101: time to SHOW UP
Wherein we discuss a quick productivity hack AND a fun announcement...
Today I want to touch a little bit on being productive, a simple little hack that will help you stop putting off your art… AND I have a fun/big announcement…
Welcome to week 101 of the Draw or Die brand. This is going to be an EPIC week, so let’s get right into it…
Does this sound familiar?
You have some little or big idea for your art, maybe it’s a project you keep thinking about, or it’s trapped in a sketchbook. If you’re anything like me, or like most artists, even just thinking about the idea gives you a good feeling, it gives you the juice.
You get energized, you think now is finally the time. You’re gonna do it. And then….
…nothing.
We don’t start.
For whatever reason. We don’t have enough time, or money, or tools, or network…. the excuses can really pile up.
Maybe the reality of the “work” ahead of you sets in.
It’s so much easier and fun to just THINK about something.
And whether you feel it or not (and I know I feel it), it’s like you failed before you even started. It’s that “why even bother?” feeling.
That feeling really sucks. I hate that feeling.
How to show up for yourself
This is going to seem so basic, but I promise you that it makes the biggest diffence.
You have to schedule the time. Physically write it in to a calendar. Set an alert. AND take it seriously. Show up for yourself!
You show up for other things right? You show up for a job. You show up for other events. You show up for a lot of things in life.
Let me re-emphasize this for those in the back seats. You MUST write it down into a calendar or alert. It’s not enough to say “oh, maybe monday evening I’ll have some time to do _____.” It inevitably gets put off.
I challenge you this week to find 30 minutes a day for you and your art.
Behind the scenes, I’m beating myself up…
I’ve felt bad that I stopped posting on social media for the Draw or Die brand. I stopped “showing up”. People liked seeing and hearing me yammer about “drawing every day.” and I know it helped a lot of artists.
Now, I know I’m still consistent with the weekly newsletter, and the daily drawing club e-mails… and by any other person’s standard, dude, that’s plenty! But it’s not good enough for me. I feel like I’ve failed. (I know that’s ridiculous, guys.)
I thought I could do it all. Balance a new day job where I’m producing a daily (7 days a week!) full-color comic, AND I’d still rock out some Youtube videos and social media content for Draw or Die on the side…
but at the end of the day, I was just out of time….
…or was I?
My delusional relationship with time
Ally told me this week, partially in jest, but also a bit serious, that I tend to have a delusional relationship with time. My heart always wants to do more. I think I can get things done faster than they actually take. That’s partially true.
The biggest mistake I made since being sick back in October was… I stopped scheduling. I came back from VidSummit all energized to do MORE, but I used getting sick as the first excuse. I stopped putting time for the other content in the calendar.
Before that I had been putting in time to film youtube videos (even just 1 hour on a monday night) - But I stopped. And so the content stopped. You see?
I kept making the other… oh, I have this new day job guys, and I’ve been really focused! Yeah, yeah. But I had jobs before and was putting out more. The bottom line is, I stopped making an appointment for myself, and so I stopped showing up.
And so I sit and do my work during the day, and i think about all the things I’d like to do. Ideas for videos for the D-OR-D brand. Things I know will help other artists. Plans for this or that, but they stay trapped in my head or on a note board somewhere.
Here’s how I’m going to fix that, and I hope it inspires you.
Now by no means do you have to be as driven as I am… I’m only asking you to find
It’s time to LEVEL THE F#CK UP!
Starting Monday morning at 7am EST, I’ll be going LIVE on our Youtube channel for
DAILY DRAWING CLUB LIVE!
That’s right, every friggin’ morning this week I’ll be live drawing at 7am with a simple agenda to start…
a daily drawing prompt or warm-up to start my day, and yours.
random stories and good vibes to set the tone for your day.
Stream length: I’m shooting for at least 20-30 minutes each time, and no longer than an hour.
Don’t sweat it if you can’t make the LIVE, the replay will always be available in a playlist for you.
This week’s schedule is locked in for MON-FRI live at 7am EST
A special members only weekend stream will be scheduled for our DAILY DRAWING CLUB members on Saturday or Sunday. (announced in the daily club e-mails)
From now on, I’ll schedule my streams ahead of time and the calendar will be listed here in the weekly newsletter for you. I will fill as many as possible.
You see? This is one of those ideas I’ve been thinking about doing since last October. But now that it’s in the schedule, I’ll show up. I hope you do too, or at least watch and listen to a replay or two.
I’m excited to grab some coffee every morning and hit the drawing board LIVE.
🔥Today’s Drawing CHALLENGE!
Today’s drawing prompt is
WAKE UP AND DRAW!
What’s the first thing you think of when you read or hear that? Draw it out!
If you post your art, tag #drawordieclub or @ drawordie.co on instagram so we can find you.
✏️☠️♣️JOIN our DAILY DRAWING CLUB!!!
Help support the club with $5 a month and get nice perks including a quarterly sticker, daily drawing prompts at 5am EST AND as I just announced, I’ll be doing some members only streams on the weekends. JOIN HERE!
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