#i was a little over ambitious and i ended up simplifying a bit lol

[mortiscausa]

Whether fate be foul or fair, Why falter I or fear? What should man do but dare?

march to camelot #1: quest

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Showa Genroku 5 – 13, 15 | Classicaloid 14 | Masamune-kun’s Revenge 2 | Osomatsu-san 16

(ep 5)

You can hear the sarcasm in his (Sukeroku’s) voice, even with only subs. Actually, both Kiku and Sukeroku have their sarcastic moments.

How does the charcoal not burn the cushion?

You can clearly tell she’s got him wrapped around her little finger. Pretty ambitious, in those times.

Apparently injured legs can feel when rain is coming…that sort of thing.

In an age without phones, there’s more need for socialisation.

Basically, this is the equivalent to a high school or uni play. Low budget as ever.

Tanuki…well, they’re pranksters. Of course.

It seems pretty sexist in this day and age, but back then…welp. Let’s not complain about comparisons between some so-called “good ol’ days” and the present.

(ep 6)

“I don’t need lectures from a bum like you.” – Especially a drunk bum…

Even if it’s selfish to take something because of the thrill…I do kinda miss my days of scanlation. It’s hard to get a thrill like the one I got when I did that. Heh heh. Well, 2017’s going to be another intense year filled with Japanese, because even though I’ve shifted my education once more, I stuck Japanese in there again.

The texture on the smoking pot is quite something. Huh.

That’s a biiiiiiig cicada…

Hey, a Yotaro. Is that Daiku Shirabe Yakumo 7th’s doing?

Miyokichi says “gokigenyou”. I have enough lip reading skills to detect that, at least.

Who wrote the signs at the rakugo stage? I wonder…

(ep 7)

There always seem to be more women during Kiku’s performances.

The humour in this is a bit slapstick, but that’s why Charlie Chaplin is a household name now, right?

How many Es are in Tennessee, anyway? I never kept count…4? Okay then.

The ear picker is a sign of romance and intimacy. In Japan, anyway.

Extra “that” in the subs.

“Master Bonsai” sounds like such a cliché.

The “slice of eye” technique is just so effective. I’m lucky I’m not a film school student, or else I wouldn’t be eloquent enough.

A two futatsume show wouldn’t sell. Didn’t you say that a few episodes ago, Sukeroku?

(ep 8)

The master’s (Bonsai’s) fanning himself so much, it must be summer.

You need to win favours for a shinuchi promo…hmph. Better note that on the wiki.

Come to think of it, this was the age of letters, wasn’t it? Sukeroku’s right.

The Sukeroku and Miyokichi scene is so powerful, you can’t look away from it.

Drinks solve everything for these guys…sheesh.

Sometimes antagonising Kiku ain’t the answer, Sukeroku.

Without Sukeroku, kiku just kept clinging on to his part…huh. This part suddenly made a lot more sense, now that ep 14’s clarified Yotaro’s purpose.

The thing about this show is that it’s quite the acquired taste – you come for the humour, stay for the drama…or something along those lines. I spotted Sukeroku’s name on the very right, by the way.

(ep 9)

The dressing room is the “comfort room” in Japanese.

Of course Kiku wouldn’t be Sukeroku’s partner in crime for something like pissing the masters off…

I think it was “Edo flair”, subbers, but it was kinda hard to notice…

With those tired eyes, Kiku looks like Jean Otus (of ACCA).

These foreboding shots of light on water…hmph.

Note Amano’s got a fan that says “Japan one” literally, but whether it implies he’s number one in Japan or something else is number one in Japan is entirely up to debate.

There was a typo in the subs, but since the erroneous part was “While her husband it out…”, unless the actual word is “is”...I dunno what the correct word is.

The angles in this show are part of the personality. However, as Hand Shakers tells us, too much of a good thing can spoil it. Good thing this toes the line properly.

“Storyteller” is the appropriate equivalent for rakugoka, but “storyteller” doesn’t seem to do a story about rakugo justice. You need the jargon to make the world come alive, I feel.

You can tell Haruko Kumota used to be a BL author before from the way Sukeroku and Kiku act and react in that end scene of the ep.

