PP 040: Give Yourself a Break & Ditch Unnecessary Stress
A Memo From Scotty: 3 Years of Weekly Content Can Lead to Fatigue
In 2017 I started the year off the with the motto, "Do Less But Better."
Unfortunately, I am human and have been horrible at sticking to this mantra.
Over the past 3 years, I've been putting out weekly content like a drawing, blog post or audio. Weekly content is all I know but trying to manage this with:
the day job
doing freelance
maintaining relationships with my wife, family and friends
has begun to take a toll on me, not to mention all the other things I seem to fit within my schedule.
Sometimes it can feel like an endless cycle, like when do I get a break?
This past April was absolutely ridiculous with all the traveling and teaching a workshop at Creative South and speaking at Crop Conference. The months and preparation leading up to it were intense as well.
I told myself that May would be different and I would slow down and enjoy myself. Next thing you know, I book up any free time I have with freelance and side projects.
Safe to say, May went by in a flash and I can barely remember anything that happened. It's making me realize that I keep my plate full unintentionally and it makes it difficult to "live in the moment" even though I've improved at celebrating all wins...or at least acknowledge them.
There’s just so much going on that I can’t stress myself out trying to hustle to make all these things happen in the week.
I’m infamous for being too hard on myself and that’s why I’m giving myself a break and ditching unnecessary stress.
Reevaluating My Priorities
The podcast is my #1 priority as it’s the most fulfilling but it’s also the most demanding.
Sometimes I don’t feel like I have enough time to pump out the best quality in the episode or the show artwork as I'm rushed.
This pains me but for the short future I’m going to take the show to an every other week for my sanity and to free me up to:
experiment with video on the podcast for Youtube
spend more time with Emily, family and friends during the summer
update my website
prepare for my Weapons of Mass Creation speech in August
go above and beyond in my client work to help pay off debt
I'm making this choice to ditch unnecessary stress I get when trying to rush out an episode each week. There's too much going on and especially in the summer time to effectively manage it all to the quality I expect from myself.
The show will eventually return to a weekly format as I know this is what has the biggest potential in my short creative career. However, I need to pace myself and play long-game mindset so I don't burn out in the short term.
Ditch Unnecessary Stress
While it'll be hard to adapt to this new format, my life and productivity revolve around routine.
I know this will allow me to reflect and understand how I can improve and evolve the show to a higher level.
I hope you know how much your respect, understanding, encouragement and support mean to me as I slowly figure things out in my personal and business life.
Thanks for listening and stay up to date with what's going on and catch some weekly inspiration with my newsletter.
Much love,
Scotty
Shownotes
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CREDITS
Music - Blookah
Executive Assistant - Paige Garland
Photo & Video Specialist - Colton Bachar
Social Media Coordinator - Hannah Schick
Animation Specialist - Greg D'Amico