Beginning of September
It’s my last week of work at my data science job! It feels exciting and stressful, but mostly exciting. I’m also going to start sharing this blog with a wider audience of people I’ve worked with, and I’m hoping that many will enjoy reading my weekly updates and that some will leave me comments (I’ll respond!). I’m wondering if people will find it useful to get a weekly email reminder about my updates, so let me know! I initially thought it would be annoying/invasive to get a weekly email about my blog and I wanted this to be something that people chose to read on their own, but maybe it’s helpful to have an email reminder, so let me know your thoughts.
Also, for context/background on this blog and some ground rules, read through my first blog post Hello World.
Anyways, onto my weekly updates:
What I’m working on now:
In my planner, I had written out the following four projects for the month of September, which I had written out the first three back in July because I tried to plan out a quarter chunk of time (following the methods in Start Finishing by Charles Gilkey):
Paint “Sand, Sea, and Sky” collection
Plan and apply to 2022 fairs/events
Plan and apply to 2023 fairs/events
Write weekly blog
Post on Instagram two times a week
The last two I added last week because I needed to make my social media goal SMART, and I’m not sure if writing my weekly blog has become a habit or a part of my regular schedule, so it’s still a project. Things that are projects turned habits/regular schedule include:
Exercising every week day
Working my data science job (which is going away soon)
I have some other habits that I’m trying to build like taking a morning walk and learning Chinese, but they’re not projects, so I don’t let them stress me out if they don’t happen. I’m sticking to a maximum of five projects at a time.
But what am I actually working on
I am telling myself that I am going to start painting this week and painting my oceanscapes for my “Sand, Sea, and Sky” collection. No more hiding from it if I want the paintings to be done by the end of this month before I travel to the East Coast.
I started a list of Instagram post ideas so it’s easier for me to put something together without having to be stressed about it.
Inputs
I finally got a library card for the library in Santa Clara (I feel officially like a resident now) and borrowed The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, The Practice by Seth Godin, and The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp. I finished The War of Art and just started the other two.
I also finished reading through Ignore Everybody by Hugh MacLeod (can you tell that I’m procrastinating painting by reading?).
I started listening to Radical Candor by Kim Scott on audiobook and I think it’ll be my painting audiobook.
I started the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron again so I’m doing my morning pages as well.
Outputs
I rearranged my studio office to be just my studio! I opened up some space in the room and I’m planning on doing some finishing touches later this week, but I’m excited for the new setting. I needed the rearrangement to reset and it feels like a new space, which has felt motivating.
I spent a lot of time this holiday weekend with friends and it felt nice to have more social time.
I’m hoping by my next weekly update I’ll have painted and maybe share some progress pictures!
