Words & Pictures | Halifax, Canada
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into May.
I finished April feeling good about how I was approaching my goals. I was feeling really good about the first draft of The Black Sun and my writing routine in general, but not so great about Violet Lane. And kind of awful about my photography. And I wasn’t exactly clear on my goals for May; I knew I wanted to keep moving forward, but beyond that…?
So I have no real metrics with which to judge May. Vague emotional impressions, it is!
I had one big goal in April: to get over the ennui and inertia of March and find my focus again. (So… nothing too big, then?)
I think I succeeded. Mostly.
The first step was reviewing and revising my long-term goals, and figuring out how to keep them top-of-mind. And that’s actually been the biggest change I’ve made this month: I’ve completely changed the way I set and keep track of my goals, and I’m working to modify the ways I juggle day-to-day tasks and projects. I’ve taken some big steps, but the whole thing still feels very much like a work-in-progress; I’m still making little changes, and figuring out the flaws in my new systems, but I do feel like I’m (finally) on the right track. (I’ll go into more detail later, once I’ve ironed out the kinks. The whole thing feels like it merits its own post.)
That’s the general. And I’ll be honest: the general is working better than the specific for me right now.
I thought that this was going to be a new monthly feature for the blog, but it's really just a revamp of one that I let slide two years ago. This time, instead of sharing one cool thing every week, I'll be doing a monthly roundup of all the things (articles, videos, et cetera) that I can't stop thinking about. Enjoy!
The last few years, I’ve chosen a watchword to take me into the new year, a small mantra to remind me of my goals, both big and small.
I still don’t know what possessed me to try a 365 project in 2017. When I started, I was pretty sure it would turn out like the attempts I’d made before: three months in, I’d be taking the most boring snapshots in the world, simply to fulfil the obligation. I didn’t think that I’d make it through the year without getting bored or resentful, and I definitely didn’t think that the project would do as much for my photography in general as it did.
Whatever you celebrate (even if that's just a few days off), I hope it's a good one.
The days are getting shorter and gloomier. Pretty much all the fall colours have faded, leaving behind shades of muddy brown and grey. And I've been doing this project for almost an entire year - so it's starting to feel like I've taken pictures of everything even remotely interesting in my apartment.
What I'm trying to say is: this is getting really difficult, and I'm kind of looking forward to the end of it.
A day late, but... it's been a busy couple of weeks. I've been: thinking | realizing | surviving | decluttering | hoping | watching | trying | starting | tidying | making
I usually do these updates every two weeks. Or so. Emphasis on or so.
Anyway. I've been: digging | getting | struggling | wondering | hoping | thinking | starting | knowing | feeling
It turns out that getting three colds in the span of a month - and dropping Thanksgiving in in the middle of that - doesn’t exactly do wonders for my creativity or productivity.
Who knew?
So… yeah. October wasn’t a fantastic month.
Really, I’m fine with it. It wasn’t great, but in general, I’m happy with what I have been getting done under the circumstances.