#everything ive always thought i would enjoy about working in media production IS what i enjoy about media production

[aidenwaites]

The thing about the Horse Place job (job I've complained about the most, and also the job I've kept the longest) is that it's ALSO the only job where I have actually pretty much enjoyed most days of it- especially the live productions, despite those potentially equalling out to like 16 hour days. Which tells me that I DO really love doing this work, but also the thing I love (and can tolerate the most as a career) also happens to be the most hellish and demanding industry on the planet

[meruz]

hi im putting all my asks in one post again. these are from like the past month and a half approx? some digimon thoughts some tmnt thoughts some art musings u know the usual

@waywardistics YAYY thank you so much for ordering! I'm glad it got to you & that you are enjoying it!

this is kind of a missive to everyone who ordered but: I am very nervous about pre-orders whenever I do them... nervous that not very many people will order, nervous that there will be supply chain or production dilemmas and I won't be able to get copies out to people in a timely fashion, nervous about having people's money but having an indeterminate amt of time where i have not yet "held up my part of the bargain" etc etc SO. THANK U GUYS...FOR ORDERING and being patient and im so glad it got to y'all

@seanonthemoon (idk why i cant tag u BUT) interesting... i gotta be honest I don't think abt the crests that much. i agree that they're very much like heres the "girl" crest heres the "nerd boy" crest etc to the point that it becomes almost meaningless. but i think what makes them even more meaningless to me, and is probably the reason they kind of designated girl/boy crests etc is that i think like the digivices they're toys and merchandise more than they are actual narrative tools LOL. I wouldve loved something with cody and mimi! theyre both so deeply empathetic and sensitive.. theres a lot they share but i think because they look so different on the surface it would make it difficult to market that merch...booo capitalism boooo toy marketing its all sexist bullshit at least here in the u.s. idk if japan is that different though.

I'm actually a little frustrated with how often 02 and 02 related media squanders cody in general lol. he feels like a parallel of izzy, joe, and TK(season 1 tk) while also being kind of none of those and suffering through lackluster characterization as a result... and then once ken joins the team it feels a little redundant. there's a couple cody-centric eps of 02 I remember really liking but then i think abt how he's been used since in like post-series content and 02:the beginning where they made him type on the computer even though obviously that's yoleis thing but because he had nothing else to do and aghh... my blood boils. i feel like the youngest but most serious anime achetype even at its bare bones is actually rly interesting idk why they don't play it up. UM. Once again my opinion is that he should be taller LOL and maybe they should play up his kendo martial arts honorable training stuff more idk. tallest + youngest + most serious just seems like a recipe for success for me. well. theres still time. and theres always fanfic.

THIS IS SO NICE TO SAY and not the first time someone has said it but i appreciate it everytime because i really admire the mm art style so much. It's like part of why I got really into the movie because I really recognized my own artistic sensibilities and aspirations in the way they stylized everything.

UM And i feel like since watching the movie and looking at all the concept art and making my own art i do feel like its only become more obvious how much my own art is lacking LOL LIKE when you see something that feels so similar I think the differences only become more stark. those artists are definitely on a different level than me. But it's nice to hear people say it doesn't look so different from their pov. thank u ^^

thank u!!!!!!! i love mundanity and naturalism... there's something so beautiful abt it to me lol... I feel like my anatomy needs work actually but ive been feeling better abt it this year so it's good to hear! thank you!

DLKGDSGDLALSNDF WAS IT TOO FAR..?? firstly, yeah I was thinking late teen/young adult ages for both of them ie 18-19ish, definitely not the age the kids are in the movie lol.

but also they arent DOING anything in that pic it is literally just a confrontation + some innuendo... I think teens should be allowed some less than subtle innuendo.. its like one of the top 3 classically teen pastimes...

this is such a funny ask to get because i feel like i haven't been able to do thin lineart until like. this past year or two maybe LOL. UM having a line-centric art job helped I think. I started on craig of the creek back in 2022 and thats a show where we spend a lot of time inking so I had a job where I was constantly moderating my line weight 40 hours a week every week for over a year. disappointingly, much of improvement is simply horrendous amounts of practice.

Here's a tip though: I think a lot of thin lineart boils down to confidence. I think instinctively we read thick, bold, fast lines as confident but theres actually a lot of obscuring you can do with a thick line. if you're not sure whether the nose on the face or a browline should be a little more left or a little more down you can hide that with a thick line and pretend its a shadow. or hide it with a bunch of quick lines and the eye can kind of approximate where looks best among the mass.. whereas a thin line is rly singular and stark and hides nothing, it needs to be precise. so anytime i know i want thin lineart i spend a LOT of time sketching, making sure i know exactly where i want my lines to go. so im not second guessing by the time im inking...

ok thats kind of a broad tip lol... here's one thats more applicable: IF POSSIBLE, lower your pressure sensitivity on your device. most devices have some way to edit your pressure sensitivity curve. I use a surface pro at home and this is what my pressure curve looks like most of the time.

When I work on a wacom it looks even more like a reverse L shape LOL. I'm naturally a really heavy-handed artist and I use a "light" or "hard" pressure curve to compensate for how hard I'm always pressing on the pen lol. if you're like me and you struggle with going too hard with the ink too fast... this will probably help a lot!

SFHASLDFH I LOVE THIS ASK this is like the type of question a person gets asked when chalk drawing on the sidewalk at recess LOL. but i understand because I've been struggling also for like. months. I think I'm finally starting to nail it down though so here's some of my observations.

