learned during the live run. For test projects that never see the light of day, these will typically still be released for public access as a resource or for inspiration after the creator takes the project on a test drive.

Launch: New LAB projects are announced via Instagram and Twitter/X, along with a start and end date for the official live run for synchronous projects.

Syllabus: Each synchronous project begins as a real-time project that the creator also completes. A topic or theme is chosen, some research done, and a project plan is developed, which includes a suggested schedule. Think of this project plan as a syllabus of sorts. The plan is then released approximately a week early, announced via social media (Instagram, Twitter/X, YouTube Community) for participants to follow if they wish.

Labelling: LABs are labelled using a course code, and go in sequential order. For example, AVPROD 101 is the beginner’s track for Video Production. Subtopics change the first number (e.g. AVPROD 201) and skill level change the latter (e.g. AVPROD 202). Durations for initial live runs are labelled based on the ISO 8601 format for weeks (i.e. 2024-W05 – 2024-W07).

Resources: Most LABs are designed with the least start-up costs in mind. Thus, LABs tend to lean towards free software and resources. The intention of a LAB is not to make you an expert in a specific topic, and is rather a guided way to dip your toes into something for 4 weeks. Each LAB is beginner-friendly, or offers a track for beginners.

Length: Typical LAB projects run for 4 weeks, or around a month. While I use a Monday start for most of the LABs, if you use a Sunday start don’t be afraid to start and end a day early! As well, feel free to start an asynchronous LAB anytime, especially if you miss the live run. Refer to the LAB calendar here.

Reflections: Throughout the run-through of a LAB, participants are encouraged to complete a weekly reflection at the end of each week, and a project wrap-up reflection at the end. Weekly check-ins are done through Instagram (Stories) and Twitter/X.

Community: Participants or players are also encouraged to share their progress on social media using the hashtag #worththemake.

Drops: At the end of a LAB, participants can award themselves a badge of completion if they complete the requirements as set out in each project plan. Some LABs come with “drops”, or additional digital rewards, based on certain conditions that must be satisfied.

Theme: Each LAB is given a title or name for those who want to participate and want to align themselves to the objective of the project, but don’t want to follow the project plan and want to set their own goals and syllabus. You can use these words to inspire your project. For example, the theme of AVPROD 101, Video Production Basics, was “COMBINATION”.

Quest: Some LABs come with quest “stories” and roles. These are just there for fun. Drops often follow the theme of the quest story.

Disclaimers

Most LABs are run by someone who is a beginner at the topic–the creator is also trying this for the first time! There are no guarantees at improvement or that the guides/information are credible, or that the plan I create is an optimal way to learn a skill, though I will try their best to vet each resource while I develop each project plan.

As well, don’t be discouraged if your results are not the same as someone else’s, even if you are following the same set of instructions. Some people do have a natural talent for something, or learn differently, or need different resources. And that’s OK. Trust in the process that you will become a little bit better each time you practice. And even if you don’t see any improvement, all that matters is that you enjoyed the learning or creative process. Not every hobby needs to be monetized, and you don’t have to be amazing at every single skill.

Frequently (Un)Asked

What inspired you to create Worth the Make?

The concept of monthly projects. I love the concept of learning new skills and tackling side projects, but while trying to set up my own side projects, I ended up failing multiple times due to losing motivation halfway through. I couldn’t commit to anything long-term, or anything I perceived to be too difficult or overwhelming. Then, I stumbled upon two concepts stuck out to me: monthly projects and tiered goals. Both were instrumental in how I viewed projects as a whole.
Loneliness in self-growth. I’ve always found self-growth to be a lonely process. At the end of the day, it is something only you, as an individual, can do. What makes it better is a community, and some sort of accountability.
Being a beginner myself. In some form, setting up projects for myself, including LABs, have become a way for me to work on one aspect of my self-growth in a methodical manner. Public, real-time LABs encourage me to start a skill without needing to be good at it, since there’s some accountability in needing to post alongside other people theoretically (hopefully) also doing the same project!
“But you’re an expert!” Sometimes I read and watch other creators’ content and feel discouraged, because everyone seems so good at what they do. The LABs are created with beginners in mind, and indicate the level of competency that the creator believes she has in the skill–which is typically low, for a low barrier of entry. Real-time LABs are a reminder that all of us started somewhere and that the creator of these project plans is on a similar level as you are, and is putting in the work–if that brings you any solace.

What does “LAB” stand for?

A LAB is like a lab experiment. Originally, LAB also stood for Learn. Apply. Build., but I’ve decided against using this in any official capacity as it turns out, someone else had beaten me to the punch! However, the acronym still stands true, as it represents the three stages of a well-designed LAB project, which is 1. learning about the topic and doing research; 2. applying your knowledge through exercises, and 3. building or creating an end product.

The full name of the program is Worth the Make: LABs. Worth the Make is a play on Worth the Wake, which is in turn a play on “worth the wait”. You get it.

Do I have to follow the project plan?

Nope! The provided project plan is a suggestion only. You can feel free to change, for your own purposes, the starting date, the activities, the resources used, whatever you’d like!

Official LAB project plans start on Mondays, and typically run for 4 weeks. Why Monday? Well, here in Canada, Mondays are the start of a work week, and I run all my weekly goals with a Monday start—it just fits into my schedule the best. However, you may choose to start a day early on Sunday if that works for you better—or any day, really.

For real-time LAB projects, however, if you intend to change the project plan to suit your own needs, consider adopting the following to extract the most benefit from the real-time aspect of a LAB:

Your plan is comprised of specific habits or SMART goals during the real-time run.
Your start and end dates are around the vicinity of the real-time run.
Each LAB will have a theme for those who don’t want to follow the plan. To benefit from the real-time aspect, choose a goal that aligns with said theme.

Why is this free?

Everyone loves free stuff. And there’s a multitude of free resources on the internet, if you dig deep enough and have the time to sift through them. As I am a beginner myself in most of the topics offered in Worth the Make, am using mostly free resources, and believe in the need for free/affordable education & resources, this program will be free so long as the content offered is not something I consider myself an expert in.

Not everyone can pay for courses, and even if one is able to (and the course is actually valuable and not a grift…), not everyone is ready to dedicate a long period of time to become an expert at a subject. Maybe sometimes you don’t need to become an expert, however. What if learning things can just be fun? Think of LABs as a free sampler you get at Costco, except without the need of a membership.

I love free, open-source, and/or libre resources (there is a difference, apparently) provided to the community. Some of my favourites that I use in my everyday life include DAREBEE, Khan Academy, Unsplash, Krita, and LibreOffice.

Is there a community to discuss the project with?

Currently, I will be posting weekly check-ins via Instagram (Stories) and Twitter/X. In the future, I may start a Discord server, and make full use of the YouTube Community tab for discussions.

Can I suggest a project topic?

At this point in time, all Worth the Make projects are determined by myself, considering both my own priorities and what I believe will be fun or beneficial for the audience. In the future, I may poll the community for ideas on what to do next!

I want to support this project. How can I help?

Thank you for wanting to support the project!

The best way to help at this point in time is simply to participate or share. Likes, comments, and subscriptions to my YouTube channel (should you feel inclined to) is also a great way to show support.