The J months continue to hold me in their sweaty grip. June was a veritable shit show of health issues and resultant work delays, and July has been so full of social engagements that I’ve barely had time to recover my wherewithal to have any mental focus during the rest of my week. Not quite a complaint, I just didn’t realize going into things that July would be so busy in abnormal ways! (Yes, it is abnormal for me to have 1-2 social engagements every week; I’m an introvert.) … I have no recollection if January of this year went sideways in any capacity, but I’ll be on high alert for January 2026…

I’m literally at a Ren Faire as this email is being sent out; hails! ⚔️

And yes, I’m absolutely counting family travel as a social event; there was a lot of figurative handholding. Regardless of how well you get along with them, aging parents are aging parents, and I’m now faced with the reality that I need to be stepping in to provide more assistance in the ways that I can. The days after returning home remained somewhat focused on this, making notes about what around the house needs to be repaired (to say nothing of my own home!), doing price comparisons on various goods and services, and (perhaps most notably, as its exponentially more difficult to do from a distance) continuing to coach my mom through how to use her iPad after updating the iOS for the first time since 2022.

To that, a solid reminder for us all: you are not owed access to technology just because it looks cool or other people have it. Technology, like a chainsaw, is a tool, and it is the responsibility of the owner to learn how to use it safely and effectively. Which is to say: if you’re not going to invest the time and energy to learn the technology, why have it in the first place? I saw this post that summarized the issue well: tech literacy basically lasted one generation. Boomers and Gen X opted in, and millennials came of age when it was still new enough that the adults saw it worthwhile to teach us how it worked (because “it was our future”). Yet subsequent generations have grown up with tech as an inherent part of life, to the degree that adults assume The Youths all understand how it works when really, they don’t have any idea either. Enter the humble (ha!) millennial.

Fwiw I also think there’s merit to learning film photography in addition to digital photography, as one informs the other. Learning how to write code for websites in addition to using WYSIWYG builders. Learn how to sew (or at least mend!) in addition to buying clothes off the rack. I am slowly but surely losing my tolerance for people who have existed in this world for decades and have ostensibly refused to learn how anything works, to apply critical thinking to any of their life’s problems, thinking that somewhere out there is something they can buy that will Fix It. Knowing how things work and how to do things yourself is inherently anti-capitalist.

TL;DR: Don’t become the cliched Oldhead who complains about all the newfangled gadgets Kids These Days are addicted to! You’re just angry because you don’t understand! Give yourself the benefit of the doubt that you can learn the new thing, or just ignore it and live in ignorant bliss! Your education begins today.

Speaking of capitalism! A reminder that I too am living in this hellscape, and that you can help mitigate that by subscribing to the ad-free version of this newsletter for the absurdly low price of $2/month! It’s really quite a deal, moreso if you grab the full year. _{(Psst… paid subscribers also get secret memes in place of ads… when I remember to add them at least} 🤫₎ I’ll probably raise this to $5/mo at some point, as I continue to refine the presentation and integrate bigger pieces of content. And to the handful of folks who have already done so, I thank you. 😌

☑️ Done and Done - Did a bunch of small home repair and improvement projects for family, travelled there and back again during peak summer heat, took some heat naps, did much tech gadgetry, scheduled an eye appointment, had lunch with a friend I talk to all the time but hadn’t actually seen in well over 5 years, did a bunch of heavy introspective journaling work, did a couple days pet sitting for a friend, set up a Furbo device so I can voyeur on Irma while I’m out.

📋 Coming up - I now must attend said optometry appointment, and need to follow up on appts for dental and to get my RealID (finally), and there’s a photography exhibit I hope to hit up for the opening reception. Beyond that my week is reasonably open and I’m slowly leaning into the more intentional scheduling work I’ve been drafting. The whole open closet shelving and reorganization has been weighing on me so I hope to at least begin to tackle that to free up some RAM for other stuff I need to tackle.

As mentioned in recent weeks, I’ve been spending a lot of time on scheduling. Or at least, the concept of scheduling, as I’m not entirely implementing much of it just yet. I love creating niche little Google Calendars to help me track specific aspects of my life. Some of them are just general vibe check time blocks—my morning downtime, my peak energy/focus hours, etc.—to help me effectively schedule more specific activities and pace myself throughout the day. Some of my calendars are more like passive data tracking; I did some work this past week analyzing the time zones of countries I know I have fans/followers/subscribers in, so that I can find the periods of my own day when people are most likely to be online and seeking interaction (or be open to buying). It’s not a calendar that I’ll have “on” all the time”, but when I’m considering content scheduling or—eventually—going live again, it’ll be good info to have on hand for reference.

