As I mentioned numerous times towards the end of my 2019 blog series, I was working on some new original tunes that I wanted to release early 2020. And although it took a little longer than I expected, I'm happy to announce that my solo album "Hiss" is available on Spotify.
A big thank you to my good friend Zack Clark, whose superb bass playing and overall input really allowed the songs to speak so much more naturally than they would've otherwise. Also a big thanks to Thom Howard (mandolin on Pizza Night and Pre-Therapy), Wil Reeves (recording engineering, mixing, and mastering), and Brian Fitzgerald (album cover) for their contributions as well.
Lyrics for the album: https://pastebin.com/raw/GYBfKgT3
My next musical project is a small collection of three electro-pop songs. I've been working on these songs since Hiss has been finalizing. Three songs is a fairly small commitment, but I really want to concentrate a lot of effort into a relatively small amount of material.
I've realized that if I put more effort into something, I'll be happier with the end result. I know that sounds obvious, but there have been lots of times in my life creating music when I didn't feel that great about a creation but also didn't know how to make it better. These days, I feel like I know the aesthetic that I'm after better and -- given enough effort -- armed with more tools and confidence to get there.
I think I can have this wrapped up in the next few months.
I've been adopting a simple time management tool named The Pomodoro Technique. Following the technique, you work on a single task for 25 minutes and take a 5 minute break afterwards. You repeat this for as many times as you'd like.
The frequent breaks are what really help. It's not so much that a break is needed at exactly 25 minutes -- it's that it trains your brain to have a better relationship with the work.
Historically, I would work until I became frustrated or burnt out -- regardless of whether that took 5 minutes or 5 hours. And even after taking a break, I'd be hesitant to return to the work. Sometimes I'd power through the hestitations, but often I'd simply give into them -- and ultimately give up whatever I was working on.
What following the Pomodoro technique does is force you to take breaks regularly so that most of the time you have a good relationship with the work when you take a break since the breaking schedule is pre-determined. When you leave the work in a good place mentally, it's definitely easier to get back to the work. Doing this over and over trains your mind to have a good association with "getting back to work."
It's a good tool to have in the toolbox.
I'm still working at EquipmentShare writing business code for the billing team -- occasionally trying to hack some bluetooth devices in my spare time.
Yes, Black Lives Matter. I don't really have anything to add that hasn't been said though. I'm mostly just trying to listen a little more.
Quarantine sucked. I hated being stuck in my room for months. I hope we don't have to go back to staying locked up at home.
I've been meeting some new people via dating apps and going on some dates. Although I've met some cool people, I don't feel like I've met someone who I want to spend the rest of my life with yet.