Week Three Roundup: Don't Get Stuck - Do Something

Holly: as I mentioned, my two ruts lately have been my health and my Etsy shop. When it comes to health I've just sort of given up. I haven't bothered to exercise and eating healthy...whats that? In terms of my Etsy shop it's all about getting seen after transitioning the look of my shop. 

This week I ran twice and walked almost every other day! The weather was hot (and I itchy), but I still got out there with zero excuses. I also watched my portions with food and swapped potato chips with veggie pita chips and cookies with yogurt raisins. I'm feeling better already!

For my Etsy shop it's been all about learning SEO this week. I've read up so much about being unique and descriptive and the use of hyperlinks. I'm no pro yet, but my views and sales are improving. I'm even attending an Etsy Twitter chat in SEI on Monday! 

Chris: The biggest places I tend to get stuck are within the realms of my creative work and my adaption to new technology. So, for this week, I’ve tried to do something and pull myself out of these particular ruts.

When it comes to creative work, lately, I’ve been producing in spurts, going long periods without any new art or writing, then carving out a full day of nothing but. In some ways, this has worked well enough. I’ve still be creating, at least, but I used to be so much more productive when it was a habit, when I wrote or revised a little every day, when I set aside some time for even a single doodle. So this week, I’ve tried to get back to that routine, out of my stop/start stuckness, and create—even just a little—on a regular basis. I haven’t arted every day, but it’s been every other, and I’ve revised either Holly’s and my WIP or my own WIP each day. It’s been wonderful, as I’ve started to feel like a writer and creator once again. (Plus, it helps me get to sleep faster, too, as I don’t lie awake at night thinking about all of the things that I should’ve done instead of playing Batman: Arkham Knight…)

Technology-wise, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m quite boring, checking the same half a dozen sites over and over, and that’s it, nothing new, nothing fancy. But this week I’ve been using Tumblr more—thanks to our LitPills project—and subscribed to Spotify. Both have been a little overwhelming. Admittedly, I haven’t delved too far into Tumblr, trying to post now and then and find some cool peeps to follow but not much more.

Spotify on the other hand… Where do I start? It’s so wonderful. I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to use it. Music is such a huge part of my life and having so much access has already introduced me to new bands, new sounds, and allowed me to check out all of those bands I like but haven’t had the funds to buy ALL of their new albums. Now… they’re mineminemine!

Really, it’s been a good week all around, as I don’t really feel like I’m living in any ruts anymore. How long this lasts, though, I guess it will all depend on how deep down the Spotify rabbit hole I fall.