Or Getting Back Into the Rhythm of Life

It’s been a few years since my last post. I’m back.

I think much of what has happened in the last few years, particularly with the pandemic and a change in careers is that I’ve been regressing into a more reclusive state. I wake up, go to work, go home, entertain myself for a few hours, go to sleep, and repeat.

I did that for two years with little contact with the outside world, lost interest in many creative pursuits, and just stopped caring after a while. It got to the point where I even began to lose interest in all forms of entertainment, and all I wanted to do was just lay in bed and sleep.

Things changed a couple weeks ago. My schedule has changed to a 3 day, 12 hour shift on the weekends. It’s hard work on those days, but I get four days off during the week when nobody is at home. This has rejuvenated a lot of my desire to get into a more creative mindset again.

To start with, I changed out Mid-Tier gaming PC for a far more simple iMac. While I lose some of my ability to play games (particularly strategy games), it’s not a substantial loss. Most of my library is on console where I don’t have to worry about driver updates, keeping up with the latest PC build, tweaking software/hardware settings, etc. I just boot up the PS5/XSX/Switch and play.

The switch to a Mac was to address a need in keeping things simple and consistent; one ecosystem at home for all my creative/entertainment endeavors. The Mac also keeps me focused on creative pursuits. It’s hard to open a document to write or draw something when I have a bunch of unfinished games sitting on the desktop.

I’ve basically divided up my creative passions into different groups. Each day I’m going to try to fill up my time in some way on achieving small goals in many of these areas.

Music

I have a piano and an acoustic and electric guitar. My hope is to become proficient in something with these instruments. I’m focusing mainly on guitar right now, though I’m open to getting back into piano assuming I can keep up a daily commitment to playing.

Art

I haven’t quite come up with a plan for this just yet. I have the tools however to get back into art. I have a physical sketchbook, pencils, and erasers to start with. I also have an iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil and the Procreate app to start doing some work as well. I also have access to many creative tools on the Mac and an Wacom Intuos for editing and other work.

Writing

This is where I’m in my comfort zone. However, to be a good writer, I must also read. I’ve been going back into books the last month and my passion for writing is growing ever stronger.

However, it’s one thing to write in personal journals and blogs. It’s another to write fiction. I have a few writing tools to help me get started and a few ideas. I’m just going to have to figure out a plan for what I’m going to write.

Other Hobbies

Language

I’ve been studying Japanese on and off for a few years. The last two years have been particularly hard keeping a consistent daily schedule. I’d like to somehow get back into that.

Tabletop Games

I’d like to get back into board games and roleplaying games. This may help my narrative when I’m creating new ideas for my writings, and they are just fun to play.

LEGO/Model Kits

I have a lot of unbuilt LEGO and model kits sitting around. I’d like to get back into these some day.

Great!

So there you have it, an outline of what I’d like to focus on in the next few months. There’s a lot to focus on, so I’ll have to break it down day-by-day.