[feel free to save this img but **please do not re-post it or share broadly**. my biggest fear in the world is to spend 30 min on some notes and become a widely proliferated art tutorial im not even kidding. i made it low contrast and difficult to read on purpose.]

my other tip is to just look at and study a lot of reference because that's all ive been doing. the tmnt are really cartoony so its difficult to use like actual anatomical reference unless ur going for that look BUT theres been so many adaptions in so many different styles that there's a real treasure trove of stuff to look at for how to simplify, stylize, and dissect these characters while keeping the recognizable essence. so theres lots to pull from.

If you want to expand further, it's also good to have 5) something sci-fi 6)something fantasy 7)something mundane/slice of life. a bedroom is a really good go-to. And of course some bgs can be two or more of these things at once.

I've definitely answered asks abt bg tips before but here's one specifically for if you want to do bg design for a job:

Your portfolio should probably have at least one of each of the following 1) an interior 2) an exterior 3) a cityscape 4) a nature scene. Just to cover kind of the basics of what you'd be asked to draw on any given project.

I actually feel like I don't have that many cityscrapes in my portfolio... this is something I'm gonna try to work on in the coming year LOL. OH ALSO. This is a very basic tip and people will tell you it all the time but its worth repeating: look up portfolio websites of artists who have the job you want. An easy way to do this is to go onto imdb for any cartoon or movie you like and to find the names listed as "bg/background designer" or whatever then just google that name +"art" or "animation" most artists have some public facing internet presence so it's not hard. spend time studying their work and hold those images in your head! it's a good way to get a good idea of what "industry standard" looks like and comparing ur own art to it... I know people sometimes get bummed comparing their art to others but if you can keep your head up lol.. it'll help you figure out what you need to work on!

.

.

.

ok thats all i have to say sorry for typing so much. happy new year everybody who read this far LMAO!!!!!

[perfectlovevn]

hi boss! absolutely loved Perfect Love and you did such an amazing job with the entire game's execution! i loved how you were able to so clearly portray eris as f-ked up and the main instigator for everything, pulling the strings behind the scenes instead of the usual "i didnt do anything wrong" or "im just trying to survive" type of MC (which isnt bad at all, but im so happy with the freshness and utter depravity eris brings) i love your art and the intentionally messy style that highlights the disorganisation and chaos in both eris' and milo's mind, the recurring motifs of eyes, red, blue, god i can go on and on. really your vn is so well crafted with how intentional every creative decision taken seems, im going crazy with the amount of love, time and effort you put into perfect love.

ive read every single name easter egg you put and the references to other yandere vns/media (jd <3) AND went on to give us more with adding little quips later in the game depending on the nickname eris gives milo. i was literally going crazy with how i couldnt decode the 2nd type of cipher you scattered throughout the code until 2 days later when i was ready to give up and ask you hahaha

from there, if it isnt too spoilerish, is there reason you used the nihilist cipher that removed the letter J instead of the usual Z ? and ! i loved the snippets with the friendship gang, tysm for leaving in your writing process and brainstorming products in the game files i had so much fun <3 im so sorry for the rant and thank you so much for the game! 1000% looking forward to your next one if youre working on something!

Hello! Thank you for your kind words!

Yeah, one of the main reasons I made Eris like that because because of how much I really wanted to see more evil MC in visual novels (or just yandere media in general). While there isn't anything wrong with having a yandere who is just there to survive, there is something very fun about being the one who causes the yandere to become worse than he initially was.

I'm glad that you found such meaning in the art style! Honestly the biggest reason I drew it like that was because I was trying to get it done for the 2023 yanjam and I didn't want to overwhelm myself so I just made mostly everything black and white. That and it's supposed to symbolize more of the darker aspects of the game. Did you know all my assets were drawn with one brush?

Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the details because I really did try to put as much as I could in there. Since I think it would be fun for people to see the neat details people put in the game (I know I sure do when I play visual novels), I tried to make everything very catered to what was going on in the story. It did take some extra work, but I think it's good for the game and my general learning experience. I'm also glad you enjoyed the easter eggs I put in for names and nicknames. I was very sleep deprived when I did it and I kept adding them in because I don't have good attention span (or at least, that's part of the reason).

For the cyphers inside of the code, I put a hint at the very top relating to each of the code. Each of the four types is represented of the three Milos with the one in English being from Eris. The Nhilist cypher is specifically for Manipulation and the key is in the second line based off of the capitalized letters.

Yeah! I'm glad you liked it. I'm still in the middle of writing the other ones (I'm working on the one with Poison in it, which recounts what Eris did to get Poison to fight Violent in his route). I always like leaving my drafts in there because I always find it fun to see people's thought progress in code and games.

No, no, I love your rant on it! I think it's really fun seeing what other people like, dislike and thought about the game in general! My next game will be a lot more light hearted, but still have a yandere character in it.

[timothy-chamlet]

the afterparty - t.c. fanfic

pair: timmy x female reader

warnings: unprotected sex, general smut

word count: 2.6k (2640)

a//n: ok er ive never written for timmy before so im nervous snsvsj but if you read it tell me what u think !! <3

°•○●○•°

people often thought the two of you were dating. paparazzi tended to make it look that way through press. despite all the candid photos of you and timothée plastered in magazine spreads and floating around on blogs, he would tell people you weren't together. interviewers would ask, and time again he would put an end to the rumor by saying you weren't dating, you were just friends. 

to be fair, you honestly couldn't even be mad at him. it was a good marketing tactic, at least. if all the girls knew he was single they'd still be invested in the persona of a young, attractive starlet that - despite his more than desirable qualities - is still single. genius. meanwhile you were being his best friend and his trophy for award shows. 

it was growing on you though. you enjoyed walking red carpet events and going to extravagant parties and meeting big names in the industry. it was really a win-win for both of you. 

