Reinvention
Originally Published on my Patreon Page…
October 4, 2023
I have an analog calendar, very thin, with 1 page spread for each month and 1 page spread for tasks, goals, and notes for each month. I also use my iCalendar but it doesn’t offer the 1 month, 1 page spread view of all my tasks and notes to focus on for the month. And I’ve learned that if I see it, I can move it (get it done).
Since last year can be qualified as my burn out year, this year, I said: enough is enough! I know burnout too well and it is a good indicator (for me) that it’s time to re-invent my life. First, I decided to be strict and re-evaluate my priorities and removed from my life everything that pretended to be a priority but wasn’t. Next, I was just as strict with my schedule, wiping out everything that was unrealistic or that would lead me back to burnout or that would deviate me from the life I was envisioning. And to maintain this vision, each month I review: what I did right, what I did wrong (mainly still trying to fit in too much within each day) and my energy level; for this purpose my analog calendar has been key. If it’s not on my to-do for the day, the month, then it goes on a separate queue that I keep for to be done next month. But I was still missing a tool where I could keep track of what I did, neither calendar helped, I would end up doing the same task over and over, not seeing results, still functioning on low energy levels and an overwhelmed mind. I gave time blocks a try but still same results until I came across a tool being used by many artists: Notion. I decided to explore it.
Until Notion, no other digital or analog calendar or tool helped me see how I was actually spending or using my time, time blocks and all. Prior to Notion, I recall, I had this re-occurring feeling that I had washed the same clothes, cleaned the same rooms, bought the same foods the week before or a few days before or said yes to more work hours than I could handle without dropping anything important, like preparing meals and eating. I’m visual, I need to see everything in front of me all at once, otherwise I forget. Worse, if I see clutter, my brain also feels cluttered.
I love technology and have been quick to adapt to it, quicker to accept it, but since I didn’t grow up with technology, I know its place in my life: as a tool. For years the only two things I kept analog in my life were writing in my journal and my art. There is a whole world out there about how writing with pen on paper helps our brains.But not the subject at the moment. Notion is the tool that I’ve used since July to solve two of my main concerns: getting a handle on those repetitive tasks and the ability to view everything that I must focus on (daily, weekly, monthly, etc) all at once. Notion is also where I’ve planned the steps leading to today. All in one view: my life tasks, work tasks, art tasks.
Note: There was a learning curve to be able to customize the app for my personal use. I found two great resources on YouTube: Tiago Forte and Marie Poulin. They both use Notion in the way I was looking to use it and apply it.
So, organization & planning in one view, check!
What about the art time? At the beginning of August, I pulled out sketches I had made last year. I drafted a rough outline in Notion of what I thought would be an ideal illustration development process, for my eyes only. I constantly remind myself that every artist I’ve ever followed has their own process, and that inspired me to inquire within and come up with my own. In general terms, my initial outline was as follows: sketch phase, color choice phase, drawing phase, choice of medium and paper, color phase, final drawing details phase, photoshop phase, publishing phase. Later, I added specific tasks (or steps) I could take within each phase. Basically, I broke down everything to the smallest steps possible so I could see progress, small progress but progress. I also wrote down notes to remind my future self of things like: what I was trying out, what worked, what I needed more practice on, what I thought I needed to learn (photoshop), etc. I changed the outlines to check lists of tasks (or steps), not really knowing, more like hoping, I would have the time to do them and check them off. Time, was an issue, time is still an issue. But I started with a commitment to wake up super early (I’m not an early bird) to work on this project. Early morning hours, I’ve found are quiet and that quiet helped my brain to focus. And how fun to wake up with a purpose!
So, time, check!
I decided to break this post into 2 parts. Part 2 will cover the illustration project itself and decisions I made along the way.
Reminders for my future self: Notion is a great and very useful tool, and Tiago Forte (he has a great book called Building a Second Brain, which I loved) and Marie Poulin are 2 great resources.
And a few image shots of my little green witch cupcake. This little witch cannot wait till Halloween!