(ep 10)

The cat…and the box-in technique from Erased. Letting go…is a theme in this show. Didn’t I say that already?

The kanji for “7th generation” was pretty nasty in regards to stroke count. No wonder they simplified it.

Shinigami. Of course he’d unleash that on the audience. Watching again has allowed me to really study Kiku as a person.

I wonder, are there full texts for these rakugo stories somewhere (like those books the apprentices memorise from)? I’d like to read them all someday, even if it’s just a testament to how much Japanese I’ve learnt.

In a world full of filial piety, the man really shouldn’t piss off his ancestors.

With that hat, Kiku looks like something out of Joker Game. Plus, even though the old person says “these days they have their televisions”, nowadays it’s “these days they have their phones and their internet” (in a spot of irony for me, LOL). In the end, technology will be too good for rakugo…and that’s what makes this show all the more interesting for me. Me, who wants to understand the past but still advance to the future.

For bad pun central, stop right here. The English “equivalents” to some of these Japanese puns really are kinda corny, and that’s saying something…since I’ve been looking at joke books since I was a kid.

How old is “old”, old man? If Konatsu’s calling you old, the internet is old.

(ep 11)

On the wall near Kiku are the signs “beer” and “tsukimi soba” (moon viewing soba). There’s another one past the one with a woman on it, but I can’t really make it out.

Oh, it’s the sign! Unfortunately I don’t know the second kanji, so I can’t tell you what it says.

This scene with the bag always makes me laugh. Every time, I tell you.

Konatsu’s got dango in her mouth. How do I explain dango…they’re sticky. Kinda like mochi. Never had them myself though.

I think ep 11 really shows how far Kiku’s come as a rakugoka.

(ep 12)

The word used for “inn” is ryokan. People tend to translate that as “(traditional) Japanese inn” in order to contrast with “hotel” and such.

The “chopsticks over the edge of the balcony” scene…now that I think of it, that is some heavy foreshadowing.

Is there a man who doesn’t like women? Probably.

Is it possible to make art using the spirit (behind it) alone?

Shibahama. Of course. Also, I’d never heard the term “a total lush” until this episode, I don’t think.

If only Sukeroku were like Kuma…haha. (sad tone)

I never thought about it until TV Tropes brought it up, but Miyokichi really is yandere.

When a grown man is driven to tears…you know stuff’s gone down.

Hey, there was no OP or ED on the ep now, was there?

(ep 13) [Trigger warnings: death, hell, political commentary etc..]

What is “inter[ring] the ashes”?

The world has had some horrors to get globalised like it is today…unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about it.

You put an end to oral traditions by not having anyone to pass them on…that’s the scary part of this show. Also, all the boxing in looks like Yakumo’s going to hang himself, and that’s the point. Which is even scarier.

I think this show’s only gone off model once.

Enma being the king of hell.

In English, Konatsu’s words are even more deceiving in regards to her “drink”.

Yotaro does the “bwong” bit more fast and lively than Yakumo.

Such a rebellious spirit (Konatsu) wouldn’t be right, tied down by marriage.

Oh yeah…I forgot they announced the “Rakugo Association President” thing in this ep.

“Lately all we hear about is deaths…” – Basically 2016 for the wider entertainment world. (Then came Trump. Aye carumba, what is the world coming to?)

Wait, do you want to shake Yotaro or the man who impregnated Konatsu?

I wonder how the reality of the Sukeroku scene played out…maybe it demonstrates his senility, interpreted one way.

Lilies, chrysanthemums and daisies…white is the symbol of death in Japan. (The chrysanthemums are yellow but the theme is the same.)

(ep 15)

Fresh new ep…well, I’ve been keeping this one since it first rolled out to the public, so it’s not entirely fresh. However, this is as fresh as it’ll get in regards to how the simulcast commentary goes.

Urk, why must CR be so insistent with turning “Descending Stories” into the title? It’s hardly convenient.

Imawa no Shinigami…I saw the video on ANN. It’s a nice song, but hard to put on repeat because the visuals are so good.

Whoa, even I can tell how fast Yota’s motormouthing, and I’m not even listening to it!