another one of those win-win situations was tonight. the past three days had been crazy. hair appointments, nail appointments, dress fittings, photoshoots, brunches, and dinners. running each new day on an hour of sleep - maybe two if you were lucky. fueled by energy drinks and the promise of rest after the event. showing up to an awards ceremony on nothing more than a 20 minute nap and a double shot espresso. being timothée's showpiece was exhausting. but it was good for you. 

you had just finished your last consultation for dress fittings and were on your way to your styling appointment. the dress would arrive shortly after you so everything was ready to go. things were set for timothée to meet you there in an hour or so, after his own styling. 

currently you're getting your makeup done. a swarm of professionals all around you, handing products, giving directions, telling you how gorgeous you look, at least three hands on you at all times. after almost an hour all the disembodied hands move from your face to reveal the *almost* finished product. you still need your hair done, but your face was flawless. your skin was insanely smooth; not a pore in sight, your lids were a bronze shade, and your lips were a perfect nude. 

a hair stylist soon steps into view, also admiring your makeup before diving into your hair. it was simple. a slicked back ponytail is all, careful not to draw away from your face and your dress. 

the strong aroma of hairspray clouds you as you maneuver to step into your dress. stripped of your previous clothes, you step into your dress and a couple people help you pull it up. the woman attending to the supper in the back steps away for a moment, seeming to answer a question. 

"what's his name?" she asks into her ear piece. "uh yes. she's in here with me. send him in."  

she returns behind you and does up the zipper to your dress. to your surprise, you see timothée waltz in the room. dressed in a charcoal gray suit with a light lavender button up underneath. "y/n," he exhales, walking towards you. "you look breathtaking, ma chérie." 

"you don't look too bad yourself, timmy," you say, stepping down from your pedestal to be almost eye level with him.

"is she done here?" he asks everyone around without taking his eyes off you. 

one of the women there swoops in with a pair of shoes and says, "slip in to these and you're ready to go, darling." 

you step into your shoes and link arms with timothée. "carriage awaits," he says as the two of you get escorted to the limo. 

once inside you let out a deep breath you didn't know you were holding. "you okay?" he asks from beside you. 

"yeah, just.. tired." 

he chuckles and drops his head. "absolutely exhausted." you two had similarly scheduled days so he knows exactly how you feel. "don't worry, mon amour, i'll have you home in about 8 hours." 

"i thought the awards show was only 4-" 

"there's always the afterparty.." 

you audibly groan and drop your head as timothée places a reassuring hand on your knee. 

"we're here," he says with fake enthusiasm as the limo pulls up to the event. the past 45 minutes felt like hours as your head began to pound from the lack of sleep. yet, lucky you, 45 minutes in l.a. traffic was a miracle. 

the two of you step out into the scene. flashing lights from camera flickers, the general buzz of the crowd, people you knew trying to get your attention, people timothée knew trying to get his attention. being the kind person he is, he doesn't shy away from fans calling his name. he walks over to give high fives, say hi, sign things, and really interact with the people that are so invested in his career. you look at him with a fond smile on your face as he greets  people.  

"timothéeeee," you both hear and turn around to match the loud booming voice to a face. 

"armieee!!" he yells in response, hurrying over to hug his co-star. 

you stand idly by as the two hug and catch up. fiddling with your ponytail and the skirt of your dress. until that same voice catches your attention. 

"bring it in hot stuff!" 

"hey, armie! how've you been, handsome?" you two had only met a handful of times, but it's like your souls clicked instantly. he had kept in touch since the first time you met and you guys had been pretty close ever since. 

"oh i’m doing great. really. just excited for this evening. can't wait to see how many awards lil' tim brings in," armie ends with a light laugh before timothée chimes in. 

"oh god no-" 

a cheery voice interrupts the conversation. 

"helloooo," armie's wife says in a sing-song voice and joins his side. "nice to see you again, y/n. and congrats timmy on your nominations." 

you and timothée nod in response and utter small, nervous 'thank you's' before armie excuses the two of them, promising to catch up later. 

"well, well, well- this is it, timmy." you say from your seat next to him. the host reads the nominees for best breakthrough of the year, and timothée's name is mixed in with so many other talented actors. he nervously puts his hand over yours. "you are absolutely amazing. everyone knows that. you're gonna get it." he looks at you and you pass him a reassuring smile. 

"and the award for best breakthrough goes to… timothée chalamet!" 

his head shoots up in shock. cameras pan around him and his baffled expression appears on huge screens behind the stage. he slowly stands from his seat and makes his way to the stage. making a beautiful speech, thanking almost everyone he's ever known. giving gratitude to everyone he's ever worked with, his parents, and his best friends. he comes off the stage and returns to his seat beside you. a year runs down his cheek, and you move to wipe it away, but he grabs your hand away from his cheek only to press his lips to your knuckles. "thank you for always believing in me." 

"you're an amazing actor and an even better friend. 

the night was nearing an end. people were saying their goodbyes and their 'see-you-soon's and going their separate ways. you and timothée walk out of the event, arms linked, with his hands tightly gripping his award. the smile never leaves his face. "i can't fucking believe that, y/n."

"you did it, timmy! all you and your hard work. lemme pick a nice spot on your shelf for it yeah?" 

"i was thinking about sitting it on my dresser right above the drawer full of your shit you keep leaving at my house," he says with a barely visible smirk. 

"oh, well if it's such a problem," you begin "i guess I'll just have to come get my 'shit' then?" you finish sarcastically. 

"oh! how dare you?" he begins to shout, going on a tirade similar to that of hamlet; overly dramatic and mostly nonsensical. "leave them be! small, small remnants; reminders of thee." he trails off softly, dropping his head to your shoulder and bringing his other hand up to trail his fingertips down the side of your face. 

you can't help but chuckle at this. "bravo timothée! amazing performance." 

he straightens up before taking a bow and returning to his previous position on your shoulder. "do you wanna skip the afterparty?" 

