ON STAGE LIMIT?
I think I hit my maximum for “on stage” time yesterday. As I’ve discussed, I’ve been using a robot to create my work schedule on creative days. I typically go in with a slew of things I want to do (pulled from: monthly work plan; tasks I’ve already assigned to teh day in my planner; Google Tasks weekly list), time estimates for how long everything will take, all of my hard-landscape commitments and ask for a schedule that accommodates my complex wish list.
Thus far it has been working really well, except yesterday I was over 4 hours into running my mouth facing a laptop camera and sort of . . .hit a wall. I did get everything done, but it just felt like a little bit too much. (Running analogy: that last video felt like the last 6 miles of a marathon. I mean not quite, but you know what I mean.)
The robot did not account for there being some ceiling of how many hours a non-robot wants to perform, and I personally find that screen-based performing or recordings take (weirdly?) more mental/physical energy from me than actually standing in front of a room of living and breathing humans.
SOOO is my magic number limit 4 hours? I had:
- 2 hours of CME (recorded videos, no audience)
- 2 hours BOBW (with Laura, so helped that it wasn’t solo, but was still a screen-based recorded conversation. I KNOW it would have felt less effortful had we been hanging out in the same office — this is why we embrace any opportunity to record live!).
- 30 minutes BLP (recorded audio, talking to myself on a laptop)
I think I am going to try to actually cut most creative days at 3 hours max Performance Time (ie, I’m directly interacting with a microphone or camera) with 4 hours as a dire “OMG CALL OR VACATION IS COMING” limit. That said, I am really enjoying corralling my work days to primarily weekdays rather than letting things bleed into the weekend, so sometimes 4 will probably just have to happen.
I know some people love batching and therefore would say the ideal setup is to do like, 8 hours of recording in one go but that approach gets a hard no from me. I would hate it *and* I think at that point the quality would suffer.
READING . . .
I don’t want to say I’m in a rut, but it’s October and I’ve read ~30 pages of Fellowship Point since 10/1. That is . . . not a lot of pages. And my TBR is kind of out of control! I don”t think it’s a book issue; every time I’ve sat down to read I’ve been so tired that I lasted about 5 minutes. I think this might be more like a post-travel energy hangover, or something like that.
Anyway, my new goal is to finish the book by 10/12 or give up and finish it at a later date. This would mean reading 70 pages/day on average before Monday and I think that is a reasonable (though slightly stretch) goal. I feel like I NEEEEED a deadline, plus I really do have so many others I’m excited about waiting for me (library books, plus print books for book club and others I impulsively ordered).
AND I don’t even have Emily St. John Mandel’s newest one on the list and I know I want to read that! Has anyone gotten to it yet? Thoughts?
Not going to lie I will probably read this first though:
And this is our book club pick! Super intriguing . . .
Anyway. I’m GOING TO PULL MYSELF OUT OF MY RUT. Too many great books await and I don’t want to abandon my current read (I do really like it!).
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I just read “I who have never known men“ (although it wasn’t the pick for the CBBC) and I’d love to hear your take on it once you read it. So many thoughts!
okay yay that’s great – means it will be a good book club pick.
I finished Exit Party over the weekend and found it super engaging, but I’ve enjoyed all of her books. I’ve already purchased a copy to share with my husband and our nanny. I just started The Thoroughbreds last night so we are on the same (kindle) page!
oh yay! Yes, I enjoyed all of hers that I’ve read (The Glass Hotel, Station Eleven, Sea of Tranquility). I could maybe see her new one as a great read towards end of the year or jan and I’m tempted to order a hard copy.
Just wanted to say, I really really have been appreciating your content recently, especially your podcast/blog vulnerability about how crazy life has been. As someone who has also been going through a very trying time, where quite literally nothing goes as planned, it’s refreshing to hear someone else with similar experiences. It takes courage in a way, to continue to plan, and hope for the best when everything seems to go awry. Just wanted to say that I really admire your courage, and your using your platform to show the not so fun sides of planning, life, and living!
oh wow thank you Rose – that is so kind! Obviously not *all* of life gets shared on the blog but I try to not be ashamed to share certain struggles or tougher times. It is really nice to hear it is appreciated.
Oooh! I didn’t know St. John Mandel had a new book! Will have to add to my tbr. I read I Who Have Never Known Men last year and felt like I preferred other books of that genre over it (e.g. The Road) but found it to be entertaining and readable. Am curious to hear your thoughts on it. I’m in the middle of Whistler (LOVE) – I can’t remember if you had read that one yet. I am 99% certain you would like it.
I agree on the activity time limits. Thankfully I don’t typically have to talk for 4 hours straight, however I am usually only good for deep work writing for 3-4 hours or so as well. Even with breaks that’s about all I can do in a day before transitioning to something easier. So, right there with you!
yes I loved Whistler!!! (I love basically all of her books, though for me I would say this up there). And yes the new E St J M came out in Sept!
I just finished Whistler! Loved it. And I read “I who have never known men” while waiting in our Peds Endo office-so I thought of you. I think you’ll enjoy it. There are many details without a lot of guidance-which is how my brain feels about the endocrine system. It’s so complex.
ha! i hope you were not waiting too long 🙂
I read I Who Have Never Known Men last year. It wasn’t insanely enjoyable to read, but it’s one of those books that has stayed with me and I think about the ideas/themes a lot. Would recommend.
Our book club read ‘I who have never known men’ and it was a great one for discussion. Really great book, very thought provoking.
oh yay! glad to hear it!
I read IWHNKM, and it haunted me! It’s very thought provoking and strange. It wasn’t an easy read, but it was a page turner at the same time. Also, there are no chapters, so there are no clear demarcations on when to stop reading.
FWIW I did not finish Fellowship Point. I started out enthusiastic and then just … wasn’t. It’s still in my TBR pile and I never reach for it. Also, yes video especially video presentations are harder than standing up in front of an audience. You have to keep your energy up and you just get nothing back, even if it is a live video presentation and people are enthusiastic. I need nodding heads and smiles and the occasional laugh to keep me energized.