10 days of insane
Hello! How is everyone doing?
So the past 10 (well 12 really) days have been a killer for me, ranging from an awesome English comedy show to the CD Release Party for the Underground Compilation CD#3 (yes, my band Eve of Sin is featured on that disc! Wahoo!). I spent time getting interviewed by students for projects, checking out Chris Brien at a drum clinic and even had my band go on RadioDaDa!
Poof! Here I am tonight, I'm supposed to be making some modifications to a few of my projects but I'm seriously at a point of mental exhaustion that deserves a bit of R&R.
Ever had those weeks that zoom by you so fast but you just know you did a lot, yet feel like holding on to every ounce of time you can get your hands on because you don't want the day to end just yet? I'm feeling like that because it's 11:25pm yet I'm itching to do more and more and more tonight! I'm glad I got my must-do-this-today-or-else-I'll-feel-guilty stuff out of the way, but I really wish I was a bit less drained because I'm really itching to write some new comedy or at least work on some stuff I've got that is a bit raw. My comedy manager has given me a new challenge where I need to host a night's worth of comedy but I'm literally not allowed to fall back on my material. That means 100% riffing. Woah, I am stoked about this challenge but it's quite scary really. I mean, it's going to be hard to convince myself that I'm going to have to hope for the best during the moment, not just during my set, but the whole night! Yikes! But I guess, it brings me peace when I remember the lovely chapter in one of my top favorite books How to Think like Leonardo DaVinci titled Sfumato which talks about the ability to embrace ambiguity and the unknown. Boy has that chapter influenced me big time! I guess at times it's hard to live a life where you don't know what to expect in the next 24 hours, but then again, when you really think about it, we're doing this all the time!
On a brighter note, I've got some good routines down that I've followed well and have worked out for me. If you've been following my blog, you'll know I always like to superset my mental work with physical work and I've managed to do so quite well for my freelance web work, my drum practice sessions and my fitness exercise. I've been struggling a bit for my comedy writing because that actually requires me to be both physically and mentally rested to do it. It involves me thinking of ideas and then working them out through words and body language combined! It's hard because I usually have to rest for around 40 minutes before I am ready to write comedy, but to find 40 minutes, then another hour in the middle of the day before I'm burnt out like I am now is a real challenge. Anyone have any suggestions. I've combined the use of comedy to relaxing music and so far I've found that 40 minutes it the minimum for me to be excited about writing comedy. If I just watch, say, a 20 minute sitcom, I'm usually rested but not motivated... hmm. Guess I have work to do in that department.
I've also developed an improved workflow for my projects using a combination of Remember the Milk (I love it!) and GTD inbox. Actually, the main enhancement that GTD Inbox does for me is give me easy to use buttons to label mail posts. Other than that, I don't fully utilize its other functions. I've come to realize I've got a division of next actions:
I think I might spend some time this weekend to just sort out a proper system for myself, it's driving me nuts as I go back and find I have like 3 versions of the same bit that all have something different to them and then notes on what people's feedback was, etc. Ahaha again, people like Albert Einstein and Leonardo DaVinci had the same problem. But that is no excuse :)
A cool thing that I have got organized is my drumming practice. Boy did that take me some time to figure out, I had to go back and look at all my drum books and resources and figure out what combination of exercises would benefit me the most. I now realize why the great drummers spend up to 8 hours a day practicing, sheesh, there's so much to practice! Heck, I spent an hour just doing a range of 35bpm(ie. 110bpm -> 145bpm eight notes) worth of single strokes (R L R L R L, etc.)!!! This RMP-5 is a blessing and curse! Ahaha setting it on Stroke Balance and Coach totally rips you apart with timing! Especially when you're at slow tempos! I love it nonetheless! It was a fantastic upgrade from my old Boss DR.Beat 90 which had a similar function.
Anyway, let's see, I've got 10 days to sort myself out and get my comedy writing up to par! Let's see how it goes! :D
So the past 10 (well 12 really) days have been a killer for me, ranging from an awesome English comedy show to the CD Release Party for the Underground Compilation CD#3 (yes, my band Eve of Sin is featured on that disc! Wahoo!). I spent time getting interviewed by students for projects, checking out Chris Brien at a drum clinic and even had my band go on RadioDaDa!
Poof! Here I am tonight, I'm supposed to be making some modifications to a few of my projects but I'm seriously at a point of mental exhaustion that deserves a bit of R&R.