"and do what, tim? i thought you were gonna catch up with armie?" 

"i dunno- go to my place?" 

you nod your head, and timothée let's the driver know to just go to his house. 

you get out of the car in front of his apartment, quickly thank the driver, and dash inside; excited to remove the day. "can i shower?" you ask quickly already making your way upstairs.

"oui, mon trèsor, make yourself at home. ill be up in a while." it was almost as if he had it scripted. a routine more or less. you'd ask to shower - despite him telling you almost each time you never had to ask - and go up stairs to do so; him trailing along about an hour later behind you. 

you finish your shower earlier than planned so you decide to lay on his bed until he comes up. you let your freshly washed body relish in the textures of the cotton t-shirt and shorts you're wearing and the damp-cool feel of the comforter on his bed. 

you're not left alone for long before he darts up the stairs and into his room, catching your attention. you watch as he walks around, dropping various articles of his clothing haphazardly on his floor. left in only his boxers. 

"timmy?" you ask in a drawn out voice. 

"hm?" he asks lowly in response; his eyes trained on you. you don't respond to his muffled question and instead watch as he comes to lean over the foot of the bed, by your legs. "i've been thinking," he continues, "a lot recently. about us.." 

"us?-" 

"about what the media thinks we are. what the people say. the blog posts, the tweets. i read it all… what do you think about it, y/n?" he ends with a light sigh, making drawing light swirls on your leg. 

"i dunno really. i've never thought much about it," you say sitting up. 

he moves up from his place in front of the bed, crawling up to sit to the right of your legs. knees drawn up to his chest, eyes meeting yours. he raises his hand so his fingertips ghost the curve of your cheek. "you never think about.. the possibility of us?" he pauses as his eyes drift from yours. hands falling to his lap as he scoots even closer to you. you sit stunned, not knowing how to answer as if it was some rhetoric instead of a simple question. filling the silence, he continues. "i think about how different things would be if we were together. what it would be like to hold you and kiss you and- can i kiss you?" 

his voice wavers as his eyes meet yours yet again. with quick movements, he moves to straddle your legs, both hands resting lightly on either side of your face. 

"can i kiss you?" he asks again, his face millimeters from yours. 

you shake your head yes as your eyes fluttering closed, your lips brushing against his as you move. 

he plants his lips firmly on yours. innocent at first, but the kiss quickly gets deeper. more desperate, his hands moving from the sides of your face to tangle in your hair, pulling your head back giving him access to your neck. his lips dance around the skin of your neck, being careful not to leave any marks. “is this okay?” he whispers, dragging his hands from your hair to the hem of your shirt. 

you nod your head vigorously and he pulls your shirt up and over your head, throwing it to the floor with his clothes. you lean back and give timothee free reign of your chest and stomach. he makes his way from your neck down and across your chest. your hands rush to knot in his hair as he takes a nipple in his mouth, carefully flicking his tongue across the hardening bud before doing the same to the other. 

"timmy.." you breathe out as he leaves your chest and explores lower. his eyes meet yours as his teeth come into contact with the flimsy waistband of your sleep shorts. "please," you whisper. 

he hooks his fingers into the waistband of your shorts and pulls them down your legs; eyes going wide when he sees you have nothing underneath. 

"so pretty," he whispers almost to himself as he throws your shorts in his floor with the rest of your guys' clothes. he runs his finger along your slit, collecting some of your wetness, tasting it. laying back down with your legs over his shoulders, he hooks his arms around your thighs to keep you in place. he runs his tongue along your folds and you arch your back in response. he sucks on your clit making you squirm and tangle your fingers tighter in his hair, pushing against his face, eager for more. 

"tim-... timmy," you beg.

timothée kisses his way back up your body. "hm?" he hums softly beside your ear only for you to utter another weak 'please' in response. 

"please… please what, mon amour?" 

"baise moi.." you didn't know much french. you had picked up on a few of timothée's most used phrases, but this you hadn't learned from him, so it caught him off-guard. stuck in a moment of shock. hearing you say something so dirty in french felt so strangely intimate; you didn't have to ask him twice. 

he slips his boxers, finally accompanying you in nakedness, and slips into you, moaning at the feeling of you around him. 

"fuck.. timmy-" you groan as he picks up his pace. he coos sweet nothings into your ear while drilling into your core. 

his head drops to your chest and the soft, sweet praises slowly turn into obscenities. "merde," he groans, picking up his pace even more. holding himself at arms length above you, he throws his head back; lips parted in pure bliss. 

you lift one of your hands to trail down timothée's torso. you lazily drag your fingertips across his chest and down to his stomach. the pleasure building inside you, your hand finds its way to your clit. “timmy... fuck! ple- please don’t stop. fuuuuuck!” 

“défaire pour moi, y/n.” you didn’t think french could ever drive you to orgasm, but when it came from timothé anything was possible. you convulse around him as your wave of pleasure washes over you. timothée reaching his own peak soon after, pulling out and emptying on your stomach. he quickly finds something to clean you up with before plopping down on the bed beside you. many silent moments pass - nothing but heavy breaths leaving either of you - before he speaks up. “you know,” he begins in a soft whisper, “i felt bad- like i was using you. just to go to events with me. i know you don’t really like them but-” 

you cut him off and turn to face him. “i might hate going to those award shows, but they’re a little less bad with you around.” 

he breaks into a wide smile and pulls you closer, putting his head on your stomach. "mon amour, je t'ai toujours aimé." you reach down to play with his curls and begin to drift off on your way to sleep. 

