An Hour A Day

Hey, you sick twisted freaks, It's Roley, how ya doin', welcome to the show.

I've been doing something the past couple of weeks that has been really productive, and I'd like to share it with you today.  So let me ask you a question:  Is there an hour a day that you've been pretty much screwing off instead of doing your creative work?  What if you instead locked in for that hour and dedicated it to "the plan," or whatever you want to call it?  How much do you think you could get done in an hour without interruption?

My answer should be pretty evident; I did 13 podcasts last month.  I edited two albums of photos.  I deep cleaned the ever-living hell out of my studio.  I did a few screen simulations for things I have yet to edit.  I took a class on shooting video.  I edited a video for a friend's podcast.   This month, I plan to keep that momentum up and hopefully add a few more things.  

I did it with an hour of dedicated, uninterrupted time every day.   Because I was able to do it with an hour a day, I was able to do it without the burnout I've previously felt by grinding for hours, I was able to take care of other things outside of the creative as well, and most importantly I was able to get the sleep I've been sorely lacking.  

Once I've finished my hour, I take stock of where I am and plan out what I need to do next.  Since most of what I do is cyclical, I have a checklist for that.  If I take on additional work or have a new project, I'll plan those outside the dedicated time.  Usually, in the morning, when I'm going over admin stuff before I hit the day job.  

Admittedly, this took a little getting used to because I'm used to just powering through a mountain of work, but what I have begun to realize about myself is that after a while, there's a point of diminishing returns about what I do.   Constraining the amount of time I get down to writing, for example, makes me focus on the task for a certain time, and I think it improves the product.  

I'll be using this process in the future, and I plan on folding it into a larger idea of workflow that I'll share with you once I have it ironed out.   For now, I think we'll call this an experiment in Project Management, but one that appears to be working out.

If you've found this helpful, I would appreciate it if you'd share this with someone you think could use it. Subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already, and I'd really appreciate a review of the podcast if you have the time.  Also, if you find this episode or any of this podcast to be of value to you, how about being me a coffee?  You can go to buymeacoffee.com/krisroley, and...well...buy me a coffee.  Now, I've mentioned this at the end of the podcast since the beginning of the year, but I haven't really gone into a lot of detail about what you can find at the BMAC site.   Over at Buy Me A Coffee, I have three tiers:  Free content, content for supporters of my work, and membership content.  I'll always put up free content at the site because I realize some people can't part with a buck right now, but I still want you to have something.   Supporters get a weekly dispatch, a sample of my photographic work, and what I call 'One Sheets,' which are one-page tutorials on how to do something.  For example, January's one sheet had to do with how I process voices for audio.   Members will get all the Supporter content, a special podcast, and any video tutorials I do.   You can support my work for as little as a dollar, and memberships are 5 bucks a month or 50 dollars a year.  

There are two other ways you can support my work. The first is by going to krisroley.com and clicking on the photography link in the menu.  The photos I've posted there are available for purchase, and more photos will be posted there as we go.   The second is by hiring me to edit your podcast, provide show notes, or write for you, and you can check my rates by going to krisroley.com and clicking on the services link.

The website HQ for all this madness is krisroley.com, and you can go there to see the latest and connect with me on all the social mediasssss.  

Stay Solid, people, see you next time...buhbye.