“Fussing to the shamisen”? What’s that?

She (Konatsu) clearly mouthed “papa”, and I think that word goes across multiple languages.

Huh. There’s no identifying name on this story, and it seems so crucial. That’s why I asked for a full guide of them (like the books that you sometimes see Kiku practising out of).

You can tell what books I’ve studied and the random things I’ve picked up from the quotes I can spout at a moment’s notice. For example: ���…full of sound and fury, signifying nothing…”

Amaken’s eyes are funny while he gripes about the shinuchi’s role.

Who is this glasses guy? I can’t read the kanji…

Kappore. It’s something like this, anyway.

Was that a non-language-barrier pun? (About how the story suddenly switched to being about women in Yoshiwara.)

He’s (Yotaro’s) motormouthing again…

Higuchi really is a spanner in the works for Yakumo, eh? Especially because it turns out he’s the one who begged Yakumo for work the day 7th Yakumo collapsed. Karma’s such a pain in the butt, isn’t it?

Oh no! I-If Kiku dies next ep…where will the story be? Surely, we have Yotaro/Sukeroku and the Yakumo legacy, Konatsu and Higuchi, but I’ve learnt from the SGRS discord that Kikuhiko really is the glue of this work and this fandom. Don’t let him die or else we’ll all have a real funeral service for him…(well, maybe not that extreme, but people will be in real mourning due to a fictional character…and that’s bad.)

(Classicaloid 14)

I’ve seen from all the “best of 2016 anime” posts that Classicaloid’s gotten on to a lot of critical reviewers’ lists, but looking at my top 10, it didn’t make it. (If you’re wondering, it’s currently in spot 12 and since it’s a 2016 list, it won’t move up from there.) As for 2017, it’s currently in 4th place, but it’s likely to get debunked by later anime (Inuyashiki for one, since I’ve heard about it…if I hear about its source material while it’s still a manga, then its anime has a lot of promise!).

Beethes? On love? That’s new.

A capriccio is “following one’s fancy” according to Google-sensei, while I already knew poco a poco to be “little by little”.

Not all those foods Kanae listed are Russian, right? Pirozhki I know is Russian via YoI, but stroganoff clearly is not. To confirm my suspicions, I asked Google-sensei about gazpacho and that’s Spanish.

Gorbacho…? I might need to check that one over, but Sensei has nothing on it.

Those gyoza buddies have already appeared twice in this ep (excluding the OP) and both were in Kanae’s vicinity.

The foods listed are just local specialties of the area. Okonomiyaki is quite known as an Osakan one, that’s why.

They teach kids how to make vodka in this show…that’s slightly horrifying…Please don’t try making vodka at home, kids.

The birds…are so adorable! Ahh!

“Madol” appears to be a squashing together of “mad idol”.

This is actually very enlightening. At least from Bada’s perspective.

It’s not even the usual credits. It looks like karaoke…and that’s the entire point. There’s even lyrics!

(Masamune-kun 2)

The problem with Kirito-face (Masamune) is that he keeps going over his problems day by day, as if he can’t live without focussing on his revenge. Unfortunately, that’s the point of the show. I know it can do better than that! Plus, Heike Monogatari.

BL sandwich?

Okay, I’m definitely out of here. Ew. Fanservice without any particular reasoning is the worst.

(…but why did I leave the video long enough to find out that Makabe doesn’t even look adorable when stuttering? Yet another reason to leave.)

(Osomatsu-san ep 16)

The one episode I really liked (aside from the feels-getters), aka The Mad Max Parody…I think.

Manekineko behind the interview.

Apparently, Matsuno Matsunan can be read as “Matsuno Makkusu”, but the subs never explained that now, did they?

LOL, Iyami’s too visual kei in this.

Matsu in that case meaning “end”, but…you know…Matsu of the century…

The innuendo…it’s slghtly grating the second time ‘round, but it made me laugh the first time.

Welp, from that one segment, you basically learn how to make a successful non-Gintama…well, success…in Japan.

Highly relatable, but painful due to it being relatable.

Why is the Karamatsu!Ichimatsu not a meme like the Todomatsu face?