Ever had those weeks that zoom by you so fast but you just know you did a lot, yet feel like holding on to every ounce of time you can get your hands on because you don't want the day to end just yet? I'm feeling like that because it's 11:25pm yet I'm itching to do more and more and more tonight! I'm glad I got my must-do-this-today-or-else-I'll-feel-guilty stuff out of the way, but I really wish I was a bit less drained because I'm really itching to write some new comedy or at least work on some stuff I've got that is a bit raw. My comedy manager has given me a new challenge where I need to host a night's worth of comedy but I'm literally not allowed to fall back on my material. That means 100% riffing. Woah, I am stoked about this challenge but it's quite scary really. I mean, it's going to be hard to convince myself that I'm going to have to hope for the best during the moment, not just during my set, but the whole night! Yikes! But I guess, it brings me peace when I remember the lovely chapter in one of my top favorite books How to Think like Leonardo DaVinci titled Sfumato which talks about the ability to embrace ambiguity and the unknown. Boy has that chapter influenced me big time! I guess at times it's hard to live a life where you don't know what to expect in the next 24 hours, but then again, when you really think about it, we're doing this all the time!
On a brighter note, I've got some good routines down that I've followed well and have worked out for me. If you've been following my blog, you'll know I always like to superset my mental work with physical work and I've managed to do so quite well for my freelance web work, my drum practice sessions and my fitness exercise. I've been struggling a bit for my comedy writing because that actually requires me to be both physically and mentally rested to do it. It involves me thinking of ideas and then working them out through words and body language combined! It's hard because I usually have to rest for around 40 minutes before I am ready to write comedy, but to find 40 minutes, then another hour in the middle of the day before I'm burnt out like I am now is a real challenge. Anyone have any suggestions. I've combined the use of comedy to relaxing music and so far I've found that 40 minutes it the minimum for me to be excited about writing comedy. If I just watch, say, a 20 minute sitcom, I'm usually rested but not motivated... hmm. Guess I have work to do in that department.
I've also developed an improved workflow for my projects using a combination of Remember the Milk (I love it!) and GTD inbox. Actually, the main enhancement that GTD Inbox does for me is give me easy to use buttons to label mail posts. Other than that, I don't fully utilize its other functions. I've come to realize I've got a division of next actions:
- Urgent and important (ie. DO IT NOW!)
- Urgent but not important (ie. Do it by today)
- Not urgent but important (ie. Reply people about something or deal with something that involves someone else because I'm holding them up...)
- Not urgent and not important (ie. someday/maybe)
I think I might spend some time this weekend to just sort out a proper system for myself, it's driving me nuts as I go back and find I have like 3 versions of the same bit that all have something different to them and then notes on what people's feedback was, etc. Ahaha again, people like Albert Einstein and Leonardo DaVinci had the same problem. But that is no excuse :)
A cool thing that I have got organized is my drumming practice. Boy did that take me some time to figure out, I had to go back and look at all my drum books and resources and figure out what combination of exercises would benefit me the most. I now realize why the great drummers spend up to 8 hours a day practicing, sheesh, there's so much to practice! Heck, I spent an hour just doing a range of 35bpm(ie. 110bpm -> 145bpm eight notes) worth of single strokes (R L R L R L, etc.)!!! This RMP-5 is a blessing and curse! Ahaha setting it on Stroke Balance and Coach totally rips you apart with timing! Especially when you're at slow tempos! I love it nonetheless! It was a fantastic upgrade from my old Boss DR.Beat 90 which had a similar function.
Anyway, let's see, I've got 10 days to sort myself out and get my comedy writing up to par! Let's see how it goes! :D
Labels: day 10
posted by Vivek Mahbubani at
10:54 PM
3 Comments:
Hey! You've been busy but good things are happening :) Keep me updated on your comedy challenge, you can do it!
Ever since you wrote about Ommwriter, I have always wanted to try it but couldn't since I was using a PC but now I have a Mac (yay!). Ommwriter is incredible - thanks for introducing me to it ;)
Ahaha thanks! Ommwriter is freaking awesome!! Combine it with http://www.rainymood.com/ music and you got a powerhouse of comfort! :D
Alright, let's see how that comedy challenge goes.. fingers crossed!
加油~ you are great :), sorry my english not good,hehe~ do you remember, i am Paul, i am urgent to arange the activitie of the comeday in your shop, so i am see many of your comedy films form youtube, TVB, ATV ect... tonight, ect... & i still making a short film for the activitie now, hope see you again :)
Best Regards,
Paul
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