• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

Scrap paper

Published: Sunday, 31 March 2013

I write all my blog posts on scrap paper.

I printed so many speeches last year that I have all these A4 scrap sheets of paper that just have printing on the one side.

I hate to waste.

And so I try to use all my scrap paper.

Writing my blogs on scrap paper takes the pressure off me to write brilliant blog posts and instead just gives me the freedom to freestyle.

I can always edit later.

And if I had to make myself only write brilliant things, then I would never get any work done ever.

Freestyle leads to creativity though and brilliance stems from creativity.

Give yourself the freedom to explore without pressure, and you may stumble upon brilliance.

And even if you don't achieve brilliance, at least you'll have done something.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Burnout

    I think that burnout happens when you set a goal, you work really, really hard to achieve the goal, and then the deadline comes and you haven’t...

  • The Impostor Syndrome

    I first learnt about the impostor syndrome at the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing in 2011.  A Stanford student asked a question...

  • Jevaroo’s neck

    Jevaroo’s neck is my favorite part of the robot. Jevaroo’s neck has a movement range of 25cm, allowing Jevaroo to reach for objects up to 170cm high...

  • Show up

    Woody Allen once said that "eighty percent of success is showing up." To me, that means, you go to the meeting about the project.  You're there...

  • The worst that can happen

    When I was growing up, my mum earned about $20,000 a year to support herself, my brother and I.  By living very frugally and only spending money on...

  • Anything is Possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders

    Engineers Australia and Engineering Heritage Australia decided to feature me as one of 100 Australian engineering leaders in their book, “Anything...

  • Turn off the noise

    The world is so noisy!  Every day there's the breaking news through your multiple most trusted news sources; there's the buzz of your twitter and...

  • Manufacturing Leadership Summit, Grand Rapids Michigan

    After a long pandemic hiatus from giving speeches in person, I was invited to be the in-person keynote speaker at The Right Place’s Manufacturing...

  • Nancy Fairfax Churchill Fellowship

    From January to March this year, I travelled to Germany, the UK, the USA and Jamaica to study "Strategies to get girls interested in science,...

  • Hundreds of decisions everyday

    Answer the phone. Reply to the email. Follow up with the guy you met last week. Go to the meeting. Don't go to the meeting. Don't become a board...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top