Matsu-cest…squick. Why do people ship that?

Technically, only fans of Karamatsu are Karamatsu girls…or boys.

Why is this second face not as memeful as the first?

With a series like this, you really have to be careful that it’s funny every time…because it’s only one third as funny the second time around, at least for this episode.

[fesahaawit]

The One Good Thing About Being Busy

Anyone who knows me in real life (and that includes those of you who read this blog regularly) knows I hate being busy. There’s no better or more eloquent way to say it. I just hate it. I hate trying to manage multiple projects with multiple deadlines and I hate having a full calendar. Not having enough downtime in my schedule to relax and enjoy life fills me with anxiety, hurts my sleep habits and even affects what I eat/consume. That’s the reason I started this year of slow living experiments, and especially the slow work experiment: because I felt anxious just knowing how busy parts of 2017 were going to be.

You might be surprised then when I tell you how being busy actually helped me this month. Because it was an extremely busy month. Aside from the few months where I was finishing writing the book, editing the book, etc., October felt like one of the busiest months of the year. I had a little bit of anxiety and I didn’t sleep much for the last week of it. My eating/consumption habits were pretty healthy, but every time I felt my anxiety creep back in, I knew I had to make a decision. And that’s exactly what being busy helped me do this month: make decisions.

I know I am not unique in the fact that I like to dream big and hope I can get a lot done in a little amount of time. It’s actually a pretty classic move: assuming we can get a lot done, that is. So, we over-promise, over-commit and fill our calendars with an overwhelming number of deadlines. And then the anxiety, stress, and gloom and doom attitude sets in. If we let this go on and continue to repeat this pattern, we either start resenting our bosses or clients OR we start doing a bad job of everything.

I had some really big and ambitious dreams for what I could accomplish in the last two months of this year. And for what it’s worth, if it was any other year, I do think I could have done it all. But it’s not any other year. In a little over two months, my first book is coming out. (!!!) And because it’s my first book, I had no idea how much work would go into promoting and launching it. So, I had all these deadlines laid out for other projects I wanted to do, and it all looked like it could come together pretty easily. And then my publicist told me I would start doing interviews at the end of October, and my beautiful colour-coded calendar blew up in my face.

That conversation took place a few weeks ago, but I continued to spend most of October thinking I could bring at least one of my new projects to life before the new year. I kept working on it, sent some files to my designer and felt ok about the progress I was making. But I didn’t feel great about it. I knew I could do better, if I had more time. After tracking my hours, I knew I was already working 35-40 (productive) hours/week and my brain couldn’t seem to handle much more. The only way to get more time would’ve been to sleep less, and that’s not better for anyone. So, instead, I had to make some executive decisions.

PS: For anyone who is considering tracking their time, I can’t write a how-to post about that because I just made a scribbly mess in my planner! But here are two posts that might help you: ways to do it + how it helps you.

I could list all the new projects I was going to work on and explain the number of executive decisions I made, but it could all be summed up in one sentence: I decided to do what I already do well, just a little bit better. And since you now know I’m not a huge fan of things like sales funnels, and will always put people over profit, I thought I’d do something a little different. Rather than write content that could try to sell you on these things, I’m going to tell you exactly when they will be available. I know each of these things isn’t for everyone, but they might be for you. So here are the details:

RIGHT NOW: Simple Year 2018 is Open for Early Reg!

When Courtney Carver asked if I wanted to contribute to Simple Year 2016, my first thought was: ME!?!? A group of the minimalism + simple living bloggers I looked up to had come together and created a course that could help people simplify their lives, and I was being invited to join them? I couldn’t believe it. And when I talked to Courtney on the phone for the first time, I honestly felt like I was talking to a celebrity. Two years later, I feel extremely grateful to call her my friend, along with many of the other course contributors. I can also tell you that the lessons in Simple Year have changed my life for the better (particularly the ones on digital + relationships).

I’ve also received some amazing feedback about my content, which I teach every July:

If this feels like a course you’d want to invest in for yourself, early registration is open right now until November 14th at 12pm (noon) EST. It’s $199 USD (less than $17/month) right now, and will go up to $249 USD in January.