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

to the anon that sent me an essay, this is for you

to everyone else, idk what this is

from anon:

here are a few things ive thought of to an obsessive level but these are completely non-bts related so u can choose to skip it. hell, you knew u that already.

1. before becoming parents or after emerging into adulthood everyone should be sent to therapy. sometimes i question if it is to fill the gaps their childhood has blown wide open that adults have children. or is it to fulfill some moral responsibility they have to simply reproduce. if its the first, to think about it, is kind of fucked up. you are depriving your child a stable future, creating replicas of exactly what you suffered, if u are not stable yourself.

You know, probably. People have kids for a number of reasons, not all if them good. I am a product of such a cycle, generations that used physical and emotional punishment on their own children to lash out their frustrations in life. The easiest one to bully is the offspring you made, because they don't know any better. They think that's how life is, because that's how life always was. I suffer for it, all the time. But, you know, therapy does nothing if you don't want it. You have to be willing to listen to be helped.

Most people are not willing to listen or change. That's the big problem.

2. its sad how the whole ' one in a million ' concept is staring at me. haruki murakami said mediocrity is constant. that thought haunts me everyday becuase of how many people are just a sea of faceless creatures as the world decides which one is the outlier. its the scariest thing i have ever felt, but it is inevitable. mediocrity should be normalized. there is an exorbitant amount of pressure in youth to produce and create and every other teenager is doing mun and every other adult is in the medical field, but at the cost of what? sure, you just saved the world, but did you save yourself?

Everyone is in outlier which makes nobody special. Society has slowly but surely created the idea that people need to be better than others, the idea that "better" must exist. To want more. And why is that?

Money.

Why is everyone pressured to make a product? To monetize their hobbies? To "do work you love"? Why is this the ideal? Because someone wants to profit from you. Someone is always greeding for more, more, so they make you feel this need as well, feeding off your futile attempts to be the "prefect you" but the perfect you doesn't exist. Why is it that every outlier put on a pedestal feels disillusioned / pressured or greedy / selfish? Because you've been tricked, feeling sad and deflated that you can't achieve something that isn't real.

3. middle class. im part of it. we're probably the most entitled section of society there is. it is so amusing to me how we have basically everything we need to survive but always want more. its weird how the poorer sections dont have time to think about their lives at the stake of capitalist countries, while we're here thinking about everything in our day that has harmed us, complaining about shit that isnt even required to survive. my mind is bursting because im literally fucking typing / this / because i have the privilege to and im STILL . doing . it .

Entitled? Everyone feels entitled. Not just middle class. You think rich people don't want more? Pfft. Everyone wants more, simply because that's what were trained to think. Everything around us is always asking you to want more, tying your worth to what you have instead of what you are. Your worth equating to material possessions has been taught to you all your life from the media, all for the sake of profit. The worst is when they turn your own morals and ethics on you to monetize that as well.

4. i hope i dont forget everything that has ever happened to me. not because i'd want to hold it over peoples head. but because i really dont want to grow ignorant. i dont want to have hollow opinions and i dont want to live a life where its easy to be just as. i dont want to be in a herd of sheep.

You will forget. Neurons die all the time. It's a known fact memories get disorganized, remade, and blended with fantasy. You are organic, an imperfect machine. Even your memories are imperfect, only focusing on specific things and not the whole picture because human brains focus on what's important and not what is. This is a survival tactic and it's what causes you to polarize one way or another. Even you, telling me this right now, you are declaring "I want things to only be this way".

But, you know.

"Polarization is the ugliest flower in the world."

Your past and memory is not the only thing that shapes opinions. Agreeing with others is not being a sheep. Are you a sheep because you agree killing an innocent as a police officer is not okay? Sometimes ignorance is okay. You don't have to know everything. Sometimes it's better not to.

5. im really jealous of bts sometimes. its fucking insane. theyre so successful but they have and continue to endure so much shit from the world. passion. passion is the word i want to chop up and throw into a blender and smother in a fire. they have it. and i dont. they are so hardworking. its something ill never be.

They don't have to do anything. They can quit at any time. They choose not to for many reasons. You choose how much you can take and how much is too much. You chose who you are. There are many hardworking, passionate people you don't know, because they don't want to be known. Passion, hard work, these things exist in many forms, and not all of it is so exposed like it is with BTS.

And let's face it, not all of those things can be good. They said so themselves.

6. i think we should really stop saying 'well if u were in their place what would u have done'. we cant do what we havent been given the chance to experience. we cant think about what we wouldve done because we have lived our lives NOT doing it. i am living my life only one which way and there is no other way i can know yet.

We say this to help others realize that prespective is importamt. It is not about actually living it, but having the empathy to understand and see from another person's eyes. No one is asking you to be Dr. Strange and live all 5 million possibilities. You can think someone's actions / words are wrong but, in that moment, they didn't think that, either because they grew up a certain way or because certain things happened to them. You don't have to live the experience to have some level of understanding, even if imperfect.

im sorry for this brain dump , i dont really have anyone else im willing to talk to and i completly understand if u skip this. hope ur fine tho and taking care. love ur works !

I'm an INTJ. My brain never turns off. It's a curse. But thank you for enjoying my writing! Hope you liked this too LOL

[gotatext]

TASK OO1 / OOC SURVEY.

[kermit voice] hallo.... its me 

YOUR ALIAS & NICKNAMES — nora

AGE — 23

TIMEZONE — gmt

PREFERRED PRONOUNS — she/her

MBTI — enfp-infp border cos im an introvert who Masquerades as an extrovert :)

HP HOUSE — i spent 10 yrs of my life thinkin i was gryffindor.... to find out.... huffle....puff...... 