And that’s all well and good and delightfully nerdy, but I’ve known that scheduling alone is not the solution to my problems. Problems like finding creative inspiration, having the energy/willpower to create consistently (esp when endless output is an unhealthy norm), or even just holding myself accountable to do the damn work. Because some of y’all are entirely too understanding! 😂 Not that that’s an actual problem… I’m incredibly thankful for my very patient supporters who have vocalized no issue with the various health and life delays that have impacted my work over this past year. And actually, that kind of patient support has been vital in helping me break apart and rid myself of actual grindset-mindset hustle culture.

So examining my daily habits, my weekly flow, is a part of the solution—a solution—but scheduling alone is not the solution. But once that part is done and accounted for, what do I turn to next as a “problem” worth investigating? As ever, it becomes an issue of why. Why. The worst question! Why don’t I feel inspired? Why can’t I focus on this work? What’s keeping me from getting started? Okay that’s a “what” but still. Enter one of my favourite methods for serious personal introspection: The 5 Whys approach.

While the technique has been around for a while, I only really became familiar with and started using it at the start of the year during a “group challenge” hosted by my now biz coach. The premise is that most problems can be broken down or distilled to their root issue through a series of questions where, like a toddler, you just keep asking why. Most of the time, you really only need 5 questions to hone in on the real issue, though I sometimes find myself branching off into multiple reasons “why” and then finding that one begets the other. 😅 Basically The 5 Whys gives me a framework for deducing where I’m actually struggling, and finding the small things that are accessible for me to work on without feeling overwhelmed.

I’ve known that scheduling isn’t my problem, it’s creative disconnect… so while admin stuff is great to do, I can’t admin my way to creative inspiration or resonance. But this time I’ve spent examining my schedule and forecasting the work in advance has helped me lock in on one of my root issues: if I don’t edit something start-to-finish within at most a two-week span of time from production to upload, I’ve lost my personal creative investment in the project. Related: my consistent struggle to organize my content archives, and begin the editing work that is needed to get any of that published. I know the photosets and videos are good, but I just… don’t care anymore. I want to make something new! New is good, new is fun, new is dopamine! Lawl.

For now, my compromise is going to be a hybrid approach: I can shoot new content, if I plan it in advance. And I mean start to finish, from pre-production to social media promos and eventually returning to re-promote at a later date, each piece moving into place as I do the work, like an intricate dance. But knowing what needs to happen when? That’s a whole other thing I need to plan, before I can plan! Actually I do already have a little content production flowchart I made a couple months ago, one that I also turned into a checklist template in my underutilized content-tracking Trello board (but I might print it out for extra referencability). And since planning a bigger shoot with such in-depth timing and details isn’t something that’s going to quickly scratch that creative itch, I’m also reminding myself that it’s okay to shoot something on the fly IF during the next 24 hours I also take the time to edit and throw it up somewhere like my fansite queues our as a DM. A little snacky snack in the kitchen while I craft a more labor-intensive dish. A little doodling in the notebook while I work on a much larger painting.

Efficiency is necessary but it’s never the answer to creative blocks, even if you’re in business for yourself. Understanding your own creative process—and reminding yourself that your business’ success relies on your creativity—will allow you to create and work with a form of efficiency that’s custom-tailored to you, and not to some project management app’s tracking system or self-help book. And it helps build the creative muscle, the resilience, that you will need to make your creative business not heat profitable but sustainable.

📺 Watching (spoiler-free) - This week saw the start of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, which was a cliffhanger-conclusion to the end of season 2. That was a lot of Star Trekking! The episode really brought out some classic Star Trek visual styling on the very intense action scenes. And while some may say the episode alternated between intense action and moments of humor or levity, I’d posit that the intensity was actually levied against moments of hope, and the quiet elation we feel when we find our way to a unique solution to the problem at hand despite our circumstances. Also, if you ever catch me chanting, “My name is Merrick Monroe, I fly the ship.” please know I am experiencing intense challenges, oof (what a great callback).

