Brainwork
Information overload
I've had one of those weeks where it feels like I've gotten nothing done but in fact I've just been chipping away at a ton of tasks and doing a lot of what I like to think of (heh) as “brainwork”.
As mentioned in last weeks newsletter, I’m someone who spends a lot of time in their own head (and having a hard time getting out of it) and that means I think about stuff a lot. And I think about a lot of stuff. I fall into information overload way too easily and things like Youtube and social media doesn’t really help. I follow a fair few informational channels on Youtube for example and while they are very educational, it spreads my attention incredibly thin. And that’s not even counting the people I follow more for entertainment.
So, to combat this information overload, I’m slowly starting to meditate and get back into yoga again. I’m also deliberately trying to limit my intake of information and media since, again, I think deeply about everything and I need to preserve some computing power for the more important things.
This takes a lot of discipline though, and I currently fail more than I would like, but at least I’m trying. I have been spending a lot less time on Twitter this past week, although I have been going through Pinterest a lot more instead as I have been looking for art inspiration. Whoops. At least Pinterest doesn’t throw a ton of news and drama in your face in between the art.
The downside of trying to limit my Youtube intake though has been that my Watch Later tab is getting very bloated. I’ve been going through my subscriptions and put the things I do find interesting but may not have the time to focus on at the moment on my Watch Later list and oh boy… I’m starting to wonder when I’ll be able to go through it all. Another solution might be needed for this particular problem, I just don’t quite know what that may be yet. If you have any suggestions or ideas do feel free to comment!
In between trying to cut down on distraction, trying to care more for my physical health and keeping up with house work I’ve gotten some artistic work done as well!
I managed to finish three out five commissioned emotes for Netrax88 (if you enjoy Pokemon check out his stream, he’s currently going through the newest game).
Hoping I’ll be able to finish the remaining two this week and get back to another big batch of Twitch emotes that I’m working on for another client.
On a more personal front I’ve been noodling away on a personal piece of my partner’s character Saki and I was fortunate enough to get some really good critique/feedback from Onyrica (Patreon perk, highly recommended!). It’s insane how much another pair of eyes can do, especially when they’re of the skilled professional variety.
Looking at them side-by-side now after not having looked at it for a few days I see a lot of things that I want to improve, but it’s still such a huge improvement from that first sketch. I was feeling really stuck and frustrated over how it felt off but I couldn’t figure out why. After the short feedback session and another few hours of frustration it started to click and come together. So, my take away from this is I need to start getting more feedback again and just keep going with my pieces. Also, listen to my gut about artistic decisions instead of trying to adhere to “rules”.
What have you been working on this week? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to know!
I’ll leave you with one of my favourite quotes:
“May your tools never break and may your imagination never find its limits.”
-Morlund, Horizon: Forbidden West
Thank you for reading! 💜
I can relate far too much with the YouTube "Watch Later" bloating phenomenon.... I recently (last year I guess) did a YT-Sub-Purge, where I went through all my Subscriptions, and really asking myself "Do I *really* care about this anymore? Do I *REALLY* watch these videos, do they excite me when I see them, or do they just get banished to the Watch Later pile?
I went from somewhere north of 250 subscriptions, to about half. And honestly, the moment I was unsubbed, I didn't really miss any of them since. Besides, the YT Algorithm is good enough to sometimes still recommend me a video of someone I used to watch, when they have an interesting or relevant video.
Anyhow, the next step for me was nuking the Watch Later wastebin. That was tough. There's this voice in my head saying "But I swear, I SWEAR THIS ONE IS INTERESTING, AND THAT ONE TOO, I don't want to forget about those!?" - and you have to just yeet it. It's hard to do, but you'll forget about it quickly after you've done it - because, as it turns out, you don't really care as much as you think you do.
Anyhow, after all this, I've been quite strict. I use "Watch Later" as a short queue, and if I find that I'm not watching something within a few days of adding it, I yeet it. And, 95% of the time, promptly forget that it ever existed. Sometimes I come back and go hmmm well I did have something queued up and now I'm in the mood to watch it; then I can just search it up manually after all.
Not sure if this is helpful, but as a fellow YT addict, I found I could really relate to what you wrote about it 🙃