I've tried a variety of times to keep month notes, week notes, logs, all sorts. Failure, all of them.

However.

I still need to solve these anxieties for myself:

• Feeling like time slips by too fast.
• Feeling like I'm not getting anything done.

The system that's finally worked for me is one that's private and low-effort, scrappy and ugly.

At the beginning of the year, I started a fresh daily log book. The rules are:

• No rules!
• Actually, rules: just notes, don't plan, don't think.
• No pressure to write something funny, clever or interesting, because only I'll read it^🟉.
• Write anything for every day, no matter how mundane. I existed, therefore something happened.
• Skipping a day isn't the end of the universe, but go back and fill it in anyway.

The perfect book for this turned out to be the calendar version of my already-favourite notebook form factor that I've been using for years. The Leuchtturm1917 week planner and notebook in B6+.

On the left-hand side are the days of the week. At the end of the day, I write a few words to describe what happened that day (e.g. finished annoying project. went to movies. did laundry.). The right-hand side is just a piece of lined paper, so that's a place I can either leave totally blank or use freeform. I've used the right-hand side to hold badly-thought-out ideas, unbaked to-dos, lists of things bothering me, sketches, contact info, or as a scrapbook of random bits of paper I've collected that week. The cover gets any stickers I am given.

I have filled it in for every day this year, so far, and flicking back through it is satisfying. It is effective in addressing the aforementioned anxieties in an amount that is worth continuing next year.

That's it. That's the post.

^🟉 Do you ever stop and wonder what will happen to all your stuff when you die? Like, will the person clearing out my shelves for recycling bother to stop and read my notebooks? Probably not.

From right now, until September 19th 2024, BFF.fm has an auction going, including one of my paintings that I donated to the station. BFF is a non-profit community radio station in San Francisco, and I'm so happy to have the opportunity to suppor them this way.

The auction also includes some other pieces of art from more local artists, as well as a bunch of other fun things from all kinds of other local businesses - I've got my eye on the Craftsman and Wolves set.

BFF is also hosting their annual gala on the 19th, so if you're a local and it sounds like something up your street, check out tickets for that, too.

I’ll have some paintings up at the inaugural community show at The Faight Collective from this month, through to September.

They’re having an opening party (that I can’t make) on the 13th July, 6pm - 10pm and then all the art will be hanging in their space until mid-September. You can buy a ticket for the party over on their eventbrite.

On 11th February, from 11am to 6pm, I'll be doing a pop-up with Bernal Village Marketplace. I'll have a selection of prints, framed pieces and originals availble! Come see me!

Humble brag, but I have jetlag, and therefore I find myself wide awake at gone 2am. Seems as good a time as any for an update.

Recently:

• We just got back from a trip to Australia, for Web Directions Summit. Alex spoke, mostly about the lost decade and the cost of JavaScript on the web eco-system (the market for lemons). The usual.
• I had screen printed him his very own "Anti JavaScript JavaScript Club" t-shirt, to go with his stickers, and it was a hit with at least some of the attendees.
• Screenprinting is messy and laborious, so rather than do that for everyone else, we set up a drop-shipping thing for them, with the proceeds going to OWA. You can get sticker and t-shirt info at this link.
• After that, we popped over to Adelaide to visit some web folks Alex has been working with but never met. Had a very lovely time, and I got to pet wallabies! They're very soft! Also visited the natural history museum, botanical gardens and contemporary art gallery there. Very nice town, incredibly walkable, chill vibes.
• Spent some time (and a bit of Alex's) adding some new bits and bobs to the Deadpan Studio website, including RSS. I need to fiddle with it a little, but I'm glad to have it in even if it's a bit broken right now.
• I just love RSS. I think it's my favourite protocol. Everything should have an RSS feed.
• The last bit of art work I did was a flurry of activity to produce 5 small paintings to submit to an art show.
• The art show accepted them! Some of them are on display right now. I know I've already sold one.
• My paintings came down from the last show. None of them sold. But, I do now have some prints over at Wave's retail shop, and some of those have done.
• I've been testing out how it feels to say some different things to the question "What do you do?". Sometimes I say I'm semi-retired (sort of true) and do "jobs for good causes and paint a bit", sometimes I try "artist who keeps their oar in by contracting for friends" but a lot of the time I redirect with a self-deprecating joke. I'm struggling.
• Apparently /now pages are back in vogue. Just another place to feel guilty about not updating on the regular, imho. I absolutely would read yours, though, because I don't know how to keep up to date with everyone now the bird site finally died. Personal websites! Get one! Tell me about it!
• Wanna start a web ring?
• Did I mention I ❤️ RSS?