Lazy Letter #2: Lockdown Habits
Thanks for checking out the second edition of my Lazy Letters - my monthly wrap of what I've been up to including tips and tools for creators, things I recommend you watch, read and listen to and things that inspire me. I hope you enjoy this August edition.
🗞 So what's been happening?
The lockdown here in Sydney continues and it's really starting to take a toll physically and mentally so August was all about building good habits despite being trapped inside. During lockdown it's easy to feel a bit sluggish and fall into a slump where we binge eat, watch heaps of TV and waste hours on Instagram and TikTok.
We put our lives on hold which is the opposite of what we should be doing. So often we complain that we don’t have enough time for our passion projects or to start that side hustle but there’s no better time than right now. I'm committed to making this one of my most productive periods of the year and supercharge my video output.
To minimise distraction I decided to delete all my social media for a while and drastically reduce the time I spend watching YouTube. I also signed up to Apple Fitness+ to get back into an exercise routine and do more workouts at home. 🏋️
Not only did I work on my habits in August, I also posted a video about what I've learned about building better habits which I'm quite proud of. Some have said this may be my best video yet. Check it out in the video section below if you like.
Something else that had me really excited was € 10.19. That's how much money landed in my account a week ago and it's the very first money I earned with my YouTube channel. It's not directly from YouTube as I haven't crossed the subscriber/watch time threshold yet that you need to start earning ad revenue. These earnings come from Amazon affiliate sales which is when people click on links to products in my video description. Every time someone decides to buy something via my link, I get a little commission from that sale.
That's it for August, I hope you are happy and healthy and you feel excited for September. I'll check back in in a month.
▶️ In case you missed it
Here are the videos I published in August. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel if you want to keep up with my videos every (other) week.
7 lessons I’ve learned about starting new habits that can help you be more productive.
Sharing some of my favourite productivity apps and tools that help me save time as a part-time creator.
Using a teleprompter has sped up my filming time significantly.
My Top 3 productivity apps for creators
🖌 Creator's ToolKit
TEUXDEUX
I tend to not use To Do lists at all which I'm sure has a significant impact on my productivity. I recently started using TeuxDeux and what I like about this is that it shows you the whole week so you can assign To Dos to certain days and easily move them around. To Dos also get carried over to the next day if you haven't ticked them off. Other digital To Do lists I used in the past where I couldn't put a date to a task just became a dumping ground for unfulfilled tasks.
“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement. The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effect of your habits multiply as you repeat them. They seem to make little difference in any given day and yet the impact they deliver over the months and years can be enormous.”
💡My August Favourites
Click on the images to open the links
For anyone wanting to introduce new habits to their life, James Clear's book Atomic Habits provides real insights into what's involved in habit-forming processes and gives practical tips and examples for how to build good habits and get rid of bad ones.
My current TV obsession - Nine Perfect Strangers. Filmed in Byron Bay while the rest of the world was in lockdown last year, the show is set in a luxury health resort and explores the depth of each guest’s trauma and the true intentions of the resort's eccentric director. After Big Little Lies, this is the second show based on a novel by Australian writer Liane Moriarty, starring Hollywood heavyweights Nicole Kidman, Melissa McCarthy ad Michael Shannon.
🗃 From the Archive
Bondi Beach, March 2019
Thanks so much for reading this edition of the Lazy Letters! Follow on Instagram for more regular updates. I’d be keen to hear from you. Subscribe below if you want the next Lazy Letters to land in your inbox.
Take care! 🙌