Now you may have noticed recently if you've been watching my vlogs that my
workflow is becoming more and more demanding- which I certainly can't
complain about! It's just things like making and editing videos, running my
online shop, making and editing and printing new artwork... and one of the
things that I have kind of learned along the way in this constant pursuit of
productivity is just how important it is to keep things as simple as possible
so I'm unbelievably excited to be partnering with Intel at the moment- yes
Intel!- and their a super powerful eighth generation i7 core processor which has
the potential to streamline even my busiest days. So I am gonna take you
along with me for a typical day while I try to achieve perfect efficiency and
productivity. So to get all the things done in a day that I need to do and to maintain
some semblance of like work-life balance and sanity, I aim to do around eight
hours of work a day. I try not to go over and I try not to go too far under either.
And you guys will know if you've seen any of my recent videos that I've been
trying to do it in 45 minute chunks of work followed by a 15 minute break and
just keep repeating that in a cycle throughout the day- obviously with like
a longer and lunch break in the middle. I find that breaking things up in that way
helps to keep me in like an optimum state of motivation and momentum and it
really increases that focus of knowing; 'okay if I'm in this work chunk, I'm just
gonna be purely working, and in my 15 minute break I can watch conspiracy
theory videos to my heart's content', without feeling any
self-judgement or like I should be working. And with that kind of rigid
routine of work and rest time, I do find it helps to cut out as much time-wasting
as possible however you can. Just having a really nice easy transition from one
thing to another, it just adds up to so much time saved in the long run and a
lot less decision fatigue throughout the day. So for example having this laptop as
like a two-in-one really cuts down on having to switch between devices and
I know that pretty much everything I need is going to be right here whether it's work
or play but you'll see more of that as I go on throughout the day.
Mornings for me- I think for a lot of people- are a great time for work that is
more creative, more conceptual. I actually do most of my painting and experimental
artwork stuff that's just for me, I'll do that first thing in the morning before
actually starting on my 'work' hours. So that's actually all done so far for
today and I might, if I have time, get back into some sketching of things but
for now I'm already done with that and that's great
to have that done and out of the way before I have to start work. And that
kind of warms me up so that once I'm sat down to do actual work work, it's a good
time for me to do things like planning videos or brainstorming ideas... if I've
got like a brief from a client that needs kind of going over and coming up
with ideas for it's a great time for that... making thumbnail sketches for
bigger pieces... it's just the time where my brain I know is in the optimum kind
of mind space for that. I've been loving using this laptop as a tablet. If you've
seen other videos of mine you'll know I kind of like to spread things out do a
big brainstorm usually on a big piece of paper but that recently has been leading
to this huge stack which- as you might have noticed- was literally just on the
floor by my desk and everything is organized in kind of a roundabout way
but it is a little bit inconvenient at times and it helps to have things
digitally sometimes just to be able to edit things really quickly, move things
around, and I can sketch, I can doodle, I can write things... it helps a lot to have
things just all in one place... This stack of paper is already making me quite
anxious so I'm going to put it back on the floor. Yeah so all the people that
think I'm super-organised, this is the reality of it. You just don't get to
see what goes on underneath the desk. Another great benefit of having this on
a tablet is that I can have everything up on the same screen that I need. So if
I'm using a brief I can have that up, if I'm using references I can have those up
on the screen as well. Literally everything I need right here so it's so
easy to just enter that flow state undisturbed no distractions and so much
more convenient to do it on a tablet that has this amazing
8th gen, i7 processor laptop power so there's no lag,
I don't really have to worry about having loads of programs open at once.
After- and only after- I've made at least a start on some creative work, that is
when I will allow myself to spend some time checking emails, maybe going
through social media ,just checking on that side of things. And that just helps
me from getting sidelined by other priorities and maybe other people's wants and needs
and demands first thing in the morning. I've had that space to do my own thing
and work to my own rhythm without being pulled in a certain direction.
I'm warmed up now so I feel a little bit better equipped to deal with that kind
of stuff and that could involve- like I said- doing emails which I'm doing right
now or reviewing contracts and briefs I might have, going over my finances ,maybe
just processing orders and queries in my shop...
