Something that’s been stressing me out over the last two weeks are all people posting pictures of new hobbies they’re picking up or closets they’re cleaning out or glamorous meals they are learning to make. Perhaps stressing me out is not the right phrase, it’s more like making me jealous, but jealousy doesn’t really illicit the same reaction, huh?
Anyhow, jealousy (because I’m keeping it real with myself) spurred me toward a project today. I set out to clean out my email inbox. I won’t horrify anyone by sharing how many emails are so important that I can’t delete them because that’s not the point; the point is that I started this project during my lunch break. I got sucked into the content of the emails and ran across one I sent myself (the email version of talking to yourself) that was a sketchnote of Doug Neill’s daily routine. I decided then and there that this was a skill I was going to work on developing and, as it turns out, I also need a written routine in my world.
Sketchnoting is scary for me because my sketching skills are severely lacking. But, I tried! Tomorrow afternoon I will try my hand at a Wednesday routine and see if my iPhone sketch looks more like a phone than a used bar of soap – practice makes perfect! Maybe the salad in the salad bowl will have more than one leaf and maybe the egg I’m eating at lunch won’t look like it came from an ostrich. Perhaps tomorrow’s routine won’t feature a terrible rendition of me panicking (I’m allowed to wallow in panic for a few minute daily), and maybe tomorrow I’ll actually make some headway on the emails.
Just Write for Me 
I am also “jealous” of people taking up hobbies, cooking new foods, etc. I often feel like I’m not “doing the pandemic” correctly. I love the sketch idea. Maybe I will try it tomorrow?
Oh the dreaded email inbox! Give me a closet to declutter any day. Hang in there!
I’ve been so curious about sketchnotes, I think that’s an excellent new skill to dive into! I might just join you from afar. It doesn’t seem to hold the pressure and result-driven expectations that other “newfound” hobbies like knitting or massive house projects do. ❤️
I’m feeling woefully inadequate here. I’ve done none of the things you mentioned. And I’m so far behind on clearing out my email inbox, I’m not even sure where to start. Good luck to you!
There is so much I love about this post! For me, I’d say that sketching out ideas and concepts works well for me, especially when I have flair pens. They somehow make everything better.
What’s trickiest in my book, though, is that I get stuck around the idea of developing a routine. Without knowing what the future holds, or how long I’m going to have to manage this routine, it is hard for me to envision the patterns I’d like to settle into.
Time will tell, I suppose…
That’s exactly why I just did tomorrow. I know what to expect tomorrow and can think about how to structure my time.
I’m not confident enough to move to pens! Eventually, though!
Well, tell me that your pencil is at least sharp, and we’ll be good to go. =)
Oh it’s sharp!!
I love your sketch note! And if you could see my inbox, you would be absolutely appalled!
I like the “wallow in panic” time & find that cleaned up inboxes are over-rated. Your sketching abilities are perfectly acceptable in my book – part of the fun of sketchnotes is that they aren’t supposed to be great. (Ok, ok, I envy those who have beautiful sketchnotes -but, really, who has the time?)