- Hey, YouTube world, it's me, Evelyn.
I bought this microphone.
So we're using this microphone,
in this video.
I wanna do a little bit of a thought experiment
but it's like a thought, it's an action experiment.
I'm doing an experiment with my life.
The hardest thing for me about being self-employed is focus
specifically the FOMO I get
that makes it hard to focus.
I feel pulled in a bunch
of different directions, ultimately doing nothing.
So if I'm filming a video that's YouTube-y
I feel guilty for not working on something more creative
like a skit or bigger like Evelyn and friends.
So then I start working on something creative
like a skit or bigger like Evelyn and friends.
And then I'm like, dang, oh, this time I'm working on this
I have yet to do anything with Smack yo Lip.
So then I'm like, okay, let me start planning that.
Then midway through that I'm like, Ooh
that is irresponsible.
That is not my job.
So then I'm like, okay, let me drop this.
Let me go do something that I, that I'm actually
paid to do contractual obligations.
But then I'm like, if I'm busy
with my contractual obligations, when am I ever
gonna write this pilot?
Hmm?
So then I drop my job and I sit in a class
or read some scripts or open up a draft
for the fiftyleventh time.
Interior.
But then midway through that I'm like, Mmm
writing a television program sounds hella pipe dreamy.
And then I end up doing, say it with me, none of that.
And I get in the bed, I be in the bed.
So in this vlog, I wanted to try something out.
It's something that I've attempted to do off and on
for years, but I thought to myself.
So I said, self, maybe if you vlog it, you know
and report back that parasocial accountability will help.
So let me explain
- [Announcer] The mission.
- I'm gonna have two to three priorities for the week.
You know, we chip away at them constantly, right?
For the sake of completing them soon
these are likely urgent upcoming deadlines.
These are the things I have to do.
Hashtag irregardless.
But then I'm gonna try having themed days.
It's a day where besides doing my priority tasks
I focus on one theme for the day,
money Mondays.
Then we have YouTube Tuesdays writing Wednesdays
therapy Thursdays
which means I give myself permission to have no agenda.
Then finally we have figure it out Fridays.
You need a day to just like stare
at the wall and think of things.
Now I know you might be like, Ooh
that's simple, more power to you,
that way, right?
We're solving for X or Y parabolas.
That way I don't have any FOMO because I know for a fact
that I plan to work on the other thing that's swirling
in the back of my mind some other time that week.
Like it's part of the plan
past Evelyn making a promise to future Evelyn.
So present Evelyn can focus.
So that's my little explanation
and in this vlog, in this video
I'm gonna take y'all along and see how it goes.
I'm gonna try it out.
Roll that beautiful bean footage
- [Announcer] Money Monday.
- You know what?
I hate the fact that rent was due today too.
Yeah, painful, it hurts, it really hurts.
So I took care of that earlier this morning
and I spent the past couple
of hours doing the more urgent tasks that are part
of my priorities for the week.
You know, it's 2:30.
It's that womp womp womp time of day.
So I figured I should do some
of my themed tasks and it's money Monday.
So let me show you what I have planned.
First task is sending a follow up email
because I need someone to send me an invoice.
I've been working
on Evelyn and Friends, low key, off and on.
I wrote a character, a voice activated virtual assistant
and of course she needs a voice.
So I hired Danielle, aka Star Puppy to do that voice.
- Good morning, Evelyn.
What can I help you with?
- Lowkey, we completed
that voiceover recording session a long time ago
but I don't think her people ever sent me an invoice.
So I'm gonna comb through my email
cross my fingers that I didn't miss it
and then send a follow up.
All right.
That actually goes seamlessly into the next money task
which is updating my budget spreadsheet
for season one of Evelyn and Friends.
So I updated the spreadsheet
with invoices that have yet to be paid
but I know how much they'll be.
I put a line item for an invoice that I have yet to pay
and I also don't know how much it will be
which is the close captioning for every episode.
Shout out to Bianca.
And then I have a line item
in case I want someone to help me edit
because I'm drowning.
Me, I'm drowning.
There's also a musical guest in episode five, the finale.
And so we've been working together to
produce a performance segment.
So I'm putting that information in here
so that when the time comes
for me to pay that in full, it's already represented
in the number I have floating in my head.
