I got a lot done today and none of it was recording videos. Did some house stuff, some work stuff. Got some coding done, and a bit of website maintenance too. It's nice to check those boxes, but days like this scatter your brain in a hundred directions. It's hard to sit down, focus, and switch into performance mode.

Making videos isn't just about teaching. It's performing. You've got to be in the right headspace. If I'm not feeling it, you can tell. It's like when I used to play in a band - I loved music, but when it became a job, when I had to play the same songs three nights a week in smoky bars, it lost some of its spark. Same with softball back in the day. Fun until it became routine. There were many nice, sunny days where I was floating in the pool, and I said to myself, "Man, I have to go play softball tonight."

Teaching can be the same way. Back when I taught in classrooms, running through Excel Beginner 1 for the millionth time got old fast. I don't know how traditional teachers do it. At least I can pick a new topic every day and make something fresh. That helps. I don't know how high school teachers have 20-year careers teaching the same Math over and over again every semester. I'd lose it.

The nice thing about being a one-man band is that if I don't feel like recording, there's always something else to do. The website always needs a tweak here or there, or a new feature added into one of my databases. There's always research for new projects, like the SQL Server course I've been working on. Wearing many hats has its ups and downs. The downside is that I have to do everything myself, but the upside is that if I don't feel like doing any one thing, there's always something else waiting.

And I've learned when it's time to just step away. Break the wrist, walk away. Go for a walk. Hit the weights. I've got a gym in my garage and I've been walking a mile or two every night as part of my fitness plan. It helps break up the monotony and reset my head. It dipped to a balmy 40-ish degrees last night here in SW Florida. That was fun. First time I've had to wear a hoodie walking here. That's OK. It was a change. Crank some Rush and hit the road...

Some days are for performing. Some days are for wiring, coding, or walking. They all count - as long as you keep moving forward.

LLAP
RR