NOVEMBER 20: The Year of Less + Book Tour

In a few weeks, I’ll be sharing some exciting news about my book! I would also love to do a mini book tour, but I will need your help to make it happen. If you would be interested in helping me come to your city next year, please stay tuned! This is the project I am most excited about. <3

NOVEMBER 27: Mindful Budgeting 2018 Planners

I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t going to create 2018 planners. The list of reasons for this was long. I was worried that it would be too much to promote these + the book at the same time. I was worried that some people might confuse the planners with the book, and order it thinking it was going to be a memoir and then be horribly disappointed to have a planner show up at their door instead. (Did my anxiety make these stories up? That’s a topic for another day, lol.) I also couldn’t find a printer in North America who could use double-loop wire binding and make them even more helpful. That didn’t happen in time, so I wasn’t going to create new planners.

When I shared this news with the existing Mindful Budgeting Facebook group, the reaction can only be described as: supportively-disappointed. You were so understanding of my reasons, but also said you didn’t care what it looked like and just wanted a new planner for next year. So, I’m making that for you! It’ll look/feel the same but, with the help and suggestions from current users, I am adding a few new templates that will make it just a little bit better. Thank you for this feedback, friends. It’s another example of why we’re better when we work together.

If it looks like November is going to be another “busy” month, you’re right—in a sense. But by giving myself permission to push my big ideas aside until next year, I am now able to put my time and energy into projects I already do well, just a little bit better. Q4 is always my busiest season, and you guys have come to know that about me. If I was a “smarter” business owner, I would space these things out, so it doesn’t feel like I’m telling you about so many things at the same time. But that’s just not how my business works! I love a new calendar year, and I love working on projects that revolve around a year—and heck, I even wrote a book about a year of my life, haha. So, this is it. It all comes at once, and then we can spend the rest of the year talking about real life. :)

Delaying some of these projects will affect my income and my finances. I had done some projections for how much I could earn in Q4, and those numbers will be much lower than I had expected. But that’s ok right now! I would rather do a few things well and still have time to enjoy life than push myself to reach unrealistic deadlines and goals. I know the work will be better for it, and I will definitely be better for it. So, all-in-all, I feel like this slow living experiment was a HUGE success.

Experiment #8: Slow Work

track how many hours I work every day (and how many per project) – done!

set realistic expectations of what I can get done (with timelines) – done!

explore other creative outlets (this could be fun – stay tuned!) – no time (yet)

share how I slowly grew my blog (incl. dollars + blog stats) – done!

share plans for what’s next – done! :)

Thank you for an incredible month, friends! I don’t ever plan on turning this into a blog about blogging/working for yourself, but it was extremely helpful for me to share all of these things with you.

Oh, and if you have any questions about Simple Year, Courtney is hosting a webinar tomorrow at 8pm EST where she will be doing a live Q&A! xoxo

The One Good Thing About Being Busy posted first on http://ift.tt/2lnwIdQ

[fesahaawit]

The One Good Thing About Being Busy

Anyone who knows me in real life (and that includes those of you who read this blog regularly) knows I hate being busy. There’s no better or more eloquent way to say it. I just hate it. I hate trying to manage multiple projects with multiple deadlines and I hate having a full calendar. Not having enough downtime in my schedule to relax and enjoy life fills me with anxiety, hurts my sleep habits and even affects what I eat/consume. That’s the reason I started this year of slow living experiments, and especially the slow work experiment: because I felt anxious just knowing how busy parts of 2017 were going to be.

You might be surprised then when I tell you how being busy actually helped me this month. Because it was an extremely busy month. Aside from the few months where I was finishing writing the book, editing the book, etc., October felt like one of the busiest months of the year. I had a little bit of anxiety and I didn’t sleep much for the last week of it. My eating/consumption habits were pretty healthy, but every time I felt my anxiety creep back in, I knew I had to make a decision. And that’s exactly what being busy helped me do this month: make decisions.