I also updated it
with things I got online, like this microphone
I got it specifically for Evelyn and Friends, got this
and the things that helped me connect it
to all the things I gotta connect to.
It's looking a lot better.
It's looking like I know exactly where I'm at
and that's on Money Mondays.
I wanna show you how long I've been putting this one off.
I'm gonna show you my screen March 16th.
Since March I've been meaning to compile a list
slash send out emails to see if there could be
any corporate sponsors for episodes of
this could have been an email.
You saw me shoot it.
Shoot episode two and three.
They, first of all
thank you because episodes two and three are
brought to you by the good people of Indie Gogo.
But wouldn't you know we got two more episodes.
There's two more episodes.
It's a five episode series.
So...
...what are we gonna do?
So I'm gonna compile a list of brands that I
think would be interested in sponsoring this.
It's eight o'clock.
I just got off our first Patreon cousin
virtual co-working sesh where we do like a, Ooh, come on
come on girl.
Where we do like a silent power hour of whatever we want.
And so I used that hour to do something
on my priorities list, but I wanted to come back and say
that I did make my list of, um,
brands, but like I lost steam.
Like I didn't, I didn't really do that task.
I feel like this was a Money Monday possibly.
What y'all think?
I don't know.
See you, see you tomorrow.
- [Announcer] YouTube Tuesday.
- All right, so I'm not even gonna lie to you.
Is this focused?
It is almost nine o'clock at night.
Freshly showered, you know what I mean?
Greased up, got a headband on so y'all don't make fun
of my edges, but best believe it's coming right off.
I didn't do anything on my like YouTube Tuesday
social media Tuesday list, answer comments
on the past two episodes of This Might Not Make Sense.
Brainstorm three day in the life logs, three sit down vlogs
and three episodes of The Plan, which is a little thing
that I do on Patreon.
That was all, that was on my YouTube Tuesday list
and I didn't do any of it.
Now, hold on.
What I will say is the things that are on my priority list
for this week are YouTube.
So I did spend my workday
doing stuff, but I didn't get
around to those things that are like in the back of my head
constantly nagging me, you know what I mean?
I'm tired, I don't wanna hold his camera.
See y'all tomorrow.
- [Announcer] Writing Wednesday.
- Hello, it's Wednesday.
I took a little bit
of a different approach this time and figured, hey
maybe I should begin my workday
with something within the theme versus seeing
if I get around to it when I get to it.
So today's writing Wednesday
and so I'm writing, so far
I've done a lot more than I would have done this week.
If I did not set aside a day with this theme
I would have not done it.
Factually speaking.
So I have nothing to talk about that.
So I've been in my Google, in my Google Doc this whole time
and then I kept having these ideas and I'm like
I swore I wrote this down.
So then I decided
that today's task should be compiling every little bit
of something related to this specific project
and putting it in the same folder.
I have - oh my gosh, yes, October 10th, 2020
where I wrote- I don't know if I was
in a class or what, but I wrote, oh yeah, okay.
I did take this class.
So I wrote down all the characters
and who they are to each other.
This is good.
And this was not in my Google Doc.
Don't remember saying that.
Okay?
Hmm.
Wow.
Yeah, yeah.
Wow.
They said write what you know.
Speaking of which we often hear that phrase thrown
around a lot.
Write what you know, talk about what you know.
And a lot of us might assume that means write
the scenarios that you know, write the feelings
that you know you don't need to have been a doctor.
What does Shonda Rhimes say in their scripts?
They just say medical, medical for all the medical stuff
and then they come back to it later.
'Cuz it's about feelings, right?
So while this show is not
about a scenario that I have personally been through
in exactly this way, it is about feelings that I've had
or feelings that I've been adjacent to.
Hmm, this is tough, which is why I
avoid it.
It's much easier to be like
Hey YouTube world, it's me, Evelyn, I know how to do that.
I don't know how to do this.
And I think that's okay.
See you tomorrow.
- [Announcer] Therapy Thursday
(jazz music)
- I don't know
What
Huh
Ew.
Imma write that down.
(audience clapping)
So every day this week, except tomorrow, Friday
we've been doing virtual co-working over
on Patreon and it's been evenings so far, but today
Thursday it's gonna be in about half an hour.
