Tag / productivity

by yojeanyi

Bulk Creation as a Creative Tool, Not a Trap

Although counterintuitive to creativity, sometimes we need mass output to push ourselves to the next stage.

Have you noticed how something is being sold to us every second of being on the internet? Recipe filled with pop-up ads every 2 seconds, amusing shorts between pseudo-informative videos.
Innocent people broadcast their lives, maybe trying to organically incorporate their sponsor’s products.

We don’t need any of it.

In the crowd of similar personalities there are genuine hobbyists and experts from whom you can actually learn new things. You can tell they are in it for the love, and not for material gratification. 

Some of the people I follow do pottery, farm, sew, and forage wild edibles. Some have a quirky personality or just like to have fun with their viewers—like exercising on a bike machine while painting, making daily cucumber hats to stop suffering, raising rescue opossums as a character (or real?) psychic.

They usually do their thing for years with a small, but loyal, following. They sell some things casually—like paintings, the best fertilizer, a kit. But their existence is not a money-making venture; they don’t care about gaining as many followers and having high paying sponsors. You can tell—the popular entertainment personal brands have similar styles in their presentation, editing, and sounds. 

I used to let my days meander and melt into one another as I experimented– because that’s creativity. Factory like output is for commercial artists. But making doesn’t always have to be sacred. Just because you care deeply about something doesn’t mean you have to manifest that always, immediately, and in every project as proof.

You’ve been told to separate art that you make for you and art that you make for everyone. It is not a betrayal of yourself to create for different audiences. It’s not like it’ll affect your admittance to the pearly gates.

The purpose of this post is that we can learn something from even the popular content creators. I noticed that people will have the same clothes for many videos. They bulk film content in a few days or weeks that they can spread out and publish over the course of months, possibly the whole year.

This has inspired me to try doing this for my work. Writing and painting in mass consolidation. Writing flows best in long dedicated time blocks anyway. Although counterintuitive to creativity, sometimes we need mass output to push ourselves to the next stage.

So for the months that I’m back in my studio, I’m using up my supplies to paint, draw, and film. Painting supplies are abundant, so I’ll do the most simple thing I know how to do– universally humorous animal paintings that I can produce at high output. I’ll edit and post a few videos (to hold myself accountable), scheduling publication as far out as ~2 months. Since the remaining footage can be edited from anywhere (post-production), having all the content already done eliminates the heavy production side.

Then of course there are always days we refuse to do any of it, so reducing friction by reducing steps is good life maintenance.

by yojeanyi

Gloomy days can be good days: flipping the tone

I woke up today feeling groggy, probably from another strange dream with shapeshifting friends and roads going nowhere. I cranked my eyes open before the unconscious world could drag me back into a sticky slumber. Leaping from bed to office chair in 5 seconds, I started writing in hopes that my brain would believe and enact a good day ahead.

Having a good day consists of the following:

Good food, good company, feeling good, being good. If half of these are present, I’d be having a good day. If all are present, that’s a great day.

obligatory prescription: for how best to wake up each day:

“

  1. get substantial exercise the day before;
  2. sleep longer and later than you typically do;
  3. eat a low sugar breakfast rich in complex carbohydrates, with a moderate amount of protein
  4. pay attention to your body’s glucose response after eating.

“

A) Good food– I know people who eat the same sandwich for lunch and are content. Whatever good food is to you is perfect, as long as its not all unhealthy. Balance is key. For myself, I love some crunchy veggies and fruits. I discovered a satisfying tangy ranch popcorn seasoning when I’m feeling decadent. (The entire bottle is 195 calories which will take a while to get through.)

You can never skimp on the god of foods, protein. I go for the ease and nutrition of boiled eggs, fish, beans, and less frequently, delicious beef stews and pork belly.

My personal favorite meals- juicy street tacos cut with fresh red and green salsas, soothing savory and herbal pho, a big stomach filling bowl of bibimbap made from stir fried wild greens, julienned veggies, earthy mushrooms stirred in gochujang and sesame oil, warm gnocchi made from golden potatoes riced with a slotted spoon and tossed in a pea, sun dried tomato, hot chili oil, butter garlic sauce. Anything chocolate. Frozen treats like chocolate covered frozen bananas rolled in toasted chopped walnuts, peanuts, sea salt. Or a DIY peeled mini mango popsicle. Lots of water. My coffee with a thick cloud of foam. Pickles.

B) Good company – Spending time with people who accept, care, love, challenge you. Hanging out with those with similar interests or values. These will be family, friends, coworkers, classmates, community members, strangers at the gym without whom you will never exchange a word or even a glance, but who are with you in a shared space to focus on the same goal. It can be fellow movie goers, the number of which will not matter. In the dim theatre you are laughing and sniffling together. Good company in good spaces.

C) Feeling Good – Being active (walking, exercising, standing/stretching), giving a big stretch, journaling, reading a page out of book, chatting, listening to music or enjoying the arts. Unscheduled time alone, being without anything that requires attention. Doing the responsible things and doing the carefree things.

And feeling good even though it feels bad at first can be tackled as follows:

According to one internet user:

“Like, I started the workout routine by spending 3 weeks just getting out of bed, putting on my running shoes and workout clothes (not in that order) and just standing outside my door. Spent weeks literally just practicing going outside in the morning, until that stuck as a habit. Then I started by practicing jogging 10meters/yards for a few weeks, and then I progressed from there. Now I run 5-8km each time.”

D) Being Good – Helping others, asking and receiving help from others, expressing gratitude, self reflection. Working on projects and short term or long term plans. Remembering good times, letting go of bad times.

It’s also a healthy practice to limit screen use and passive consumption. Whenever we work on the screen, I’m sure it is now common knowledge to take frequent eye breaks. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends the “20-20-20 rule for adults who work on a computer. This rule suggests that individuals look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes of the day.”

A begrudging morning doesn’t need to set the tone for the day. Even if you have a great routine, it’s not always great. But things will unfold to bring you joy and meaning when you set up your life for goodness to flow.

by yojeanyi

Productivity and Happiness: red flags

In the sea of unsolicited help, here are 2 red flag words to steer clear from:

1. Productivity

A classic trap is thinking productivity is a positive attribute that yields green. Yet the point in which you seek advice on how to be more productive is when you are experiencing burn out or apathy. Advice on how to “be (more) productive” feeds a vicious cycle. The focus should be on resting completely (completely), and addressing the source of the apathy.

2. Happiness

Apparently the happiest country in the world is the most realistic. When breaking down the criteria for “happiness”, participants explained that they don’t look for it, instead expecting a normal, average life. Keeping the bar within reach is key. This is not to say happiness isn’t important or doesn’t exist, but the “pursuit of happiness” will lead you away from it.