I know I am not unique in the fact that I like to dream big and hope I can get a lot done in a little amount of time. It’s actually a pretty classic move: assuming we can get a lot done, that is. So, we over-promise, over-commit and fill our calendars with an overwhelming number of deadlines. And then the anxiety, stress, and gloom and doom attitude sets in. If we let this go on and continue to repeat this pattern, we either start resenting our bosses or clients OR we start doing a bad job of everything.

I had some really big and ambitious dreams for what I could accomplish in the last two months of this year. And for what it’s worth, if it was any other year, I do think I could have done it all. But it’s not any other year. In a little over two months, my first book is coming out. (!!!) And because it’s my first book, I had no idea how much work would go into promoting and launching it. So, I had all these deadlines laid out for other projects I wanted to do, and it all looked like it could come together pretty easily. And then my publicist told me I would start doing interviews at the end of October, and my beautiful colour-coded calendar blew up in my face.

That conversation took place a few weeks ago, but I continued to spend most of October thinking I could bring at least one of my new projects to life before the new year. I kept working on it, sent some files to my designer and felt ok about the progress I was making. But I didn’t feel great about it. I knew I could do better, if I had more time. After tracking my hours, I knew I was already working 35-40 (productive) hours/week and my brain couldn’t seem to handle much more. The only way to get more time would’ve been to sleep less, and that’s not better for anyone. So, instead, I had to make some executive decisions.

PS: For anyone who is considering tracking their time, I can’t write a how-to post about that because I just made a scribbly mess in my planner! But here are two posts that might help you: ways to do it + how it helps you.

I could list all the new projects I was going to work on and explain the number of executive decisions I made, but it could all be summed up in one sentence: I decided to do what I already do well, just a little bit better. And since you now know I’m not a huge fan of things like sales funnels, and will always put people over profit, I thought I’d do something a little different. Rather than write content that could try to sell you on these things, I’m going to tell you exactly when they will be available. I know each of these things isn’t for everyone, but they might be for you. So here are the details:

RIGHT NOW: Simple Year 2018 is Open for Early Reg!

When Courtney Carver asked if I wanted to contribute to Simple Year 2016, my first thought was: ME!?!? A group of the minimalism + simple living bloggers I looked up to had come together and created a course that could help people simplify their lives, and I was being invited to join them? I couldn’t believe it. And when I talked to Courtney on the phone for the first time, I honestly felt like I was talking to a celebrity. Two years later, I feel extremely grateful to call her my friend, along with many of the other course contributors. I can also tell you that the lessons in Simple Year have changed my life for the better (particularly the ones on digital + relationships).

I’ve also received some amazing feedback about my content, which I teach every July:

If this feels like a course you’d want to invest in for yourself, early registration is open right now until November 14th at 12pm (noon) EST. It’s $199 USD (less than $17/month) right now, and will go up to $249 USD in January.

NOVEMBER 20: The Year of Less + Book Tour

In a few weeks, I’ll be sharing some exciting news about my book! I would also love to do a mini book tour, but I will need your help to make it happen. If you would be interested in helping me come to your city next year, please stay tuned! This is the project I am most excited about. <3

NOVEMBER 27: Mindful Budgeting 2018 Planners

I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t going to create 2018 planners. The list of reasons for this was long. I was worried that it would be too much to promote these + the book at the same time. I was worried that some people might confuse the planners with the book, and order it thinking it was going to be a memoir and then be horribly disappointed to have a planner show up at their door instead. (Did my anxiety make these stories up? That’s a topic for another day, lol.) I also couldn’t find a printer in North America who could use double-loop wire binding and make them even more helpful. That didn’t happen in time, so I wasn’t going to create new planners.

When I shared this news with the existing Mindful Budgeting Facebook group, the reaction can only be described as: supportively-disappointed. You were so understanding of my reasons, but also said you didn’t care what it looked like and just wanted a new planner for next year. So, I’m making that for you! It’ll look/feel the same but, with the help and suggestions from current users, I am adding a few new templates that will make it just a little bit better. Thank you for this feedback, friends. It’s another example of why we’re better when we work together.

