August Updates
It’s been a while since I wrote an updates post. Lately the summer feels like it’s flying by, perhaps because a new month started this week. The weather here in New York City has been mild compared to the scorching temperatures in mid-July. The cool evening breezes and warm glowing sunsets remind me that fall is not far away.
On Sunday and Monday I published four blog posts on books I’ve read over the past few months: Hell’s Angels, The Rum Diary, Being Huemann and No Country for Old Men. With all four of these books, I’d intended to do some sort of a book review or in-depth essay but while I took plenty of notes and even wrote a partial blog post, the essays sat untouched for weeks. The reason for this is probably because I moved on and my attention was on other things. Usually when reading a book - or anything that captures my attention - I’ll get intensely interested while reading and once I’ve finished, I’ll take some time to digest what I’ve read or learned. It’s usually during this period that a project sticks and I’m compelled to write something or I gradually move on. I suppose these four blog posts fell into that crack of wanting to write something but not really knowing what to write or not being able to dedicate the time and energy that I feel it deserves at the time.
So I tried something new. I made some quick edits to whatever I’d written on these four books and hit publish. Perhaps these blogs are ‘half-baked’. Perhaps I’m not really saying much. But it’s what I wrote at the time and still captures some thoughts and observations. Maybe it’s not exactly what I had in mind but by finally ‘finishing’ these in one form or another, I can move onto other things.
This is the idea that’s been compelling me forward this month. During past summers, I sometimes feel that I’m working too hard, juggling too many projects, and that I don’t have enough free time to ‘do nothing’. The warm temperatures of summer force me to slow down and to reevaluate. Another project I’ve worked on this month has been to minimize some books I’ve accumulated lately. If a book has sat unread on the shelf for a few months and I have no intention of dedicating time to it at present, I have to get it off the shelf, both to clear away the physical object which is occupying space but also the idea of the book which is occupying space in my mind. I can minimize the book clearing space both mentally and physically, making space for new books and projects which I actually intend on completing.
In September 2022 I picked up a project planner so I’d have a dedicated space to keep track of all my writing projects. This has been a valuable resource and I’ve this practice to include a spreadsheet calendar and a Freeform document where I also track project progress and deadlines.
Reviewing my project planner for last month, I can see that I:
Read three books - Ready Player One, No Country for Old Men & The Great Gatsby
Published four newsletters over at my Substack.
Published four blog posts at the end of the month
Spent a few mornings working on my fictional novel which I haven’t worked on since March.
Compared to June:
Read one book - Being Huemann
Published five newsletters
Published four blog posts, one per week
Only wrote a meager 500 words on my fictional novel
During both the months of June and July, I also spent a lot of time redesigning my website into a cleaner, more professional space which I can share to my contacts across disciplines - from my professional career to my work in the oral history space to writing & blogging. This work culminated into the ‘finished’ product on display here today on 7/25 when I received a finalized version of the photo on my homepage, which really tied everything together (thanks to Vanessa Hock for making me look professional).
Each month is relative. In June, I spent a lot of time of blog posts and though I didn’t read many books, I was reading lots of magazines. In July, I read more books but less magazines and I didn’t spend so much time on blogging.
Updates on my social media: I was late to the twitter party but over the last few months I gave it an honest shot and tried posting just to see if I enjoyed it and what I could use it for. Since Instagram’s launch of Threads, I’ve abandoned twitter - I wasn’t reading anything there and all of the accounts I really follow are on instagram. I enjoy using threads and have posted a few dispatches, thoughts, articles and I’m happy to have a place to share little snippets of stuff, like articles or quotes and other things which aren’t as easy to share on Instagram.
Updates on my newsletter: Since the introduction of Substack Notes, I’ve been receiving more views and subscriptions. I think this comes from interacting and sharing notes, including my own posts which I usually share on Fridays after publishing. I’m sticking to the Five Bullet Friday format for the time being though I hope to spend some time re-designing the look and feel of the newsletter. I need a logo and would like to add a few other finishing touches.
Updates on my fiction novel project: I’ve had a renewal of interest in this project lately and am recommitting myself to just putting in the time and getting some words down whenever I have time. This also includes research - reading books, watching movies and documentaries, and listening to podcasts so it’s not all writing but I can’t let that distract me from writing.
Where am I headed this month?
This week I’m reviewing what I’ve worked on last month and planning what I’ll work on this month. I have a few blogs/essays I really want to spend some time on. I realize that I really have to be deliberate with my time - any book I pick up might be another rabbit hole to go down which could distract me from something I ‘should’ be working on, so I have to plan accordingly. Right now I want to read more about Oppenheimer after seeing the movie but I’m more in the mood for novels lately. Per usually, I’ve got a stack of magazines to catch up as well.
I realize spending time to do something everyday and keeping track of it in my project planner helps me to not lose sight of the bigger goals and projects I’m working on. But it’s also summer and I want to read and write widely without any ‘solid’ obligations. My writing lately has come in the form of personal essays about my day or the events of a long weekend. Recently, I had a short story idea which I’m excited about and I want to start working on it.
Sometimes I look back and it feels like I didn’t really accomplish much but everything is relative - it all balances out somehow.
Until next time,
KW