ARE YOU A STUDENT? WHAT DO YOU STUDY? — i fuckin wish! being a student was dope af i got stressed about essays like once a month and apart from that i was just chillin, surrounded by really intelligent people every day n livin it up on the party scene. adult life fucking sucks no one wants to have fun cos we all work fuckin tonnes of hours so we can afford to eat and get paid peanuts xx

ARE YOU ENJOYING IT? — im really afraid of bein one of those jock types who peaked in high school but i deff peaked in uni like 100% i was way more interesting 2 years ago

LINKS TO OTHER ACCOUNTS & SOCIAL MEDIA — im not showin u my instagram bc im a fuckin embarassment but this is pinterest , this is my personal blog, this is my writing / 1x1 blog i never use any more n this is my trash talking twitter where i mostly just cry about timothee chalamet and bash the tories. 

DISCORD USER — kristine’s forehead vein#8664

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FICTION GENRE? — i dont read fanfiction much but when i do u can be sure it’s slow burn angsty enemies to lovers mutual pining heart attack every time one of them accidentally brushes the other’s hand

TOP FIVE FAVOURITE FILMS — suspiria (2018 luca guadagnino version rogue i kno but i prefer the remake), the lobster, before sunrise, baz luhrmann romeo + juliet, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind,  thoroughbreds (REC!! so underwatched pls watch it. compelling female characters), hunt for the wilderpeople (also so underwatched), swiss army man, call me by your name, atonement, moonrise kingdom, trainspotting, the florida project. i rlly like films ok

A BOOK YOU FEEL “CHANGED” YOU? — the song of achilles by madeline miller n also fen by daisy johnson

A MOVIE YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN? — booksmart cos its fuckin dope

WHAT IS YOUR SIGN? — libra

ARE YOU INTO ASTROLOGY? —  i like to pretend im super invested in it mostly to anger my friends but tbh.... i just use it as a rough guide for character creation.... its fun but i dnt .... fully invest in what it has to say..... altho i am the most unbalanced n indecisive bitch on earth so i guess they got that right !! i just live to please baybeyy!

WHAT PLATFORMS HAVE YOU ROLEPLAYED ON? — tumblr for about 8 year (omg) n before tht facebook..... i was very embarassingly in a twilight rp..... i wrote jane..... i also rped as a scene kid oc n when i was like 12 i was on some weird forum harry potter roleplay where i basically played a self insert with georgie henley as the fc......

WHAT OTHER HOBBIES DO YOU HAVE? — i used to have so many hobbies but now i jst lie in my bed staring at the ceiling. but before i was workin like a dog i loved reading, writing, acting in theatre productions..... going out on the town getting bevved..... big druggy EDM nights in warehouses tht probably weren’t liscenced for tht many ppl..... gigs... costume-design and making, spoken word poetry, acrylic painting n rollerskating but my sister broke my skates abt two years ago in vengeance and i’ll never forgive her that fuckin bitch

HAVE ANY PETS? IF SO, TALK ABOUT THEM! — no my landlord is a fascist

IS THERE A TV SHOW YOU RECOMMEND A LOT? — i’ll never stop reccing euphoria!! also i was pleasantly surprised by looking for alaska!! but i also rlly like bob’s burgers, parks and rec, good omens.... black mirror, n sharp objects. lovesick on bbciplayer (n netflix i think) is also rlly fun

ANY SHOWS YOU LIKE SOME MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT YOU DO? — maybe love island, idk if i talk abt that much bc i am ashamed but i am so obsessed with it. i even got the love island game n got so invested in my fictional relationship w bobby tht i had to delete it

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? WOULD YOU RECOMMEND IT? — god god... i haven’t finished a book in ages.... i recently started reading milkman by anna burns, the bees by laline paull and everything under by daisy johnson.... bt the last book i read cover to cover was probs circe. defs read it. feminist and witchy

CURRENTLY READING? — i jst said this but the bees, everything under and less so milkman cos im finding milkman a bit tough

LAST FILM? REC IT? — i watched ladyworld the lord of the flies all-female remake n even maya hawke could not save it.... dnt get me wrong from an art film point of view i loved it but it felt a bit underdeveloped n a level media studies for me..... apart from tht?? the runaways (yorkshire film not released yet at a preview screening) and threads (also a yorkshire film from the 80s about nuclear apocalypse)

THREE MOVIES YOU NEED TO WATCH — portrait of a lady on fire, i work at an independent cinema n we recently had a preview screening and everyone said it was SICK, uhhhh short term 12, n the new eliza scanlen movie babyteeth

WHAT MOVIE DO YOU THINK YOU’VE SEEN THE MOST TIMES? — madagascar because when i was 12 my parents bought me a little television with a dvd player in it for my birthday and madagascar was the only dvd i owned for like..... the first two years of havin the absolute luxury of a tv in my room so i just used to watch it all the time n i now basically know the script inside out

WHAT ALWAYS PUTS YOU IN A GOOD MOOD? — nothing, life is pointless n i hate fun, let me rot in peace

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE MUSICIAN / BAND? LIST IF THERE ARE MORE THAN ONE. — ughhh god probably lcd soundsystem. gorillaz, the streets, tame impala, talking heads, soft hair, i also love lizz tho n also angry twangy guitar girl bands like girlpool, courtney barnett, best coast, cherry glazerr,

WILD NIGHT OUT OR QUIET NIGHT IN? — quiet night in my party days are over i cant even be bothered to go to the shops if its past 4.30pm and dark these days

ANY PHOBIAS? — clowns n rats

DO YOU LIKE BUGS? — absolutely not

BIRDS? — yes but not if they fly in my face

ARE YOU A CAT OR DOG PERSON? BOTH? — i love both i want one 

BIGGEST PET PEEVE? — tory middle aged boomers who treat me like actual shit on their shoe because i work in the service industry like thats my choice and their poor economic decisions didnt mean i have to do a shitty job to afford to live bcos of austerity n cuts to arts funding meaning i cant get a job writing unless i self-fund :)))

FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THE RPC? — that everyone ive met through rp is a fuckin LAFF

TOP TEN FAVE FCS TO USE? — god .... diana silvers, timothee chalamet, margaret qualley, kristine froseth, froy gutierrez, zendaya, elle fanning, astrid berges frisbey, hunter schafer, leonardo dicaprio

FIVE YOU LIKE WRITING AGAINST? — herman tomeraas, hunter schafer, saoirse ronan, timothee chalamet, froy gutierrez

FAVOURITE TYPE OF FOOD? — linda mccartney 1/2pounder mozzarella veggie burgers, sweet potato wedges, tomato soup, mozzarella sticks, brownies

WORST FOOD? — green things like broccoli n sprouts gross. baked beans cos as a kid ppl used to do baked bean baths for comic relief / red nosed day a lot n i thought when they were finished in the baked bean bath they just put all the cold beans back in the tin. actually anything small that moves around on your plate. peas. spaghetti. sweetcorn. i dont like small things i cant control.

DO YOU PLAY VIDEOGAMES? IF SO, WHAT ONES AND ON WHAT PLATFORM DO YOU PREFER? — last year my housemate had an xbox n i went through a phase of obsessively playin fable 3 it was amazing. i had like 5 husbands and 3 wives and loads of kids but they all ended up leavin me cos i spent so much time out doing quests neglecting them

ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE TAG? — this

LASTLY, HOW DID YOU FIND US? — im one of those bitches who was in this grp all the way back when it was swipe... so quirky and original!! i knew the band before u! anyway im goin now this has been sufficiently embarassing..... i am lame

[flutejesus]

Interview With Composer Eric Britt

@ericbrittmusic @the-versatile-composer

What got you started in composition?

I used to be obsessed with soundtracks, so obsessed that I wanted to get into the field. I tried my hand at it little by little in high school. My production rate improved in the first half of college, and by the second half I was writing constantly.

What encourages you to keep at it?

I trust in myself. I don’t let any defeating thoughts get in my way or discourage me. Even when I had only just started, I was always proud of the work I was doing. Why? Because I was comparing myself to my own progress. It’s extremely important you measure your improvement that way rather than comparing yourself to industry leaders.

What about the art is most appealing to you?

Music, film scores especially are a form of nonverbal communication. Whether it be on screen or in a concert hall, the music almost always conveys a message that could only be told by music. For me personally, it’s one of the most effective ways I communicate the purpose of a piece or my thoughts.

What kind of classes have you taken?

Music Theory I-IV, Post-tonal analysis, orchestration, conducting, music history I-II. Aside from the obvious essentials for composition, music history is an important part of learning how to compose. By immersing yourself in different eras, it betters your ability to write. May it be form, melodic structure, or trying to emanate a certain time period, its importance is underestimated.

Did you take any music theory courses or music lessons before college?

I took two years of music theory in high school, as well as piano lessons for most of my life. Having never played in an ensemble before college, I faced some difficulty in understanding effective form and structure of traditional classical music. I learn as I went when I got to college.

What was your major, and what was your experience in relation to music and composition in college?

I was music composition/music business. My experience in composition in college was largely dedicated to writing for live performances. College is a ripe environment to have people play your original compositions, mostly in part because they will likely do it for free. Influence also plays an important role. You want people on your side.

Are you working on any projects now?

I am currently writing the music for the video game Underspace, set to be commercially released on Steam later this year. Aside from that, I write music for orchestra, typically with a cinematic approach which I release digitally.

How do you advertise yourself?

I believe the right amount of humility is important in advertising. I used to advertise in a fairly arrogant manner, and it got me nowhere. What I learned from it is that you can be proud of your work without thinking it’s the greatest thing ever. Advertise it accordingly. There is however a point where you can be TOO humble. If you fail to market yourself effectively to potential clients for the sake of humility, you’re shooting yourself in the foot and are not likely to be hired. You can talk about your successes, what you’ve done, commissions etc but do so humbly.

Do you freelance?

Yes. Once I graduated college I became able to dedicate much more time to it. Whether it be orchestrating a suite for concert hall or writing video game music, a contract is always a must. Well, that is in the case that you’re making several hundreds/several thousands off of the gig.

What is the hiring process like?

You have to be social. That’s EVERYTHING. I used to wait for someone to pick up my music and hire me. Didn’t work. It wasn’t until I started reaching out to people whom I thought might want music that I started making success. There are communities online where you can find a pool of potential clients. Indie game developers on YouTube/Tumblr is how I got started. The thing is, YOU have to reach out to them.

What kind of people do you work with?

Game developers. I am just starting my career as a professional composer, having graduated three months ago. I’ve had better luck with game devs than finding people who want music written for concert hall. I know that there might be demand for schools, but I haven’t looked into it yet.

Do you have a day job, or any career plans outside of music?

I plan to find a career in arts administration. I’ve worked in the administrations of a symphony and summer festival, which cemented my passion for the industry. Most composers have day jobs unless they’ve made it financially off their music.

What does the average day look like to you outside of music?

I enjoy reading. Particularly The Economist and New York Times. I also enjoy spending time with family and friends. For the time being I’m working in retail until I find something full time in arts admin, and that’ll occupy part of my day as well.

What challenges you the most?

Territory that is entirely unfamiliar to me. In the classical realm, that would be atonal music. It’s not easy to sound that dissonant. Not for me, at least. I can’t say I’d be willing to make commission if it had to be atonal.

What do you find the most rewarding?