🎞️ Movie #1 - I watched The Woman King (2022) with my mom, who is really into Viola Davis. I know there was some controversy around its accuracy, but all my aging, very caucasian mother saw was a whole lot of female empowerment. I did appreciate the line, “Vision is seeing what others do not,” which is a version of a classic Jonathan Swift quote.

🎞️ Movie #2 - While doing a spot of editing this week, I watched In the Cold Light of Day (2012) and, uh, I got a lot of editing done. Which is to say… this was not a good movie. You’d think, with a cast that revolves around Bruce Willis, Sigourney Weaver, and Henry Cavill… …but no! No. It wasn’t good. You can skip this, or, join me in wondering about that Death Note-tier intense focus pull zoom-out on the desk phone.

☕ Drinking - I heard about the Atlas Coffee Club during the recent Amazon Prime Days, specifically their promo through Wirecutter (which I use for Prime sale research/reference). As mentioned I’m a bit of a coffee snob, and this subscription service fits within my coffee brewing budget so I wanted to give it a try, or at least grab a few discounted bags. The El Savador medium roast in the first box is certainly suited to my pallette! Atlas is still running their Summer Sale if you too are coffee-inclined, no code needed.

⌚ Wearing - For a PC girl I sure am surrounded by Apple products, eh? I’m now the owner of a Gen 7 Apple Watch that was passed along for being too technologically difficult (see also: my opening rant). It took some fiddling but overall I’m enjoying it after moving up from a much simpler Fitbit Charge 6; while the latter is marketed as a health tracker, I’m surprised to be finding much more usefulness in the Watch on that front. I’m actually looking forward to having my phone in my hand less while in public (and replacing it with one of my many cameras).

🧠 My lovely, lovely biz coach, Claire Panniccia, is hosting their annual Neurodiverse Entrepreneur Summit in less than two weeks! The Summit is how I first became acquainted with Claire, and through multiple Summits, Challenges, and now the coaching program, I’ve gained so much perspective and support in my business and the challenges I face as an entrepreneur. The summit this year looks so good so I hope you’ll consider joining me in attending! It’s 100% free to sign up (with limited-time replays) but if you decide to upgrade to either of the bonus passes after clicking through my affiliate link above, I’ll get a little commission. 😇 Which will, in turn, go towards more coaching lol. If you have any questions about the summit or Claire’s program, please ask!

📢 If you’re the type who is invigorated by hearing smart people speak on important subjects, and/or heartened by hearing from people in your (perhaps global) community who are doing good work, consider also attending the virtual event The Anti-Authoritarianism Playbook. It’s on Tuesday July 22 (so soon!)

📱 Do you have aging parents who are with AT&T? Make sure to check with them on their phone and data plans; the company recently launched a discounted plan of $35/mo for seniors. Unfortunately, their concept of “senior” is people aged 55 and up… so uh, some of you might want to check on your own AT&T plan (sorry). (And a request: If you’ve helped set up your parents with similar “for senior” discounts on what are now standard services—phone, Internet, etc.—please shoot me a link?)

👁️ I thought this carousel from @byoooooob (a new-to-me but followable IG) was a really interesting exploration of those zero-post accounts on social media. Who are they? What are they doing? Why did they follow me? I’ve never minded a greyface, but I do often wonder. I know a lot of people who block and move on and I get it; if someone’s not going to participate in the “social media” experiment/experience themselves, why should they have access to you, a stranger? But the responses therein did give me a lot to think about, especially as someone who is less and less inclined to actually post publicly to my own IG account. There might just be something to the zero-post mentality.

Amazingly, almost two months later and I finally got a call from the hand specialist following up on the cat bite that put my right hand out of commission at the very end of May. Great, thanks. 🙄 Healing is going nominally, and I’ve made every adaptation available to me to move away from using that hand while it’s been healing. Do I even need a specialist to review the issue at this point? I guess I’ll have to play some video games with my mouse to check in? Oh no; better add that to ye ol To Do list this week!

There’s a new moon this week, on Wednesday night/Thursday morning, depending on your time zone. I, for one, intend to intention the fuck out of that moon! Wanna join me in setting some good new intentions for your own life? Maybe do a 5 Whys about something and then use the new moon to set yourself down a path of enacting progress towards a solution? I sure like the sound of that! As always, I’m a reply away; otherwise I’ll see you next week.

Hails ⚔️,