If it looks like November is going to be another “busy” month, you’re right—in a sense. But by giving myself permission to push my big ideas aside until next year, I am now able to put my time and energy into projects I already do well, just a little bit better. Q4 is always my busiest season, and you guys have come to know that about me. If I was a “smarter” business owner, I would space these things out, so it doesn’t feel like I’m telling you about so many things at the same time. But that’s just not how my business works! I love a new calendar year, and I love working on projects that revolve around a year—and heck, I even wrote a book about a year of my life, haha. So, this is it. It all comes at once, and then we can spend the rest of the year talking about real life. :)

Delaying some of these projects will affect my income and my finances. I had done some projections for how much I could earn in Q4, and those numbers will be much lower than I had expected. But that’s ok right now! I would rather do a few things well and still have time to enjoy life than push myself to reach unrealistic deadlines and goals. I know the work will be better for it, and I will definitely be better for it. So, all-in-all, I feel like this slow living experiment was a HUGE success.

Experiment #8: Slow Work

track how many hours I work every day (and how many per project) – done!

set realistic expectations of what I can get done (with timelines) – done!

explore other creative outlets (this could be fun – stay tuned!) – no time (yet)

share how I slowly grew my blog (incl. dollars + blog stats) – done!

share plans for what’s next – done! :)

Thank you for an incredible month, friends! I don’t ever plan on turning this into a blog about blogging/working for yourself, but it was extremely helpful for me to share all of these things with you.

Oh, and if you have any questions about Simple Year, Courtney is hosting a webinar tomorrow at 8pm EST where she will be doing a live Q&A! xoxo

The One Good Thing About Being Busy posted first on http://ift.tt/2lnwIdQ

[fesahaawit]

The One Good Thing About Being Busy

Anyone who knows me in real life (and that includes those of you who read this blog regularly) knows I hate being busy. There’s no better or more eloquent way to say it. I just hate it. I hate trying to manage multiple projects with multiple deadlines and I hate having a full calendar. Not having enough downtime in my schedule to relax and enjoy life fills me with anxiety, hurts my sleep habits and even affects what I eat/consume. That’s the reason I started this year of slow living experiments, and especially the slow work experiment: because I felt anxious just knowing how busy parts of 2017 were going to be.

You might be surprised then when I tell you how being busy actually helped me this month. Because it was an extremely busy month. Aside from the few months where I was finishing writing the book, editing the book, etc., October felt like one of the busiest months of the year. I had a little bit of anxiety and I didn’t sleep much for the last week of it. My eating/consumption habits were pretty healthy, but every time I felt my anxiety creep back in, I knew I had to make a decision. And that’s exactly what being busy helped me do this month: make decisions.

I know I am not unique in the fact that I like to dream big and hope I can get a lot done in a little amount of time. It’s actually a pretty classic move: assuming we can get a lot done, that is. So, we over-promise, over-commit and fill our calendars with an overwhelming number of deadlines. And then the anxiety, stress, and gloom and doom attitude sets in. If we let this go on and continue to repeat this pattern, we either start resenting our bosses or clients OR we start doing a bad job of everything.

I had some really big and ambitious dreams for what I could accomplish in the last two months of this year. And for what it’s worth, if it was any other year, I do think I could have done it all. But it’s not any other year. In a little over two months, my first book is coming out. (!!!) And because it’s my first book, I had no idea how much work would go into promoting and launching it. So, I had all these deadlines laid out for other projects I wanted to do, and it all looked like it could come together pretty easily. And then my publicist told me I would start doing interviews at the end of October, and my beautiful colour-coded calendar blew up in my face.

That conversation took place a few weeks ago, but I continued to spend most of October thinking I could bring at least one of my new projects to life before the new year. I kept working on it, sent some files to my designer and felt ok about the progress I was making. But I didn’t feel great about it. I knew I could do better, if I had more time. After tracking my hours, I knew I was already working 35-40 (productive) hours/week and my brain couldn’t seem to handle much more. The only way to get more time would’ve been to sleep less, and that’s not better for anyone. So, instead, I had to make some executive decisions.

PS: For anyone who is considering tracking their time, I can’t write a how-to post about that because I just made a scribbly mess in my planner! But here are two posts that might help you: ways to do it + how it helps you.

