Revelations in Review

Three months ago, I made a decision to spend more time on creative pursuits. There have been some startling, disappointing revelations.

To catch you up, I am doing two things:

1. Consciously reviewing time spent on tasks
2. Planning to make course corrections to achieve goals

I use Toggl Track for the former and Notion for the latter. My Notion setup is elaborate (read complex and confusing) because I’m trying to build it by watching the free videos of August Bradley about building a Life OS using his Notion Pillars-Pipeline-Vault (PPV) system.

General Observations

• I aim to do too much
• I don’t have enough rest time
• I prioritize reading and work
• I don’t prioritize music and creative writing as much as I should
• My idea of projects, tasks, and measurable goals is messy
• I don’t review as frequently as I should
• I don’t course-correct as much as I should

Changes Planned (Course Corrections)

• Scheduling/planning fewer things to do
• Prioritizing rest and sleep
• Controlling time at work
• Prioritizing music over reading
• Re-evaluating creative writing goals
• Better organization in Notion
• Frequent reviews and more course-correction

A review

Longing for a long ride. Longing for a sense of satisfaction. Maybe the hills over to the East. Maybe to the arid, flatness toward the North. Or maybe on the ill-fated coastal road toward the South. But what am I chasing? Or am I running away to savor that sweet softness of escapism?

Let’s talk.

A few weeks ago, I decided that I’ll dedicate more time in my career to my creativity. My workplace was/is supportive and I also started structuring my creative workday so that I’m more aware of what I’m choosing to do.

My productivity-improvement strategy is a complex system involving self-reflection, conscious action, and periodic review. I’m using a combination of several tools, but mostly Notion for planning and reflecting and Toggl for recording the time spent.

Two nights ago, I reviewed my progress over the past four weeks or so. I was shocked and disappointed by what I saw.

• I’m working* too much [average of 15.5 hours a day]
• I’m spending a bit too much on writing [average 3 hours a day]
• I’m not working enough on music [average 2.5 hours a day]
• I’m sleeping too less [average 6 hours a day]
• I’m spending too much time reading [about 3 hours a day]

Now, I must confess that I do a lot of reading via multi-tasking; i.e., by reading/listening while doing daily routine stuff.

The silver lining to the whole situation is this. Around the time that I brought in this change, I started a Creative Writing course. Ten lessons through, and I can already feel that I’m a better writer. I’m spending about 20 hours a week on the lessons and the coursework and reading. Maybe when the course finishes, I can put most of the time that I spent on it back into doing music.

It is extremely clear to me what I need to do:

• Decrease overall working time to about 13 hours a day
• Increase music time by about 1.5 to 2.5 hours a day
• Slightly decrease writing time to about 2 hours a day
• Slightly decrease reading time to about 2 hours a day
• Increase sleeping time to about 7 hours a day
• Have more rest and relaxation time

Wish me luck.

*By working I mean, I’m doing one of the following three things: real work, music, or writing/reading.

Day 1: Success

Today was Day 1 of my new motley career. And I am happy to say that it was a success.

I started an hour late, did about 7.5 hours of work on music, excluding breaks, and got done with an important (difficult) part of the song that I’m planning to publish.

More importantly, I made a plan and stuck to it. Plus recorded my progress meticulously using Toggl Track. Something that I picked up from regular work. I would recommend the app (which you can download from the App Store) if you would rather not use a browser.

I am hoping that a larger data set—maybe about 50 hours in total of tracking—would give me an idea as to how much time I need to get to be consistently productive on the music front without burning myself out.

Also, I am acutely aware of how I need content for my eventual return to social media, but under the artist identity. So I basically recorded vlogs, both on the phone and the computer, chronicling what I’m going through and I feel.

At the end of the day, I feel way more confident in being able to do this sort of structured, dedicated artistry even on weekends.

This feels good. Need more of it.