So it's the afternoon, 2:00 PM Central
and we're just gonna hop on Zoom.
We use co-working very loosely.
You could be folding your laundry, you could be coloring
you could be taking a break
and it's just like keeping each other company.
The past couple days, I've actually been doing
like a legit power hour of work
but today I'm not too much into that.
I don't think I wanna make stickers, I'm done.
I'm over that right now actually.
I think what I'm gonna do is continue a little bit
of what I was working on yesterday for writing Wednesdays.
Also, why did I choose to film this vlog the week
that I need to change my hair?
Not thinking she's not thinking with her brain
but just take me as I am the message and not the messenger.
Welcome everybody.
Welcome to Thursday.
We got new faces and old ones.
- [Announcer] Figure it out Friday.
- I don't know.
Okay, so boom, happy Friday, figure it out Friday.
I've been figuring it out.
Type, type, typing, backspace, backspace
I'm reassessing really is what it is 'cuz I make plans
they have a result
and then I reassess and I'm like, wow, did that work?
Do I even like doing that?
This is how I'll change it.
This is what'll stay the same.
What do people call it?
Start, stop, start, stop, continue.
And that's how you figure it out.
Full disclosure, stopping the skits.
Black, black, black Depression, Jessica, give it to God.
They were fun.
Qualitatively received well, ultimately a distraction.
So stop, start vlogging again.
I resisted it for a long time
but it's helping me like recenter myself.
Get back to basics.
Also, if you are an editor, a video editor, let me know.
Go ahead and email me your information.
Show me your reel or some videos that you've edited.
Yeah, just putting that out there.
Another part of Figure It Out Friday that I'm gonna do.
So it's one o'clock in the afternoon.
I'm going to actually head home, like home, home.
And so Steve #BabyBlo is gonna be there
and there are a couple things Patreon related.
This Might Not Make Sense, the podcast related
that I need to figure out with him.
So I'll be doing that this weekend.
Maybe he'll even, maybe he'll even let me get a little
vloggy vlog behind the scenes clip to put to put right here.
So that's the notebook where we're figuring things out
and how's it going?
- I think we've come
to a good understanding, a good perspective.
I aint mad at it.
- [Evelyn] I aint mad at either.
- I aint mad at it - I aint mad at either
- [Announcer] The results.
- All right, and here we are.
And here we are at the end of the week.
How did it go?
Well, number one, good idea, good idea.
Overall I would recommend this.
Give it a try.
That being said
I don't think it's reasonable to do every single week
because the nature of life is that things pop up.
I think this would be good to do once a month
for one week out of the month.
Quell, I hope that's a word in my mind, is a word.
Quell your fears.
Those other parts of your brain, they're like
but what about me?
But what about me?
Shut up.
Third week of May.
That's when it's happened.
That's when you can come out.
Whenever I feel myself getting oogidy boogidy
I can feel myself getting oogidy boogidy and I know
that it's time to do a themed week.
Because I set aside time
and made a concerted effort to use that time
for what I said it was going to be used for.
I made a lot more progress
in a couple hours in a day on my script
right on writing Wednesday, then I did all 2022.
And because I made progress, I no longer talk so bad
to myself about myself, oh, I'm behind.
Oh, when will I ever, I never can do anything! Rah, rah rah
All that's quiet.
Next note, what makes this difficult is not getting
into the groove
or like not letting yourself get into a groove.
So if I work on my priority tasks
and like I get into the, like I get into the groove
like I don't wanna, I don't wanna start writing
so why don't I just keep click cling
around Adobe Premiere living my magical Black life.
Next point.
This is a great experiment to really show you
that you can realistically only do like maybe
three things in a day.
And it's something that I know, like I know this fact
but because of the society that we live in, go, go, go,
hustle hard, because of that, I forget
I be forgetting.
This was just a little vloggy vlog.
If you're, if you're like, Ooh, where you been?
I'm getting back to basics.
I'm just logging for now
until I don't feel like it anymore again.
So that's it for me in the comments below.
Let me know if this was helpful, illuminating, eyeopening.
Let me know what y'all are working on these days.
Where y'all at?
What y'all doing?
I'm nosy and I will see you on the internet somewhere.
Bye.