I could list all the new projects I was going to work on and explain the number of executive decisions I made, but it could all be summed up in one sentence: I decided to do what I already do well, just a little bit better. And since you now know I’m not a huge fan of things like sales funnels, and will always put people over profit, I thought I’d do something a little different. Rather than write content that could try to sell you on these things, I’m going to tell you exactly when they will be available. I know each of these things isn’t for everyone, but they might be for you. So here are the details:

RIGHT NOW: Simple Year 2018 is Open for Early Reg!

When Courtney Carver asked if I wanted to contribute to Simple Year 2016, my first thought was: ME!?!? A group of the minimalism + simple living bloggers I looked up to had come together and created a course that could help people simplify their lives, and I was being invited to join them? I couldn’t believe it. And when I talked to Courtney on the phone for the first time, I honestly felt like I was talking to a celebrity. Two years later, I feel extremely grateful to call her my friend, along with many of the other course contributors. I can also tell you that the lessons in Simple Year have changed my life for the better (particularly the ones on digital + relationships).

I’ve also received some amazing feedback about my content, which I teach every July:

If this feels like a course you’d want to invest in for yourself, early registration is open right now until November 14th at 12pm (noon) EST. It’s $199 USD (less than $17/month) right now, and will go up to $249 USD in January.

NOVEMBER 20: The Year of Less + Book Tour

In a few weeks, I’ll be sharing some exciting news about my book! I would also love to do a mini book tour, but I will need your help to make it happen. If you would be interested in helping me come to your city next year, please stay tuned! This is the project I am most excited about. <3

NOVEMBER 27: Mindful Budgeting 2018 Planners

I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t going to create 2018 planners. The list of reasons for this was long. I was worried that it would be too much to promote these + the book at the same time. I was worried that some people might confuse the planners with the book, and order it thinking it was going to be a memoir and then be horribly disappointed to have a planner show up at their door instead. (Did my anxiety make these stories up? That’s a topic for another day, lol.) I also couldn’t find a printer in North America who could use double-loop wire binding and make them even more helpful. That didn’t happen in time, so I wasn’t going to create new planners.

When I shared this news with the existing Mindful Budgeting Facebook group, the reaction can only be described as: supportively-disappointed. You were so understanding of my reasons, but also said you didn’t care what it looked like and just wanted a new planner for next year. So, I’m making that for you! It’ll look/feel the same but, with the help and suggestions from current users, I am adding a few new templates that will make it just a little bit better. Thank you for this feedback, friends. It’s another example of why we’re better when we work together.

If it looks like November is going to be another “busy” month, you’re right—in a sense. But by giving myself permission to push my big ideas aside until next year, I am now able to put my time and energy into projects I already do well, just a little bit better. Q4 is always my busiest season, and you guys have come to know that about me. If I was a “smarter” business owner, I would space these things out, so it doesn’t feel like I’m telling you about so many things at the same time. But that’s just not how my business works! I love a new calendar year, and I love working on projects that revolve around a year—and heck, I even wrote a book about a year of my life, haha. So, this is it. It all comes at once, and then we can spend the rest of the year talking about real life. :)

Delaying some of these projects will affect my income and my finances. I had done some projections for how much I could earn in Q4, and those numbers will be much lower than I had expected. But that’s ok right now! I would rather do a few things well and still have time to enjoy life than push myself to reach unrealistic deadlines and goals. I know the work will be better for it, and I will definitely be better for it. So, all-in-all, I feel like this slow living experiment was a HUGE success.

Experiment #8: Slow Work

track how many hours I work every day (and how many per project) – done!

set realistic expectations of what I can get done (with timelines) – done!

explore other creative outlets (this could be fun – stay tuned!) – no time (yet)

share how I slowly grew my blog (incl. dollars + blog stats) – done!

share plans for what’s next – done! :)

Thank you for an incredible month, friends! I don’t ever plan on turning this into a blog about blogging/working for yourself, but it was extremely helpful for me to share all of these things with you.

Oh, and if you have any questions about Simple Year, Courtney is hosting a webinar tomorrow at 8pm EST where she will be doing a live Q&A! xoxo

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