Lots of like necessary, adminny stuff. Most of it I really quite enjoy. Any
excuse to use that spreadsheet for me is a good time. And the rest of it doesn't
feel like such a drag I find if I've already dedicated some time to myself
earlier in the day.
Even on really busy days- in fact, especially on really busy
days- I think it's really important to break up the monotony of it. I really
don't like spending a whole entire day just sad my desk staring at a screen so
I am two chunks of work in, so I've done two hours of like 45 minutes 15 minutes,
and I've had a half-hour lunch break. Had some pitta bread, some taramosalata, some
olives and feta and some biscuits and some juice and now I am packing orders
just to break up the routine a bit, do something I can do standing up, moving
around. If I was doing more art today, I would be maybe move it onto my easel
and stand up to work. Just little things that get me slightly active.
Obviously I'm not a very active person but it helps to just have a little dance
around, put some music on and do something away from my desk just to
break up the middle of the day.
Now on to my next task, I feel like anyone that
has ever edited videos understands that kind of flow you get into where you
just get into a real rhythm of things and time passes without you really
realising how much time has passed. I like to take advantage of that kind of
rhythm of almost effortless productivity by actually editing in bulk when I can
at least a couple of times a week so that I can
have days like today that are just dedicated to YouTube stuff and then I
have time on other days throughout the week to have a more art focused days. And
I can't tell you how much of a difference it makes to you work on a
computer the response as quickly as I can think, you know I don't have to worry
about multitasking, about switching to the internet to look for music for my
videos, I'm always dipping into the internet to look for like Premiere Pro
tutorials as well and it's nice to know that I can do that without slowing
myself down. I was never really a huge advocate for multitasking, I always
thought it led to not really giving a hundred percent to each thing that needs
your attention, but I've realized that when you've got the power of something
like this 8th gen Core i7 processor, you're not sacrificing the potential or
quality of one thing by simultaneously doing another. So right now, this video
it's exporting and that would normally mean going off and doing other things
but right now I'm just going to jump right into Photoshop start making the
thumbnail while I wait for that video to export so that once it's all done and
I'm uploading, it's just ready to go right away. And having this touchscreen
for all those little details ,just really being able to get in there, get that
precision when it comes to editing photos or even editing art, no need to go
and find my other tablets and plug those in, and the fact that this 8th gen i7
processor allows me to do all that with stuff running in the background is just
a real game-changer for me.
I try- and I'm trying to get more strict with myself on this- but I try
to make sure that I stop working at a certain time because it will most
definitely have a knock-on effect to how I perform the next day and I think that
is a side to productivity that kind of gets overlooked; the resting stage. It's
really really really important for keeping up that momentum for more than
just one really busy day. I personally think it's really important to reflect
on your day and just the things that you've done, the things you've achieved.
Celebrate the small victories- I always say that- I think it's really important
to just take a moment to think about what you've achieved and how each step
has taken you a little bit closer to where ever you want to be and, of course,
you want to give that creative side of your brain some space to breathe and
relax. So I like to wind down with a documentary, just something like visually
beautiful, I don't really have to pay a lot of attention to other than like
looking at the pretty pictures. It just really helps to fill up those
inspiration wells again, perfect way to just close off a really productive day,
reward yourself and almost transport yourself somewhere else. I adore the two-in-one
features of this laptop, the convenience and comfort of being able to
turn it into my TV like this. I'll have a link below if you want to find out more
about Intel or this particular laptop, it's been the perfect companion for a
full and successful day. Efficiency for me comes from just keeping things
stripped back, keeping it simple, making sure that you have the right
tools and the right mindset to get things done well and no extra fluff
thrown in to slow you down. I would really like to thank Intel again for
giving me the tools to really take my work to the next level and I would like
to thank you guys because without your support I really wouldn't have ever had
an opportunity like this. So let me know if you'd be interested in more kind of
day-in-the-life type videos like this, maybe more of an art-centric one. But
other than that, thank you guys so much for watching and I will see you in the next one.
Bye!