Monk mode and ramping up
Sorry for missing last week - I thought about writing a newsletter but honestly didn’t have much to share. Last week was a quiet week - a nice rest. I’d set aside the week to finish up our fourth book for the year but, as I shared two weeks ago, that’s been delayed. So I rested and relaxed.
This week, on the other hand, has been a really productive week. I’m housesitting for my parents which means that there’s a lot of time that I’d usually spend playing video games or things like that and I just can’t here.
So what have I been doing? I figured this would be a good newsletter to share what a week looks like for someone working for themselves.
On Monday I: went to the physio, cleaned my house from top to bottom, packed for the house sitting and photographed an ipad and my phone. I’ve been adding more work to my dingo project and have been experimenting with adding in different ways to share information - I could just copy and paste text, for example, but sometimes having a PDF open on the iPad then photographing that is a bit more interesting than just plain text. Similarly, including some screenshots of facebook messages is sometimes a more interesting way to view information than just black type on white paper.
The dingo work now has a release date for 2025 so I’m getting through the bulk of extra things I need to photograph, find and print.
On Tuesday I: drove my folks to the airport, listed a bunch of old tools for sale, sold them, posted them, photographed my Mum’s garden, got my visas for my upcoming trips sorted, posted on FB about dingoes and got some good leads, sorted out a global eSim and screenshotted more articles for the dingo work.
On Wednesday I: walked in the morning, applied for an exhibition in Perth, had a meeting about a book I want to publish, bought a bunch of photographic materials needed for upgrading my website, took some more photos for the dingo project, photographed my Mum’s garden and confirmed a workshop I’ll teach at a University.
On Thursday (today) I: did some marketing work, planned my roadtrip next week, bought materials for the uni workshop, photographed the garden, went to an art show.
On Friday (tomorrow): I will have some vaccinations ahead of my trip (no flu or covid for me thanks), do some life admin (laundry, etc), see some friends and pack for an upcoming roadtrip.
Next week I’m on the road - I’m visiting the Victorian high country to hopefully see some dingoes, record some dead dingoes and visit a few folks who will help me with the project. Unfortunately, as has been the case this year, it is raining the whole week. Every time I plan a roadtrip it just pours, but this part of the world is fine when it rains, and I likely won’t camp much, so I’ll forge ahead.
And then things get even more busy!
October 19+20 I’ll be at Same Page Art Book Fair in Melbourne. You should come along if you’re in town. QDL might even make an appearance!
October 21 I’m rephotographing all the books I’ve published and learning a new workflow, then I have an evening meeting about my dingo work which will be 2-4 hours long. Much to my business partner’s delight I have to learn more about Photoshop.
October 22 a branding professional I’ve been working with is coming to review my product photography and then I have to pack for my international trips.
October 23 I’m teaching a workshop at a local University for most of the day, likely my last paid gig for 2024.
October 24 I fly to Singapore and will be overseas for a month visiting book fairs, friends and doing some traveling along the way.
Finally!
If you’re interested in attending a workshop, I have one spot left in my Melbourne workshop on November 30th. Details here.