Three Entries in a Trenchcoat

It seems like the words want to pour out of me when I'm driving. There's a lot bumbling around in my head and seems like I should update on everything that's been happenin' in my neck of the woods.

You Better Herd Those Kittens I Guess

In my previous entry I stated that I was doing too much. So to help with that, I looked into how I was scheduling my life. I use a calendar, I keep a notebook (IRL paper and digital), and I began using a kanban system to manage all the details within each of my projects. (What I use: Zoho Calendar, Trello, Notesnook, and a physical catchall bullet journal system on top of notes and journaling.)

That's all three hallmarks of a fairly decent system. But it still feels... it's kind of haphazard. I had to put more Intention into this process.

A new method I'm trying is a Blocking Method for my calendar. So far, I've been leaning on a Theme Day– a weekday has a primary focus. Like, Mondays are for working out, and Tuesdays are my reading, studying, and downtime. I'm also considering Category Blocks, where a few hours a day I focus on particular tasks. (Don't talk to me about the granular approach– that makes me panic.) This feels like something I've been missing, so I feel pretty good about it so far.

And another thing I've been slacking on is Knowledge Management– where you put all the longterm info to keep on hand. Could be references, inspiration, bookmarks– things like that. And this is where Raindrop came in clutch, because there are a lot of cool sites I like to keep on hand. (Now to organize all those bookmarks...)

Someone also suggested I keep track of my energy level to see when I am most active during the day. I already know the answer to that– it's 9:33 at night when I am writing this.

Ah, and one last thing: schedule in your breaks. I am a huge fan of this, as an introvert that requires their downtime.

So, that all up there probably sounds pretty dry, yeah? So here's something fun.

Some Music For Ya

I promised someone a look into my BandCamp Wishlist to see what I've been wanting. The genres are all over the place, but I tend toward electronica, Drum n Bass, vaporwave and the varies subgenres (like futurefunk), lofi, and chill stuff. Also, a lot of video game soundtracks.

• Taylor Alxndr's Hologram
• She's entire discography
• wavestyle96's Devil Killer
• Milky Mami's entire discography
• Calico Original Soundtrack
• Astrophysics' Entity
• Mere Notilde's Solanin

This is also my reminder to listen to more new music. There's only so many times I can have the Pokemon SV soundtrack, the Haven soundtrack (okay, just Kusa Makura), or Sammus on repeat. (Janelle Monae will always be in rotation.)

One more thing... speaking of Intention.

That Media Consumption Thing

Two videos here that really got my mind jogging about this again:

Born from a culture addicted to stimulation and shaped by platforms that reward quantity over quality, slop content isn’t just mindless—it’s strategic.

It feeds our boredom, soothes our loneliness, and drowns out the silence we’ve forgotten how to sit with. But behind the noise lies a deeper shift: a slow erosion of intention, nuance, and attention.

The Rise of Slop: Content That Doesn’t Want Your Attention

& (emphasis mine:)

I think in a lot of ways, attention is a skill that needs to be built.  It's something that takes time to develop and in a society where everything is trying to grab and take your attention, giving your attention needs to be more intentional. 

your attention span is cooked. prove me wrong.

Today, I went out of my way for some lighthearted Youtube videos because all the think pieces were stressing me out. But I also noticed that I put something on and... do something else while it plays in the background. Put something on before I go to sleep, or play a game on my phone while it's in PiP. Part of it is just me being fidgety, but still.

I wonder if my attention span is getting worse.

Mind you, I an adverse to content shorter than ten minutes. I like the long video essays where there's a lot of detail and stuff. But if I'm cleaning my bathroom instead of giving it my full attention, am I really paying attention?

A few times I caught myself just nodding along, taking something at face value or thinking nothing deeper than, "sounds about right." That's how I kept falling for the Faceless Channels– AI-created personas and videos with slick video effects I wasn't watching anyway, just enough info be feasible at first glance, and a voice that does the bare minimum of... being there.

But once I paid more attention– and stopped tuning out when there was an adbreak of them trying to sell me their method– the jig was up. And I was annoyed. It's not a topic someone was passionate about– it was a topic someone half-assed to get that Youtube revenue (and scam people into buying their course).

But you know how I feel about AI already, so let it end there.

So, yeah: trying to be more intentional with what I watch. And maybe I should start listening to podcasts again.

One More Thing...

My goal for Get Your Words Out is still going strong... though I fell below my monthly goal. Jan and Feb are still picking up the slack, but I was too busy coding! (Should I count coding into my word count? Very tempting.)

Which, by the way– the Webring is launched Our Favorite Void is online! Scroll down to the bottom of my blog, and you can see the little webring widget! Click around and have a good time. :) And I'm really proud with how it came out.

And, yes, sigh, I'm working on another long post. It's about a comic series I read and I am largely displeased about.

until the next cult meeting, 🦔