productivity

The Next Upswing

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Lately, I’ve been pining for the past – those productive photography days when I had a glut of photos to take, process, and share.

These days, photography is harder to do. I don’t have a picturesque commute, or much time to dedicate to making the types of photos I did a few years ago. I look back through my Flickr feed and remember those productive days, and it makes my heart ache a little bit.

A lot has changed. I got married, had kids, switched jobs, moved our household. It wasn’t one thing that made me shoot less, but a combination of things. There’s also a mental component, where I find it hard to feel like making photos.

The tough part is being okay with this new period in my life. Here’s how I’m trying to cope:

  • Picking up Instagram has helped a bit – trying to keep to a semi-daily photo sharing practice
  • Wrapping up my photo project and staying in touch with my portrait subjects
  • Making more family photos of the kids playing around the house, or going on walks
  • Revisiting some old photos and processing them in my current style, for a change of pace
  • Feeling grateful that I had a period in my life where I was super productive, and made some fun photos

Those are not a cure-all, as a lot of my guilt comes from my life situation changing, and I can’t do anything about where I live or the free time I have. What I can do is build some new routines around my current schedule and lifestyle.

One of my favorite artists, Joan Miró, went through similar ups and downs during his career. Art can be bi-polar, filled with peaks and dips. My hope is that a few little things will be satisfying enough to last me until my next upswing.

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Journal, With A Bullet

I’ve dipped my toes into the Bullet Journal pool.

For two months now, I’ve been logging my daily activities, organizing my tasks, and laying out my appointments and meetings in this handy journal, using a no-frills approach to the Bullet Journal philosophy. Basically, I took what I was doing using Things and paper lists and combining that workflow into one canonical place: a notebook.

(And a cheap-o one at that. Nothing fancy.)

The basic idea is that you write your task list and appointments down on paper, month by month. Whatever you don’t get done each month transfers to the next month. Along the way, you make decisions about those tasks – like, should they even be in there?

From there, you use an index system at the front of the notebook to keep tabs on the various months, task lists, projects, and reference lists you keep in the journal. And then it’s up to you to add whatever system you want on top of that basic outline.

I’m still in the very early stages of using this system, but already I’ve noticed a few things:

  • If I need to do or remember something, I have one place to put it now. Before, I was using paper, my phone, or nothing.
  • If I have a task to do, having a reference to look at has been super helpful. “What can I do right now?” Check the journal, and it’s there. I am finding I’m actually getting more done.
  • There’s a bit of personality involved – such as noting the first time we went to the ice cream shop, or writing down a memorable moment in the daily log. It’s a journal in the truest sense.
  • You can get crazy with pictures and taxonomies and ink colors, but I’m keeping it simple, or putting in a splash of color when I feel like it. No pressure to do either, because it’s mine, and only I look at it.
  • I’m logging my fitness goals in the journal, and boy – it’s a real sense of accomplishment to see my commitment on paper.

Other digital systems have never quite stuck with me, whether those systems involve an app (Things), a device (my iPhone), or notes (Apple Notes, Simplenote, etc.). Maybe all I needed was a notebook and a pen.

I’m still living the Getting Things Done® lifestyle, with projects and weekly reviews and all that. The journal keeps all that in one spot, and gives me direct, immediate feedback on how I’m doing. At the minimum, the system requires a monthly review.

The combo of iOS Reminders, my Apple Calendar (on Mac and iOS), and the Bullet Journal has been key with appointments, meetings, birthdays, etc. Writing down an event on paper is fine, but I still need my phone to buzz and remind me of upcoming dates.

Photography-related: I have a whole @Photos project in here with to-do items, lists of ideas, and potential blog posts. Again, it’s an on-paper reference – one canonical source for photography stuff.

Habits are hard to establish. I feel like GTD has been an easy at-work habit, but maybe not such an easy life habit. With this journal system, I may finally have the platform to get things done in all areas of my life.

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