I love hearing my creations come to life. The fact that I’m doing substantial with my time, and finally starting a path in it (profitably, might I add)

Which piece are you most proud of?

Legion. It centers around a rhythmic motif, and is incredibly action packed.

Do you have plans for the future?

My plans stand in pursuing careers in both arts administration and composition.

Do you have any advice for other young people interested in this field?

Everyone will tell you not to do it and get a real job. The truth of the situation is that if it’s monetary stability you’re after, they’re right. BUT that does not mean you have to stop composing. Having a consistent job will allow you to invest in composition. May it be software or sound libraries, it’ll start the essential steps for success as a composer. Having a job that paid well was essentially how I got started professionally, because I could afford the tools necessary to be hired as a composer for media.

[mysterioustransmissions]

My favorite comics of 2017

Keeping with my new tradition of posting this list super late, here, on the last day of 2018, is my best comics of 2017 list. I can offer excuses -- my wife and I remodeled our house and welcomed our first child into the world this year, and I’m also unfailingly lazy -- but 2017 was also a killer year for comics, making this a bit larger of an undertaking than usual. Both Koyama Press and co-publishers Retrofit Comics and Big Planet Comics had absolutely stacked lineups. You’ll see them listed as publisher for many entries below.

I always struggle with how to order this list. I got serious about organizing my comics collection in 2018, and am running into the same problem. There, I’m thinking of dividing it into two -- a single-author section organized by author name (which ends up being mostly minicomics and graphic novels), and a multiple-author section organized by title (which ends up being mostly traditional-sized comics). Here, I’m essentially doing that same thing, but mixing them together; some entries are by title, and some author name.

Comics I especially enjoyed are marked with an *.

Allison, Matthew; Cankor: Calamity of Challenge #2 and #3 (self-published).

Berserker 1, edited by edited by Tom Oldham and Jamie Sutcliffe (Breakdown Press). There was a lot of anticipation and very specific expectations placed on this book ahead of its release, but no one seemed to walk away from the finished product satisfied. But it’s got a killer cover, great production design, and strips by some of the best cartoonists going. I hope Breakdown does another one.

* Booth, Tara; How to be Alive (Retrofit Comics & Big Planet Comics). One of the funniest books I’ve ever read. Booth’s drawings are a riot to look at, that the gags are also great is pure gravy. About as big as crossover hits get in my house. (I.e., my wife also loved it.)

Cardini, William; Tales From the Hyperverse (Retrofit Comics and Big Planet Comics). Cardini’s sci-fi world is made bigger and more engaging by the rapid-fire pace of this short story collection. His wild experimentation with color is always an inspiration.

Corben, Richard; Shadows on the Grave #1 - #8 (Dark Horse Comics). Not my favorite of Corben’s late-period Dark Horse horror books, but there’s plenty to enjoy. I was stunned by the sheer efficiency of the storytelling -- there are entire stories told with a single image and a few word balloons. A lot of these books sport great covers, issue #1 here, seen at the link for this entry, is one of the best.

Darrow, Geoff; The Shaolin Cowboy: Who’ll Stop the Reign? #1 - #4 with Dave Stewart (Dark Horse Comics). I was so bowled over by the experience of buying Shemp Buffet monthly that I initially scoffed at Cowboy’s return to more traditional narrative, but it turned out to be no less wild and no loss at all.

Davis, Eleanor; Libby’s Dad (Retrofit Comics & Big Planet Comics) and You & a Bike & a Road (Koyama Press). You & a Bike & a Road does something that’s often attempted and rarely successful -- it beats the audience down so it can then lift them up higher. Its success is due in no small part from its origin as a real-life journal. The visceral and emotional pain Davis feels on her journey is sincerely felt, and the lack of cynicism the storytelling choices are made with allow the reader to feel it whole cloth. And listen; it certainly doesn’t hurt that Davis is an amazing narrative storyteller besides -- Libby’s Dad is no less affecting.

DeForge, Michael; mini kuš! #43 'Meat Locker' (kuš!). I sleep on DeForge. I take him for granted. I feel like I’m not the only one? I see some excitement when his books come out, but no discussion. Blame it on the high volume and opaque nature of his work, the dearth of comics reviewers, and me, obviously. Also obviously, whenever something of his does find its way to my hands, I’m never sorry.

Estrada, Inés; Alienation #3 - #6 (self-published). The bundled version of this series, seen at the link for this entry, has the coolest book packaging I’ve ever seen in my life.

Expansion by Matt Sheean and Malachi Ward (AdHouse Books). I didn’t like this nearly as much as this same team’s previous Ancestor (due no doubt to its earlier and improvised creation), but damn, what a cover.

* Forsman, Chuck; Slasher #1 - #4 (Floating World Comics). I’d say the majority of my interest in Forsman’s work is in seeing how he presents his it and steers his career -- he’s among the best there is at that. Slasher is his first work I strongly connected with. It digs deep and gets wilder and wilder.

Ferrick, Margot; Yours (2dcloud). I’m a simpleton, so I was surprised at how deeply I was able to be moved by something this abstract. As always, grabbing 2dcloud’s whole line on Kickstarter expands my horizons and makes me a better reader.

Foster-Dimino, Sophia; Sex Fantasy (Koyama Press). I’ve actually only read the minis of this. This collection has the one I’m missing, plus some new material, but I love Sex Fantasy. It’s like a perpetual motion machine for thought -- you can just think about it forever.

Fricas, Katie; Art Fan (self-published). One of those things you dream of happening at a show -- picked this up at MICE not knowing anything about it, and was delighted by the artwork and knocked out by the “reviews of trippy art events”; particularly the first, about Duke Riley’s Fly by Night.

* Friebert, Noel; WEIRD6 (self-published), SPINE: I’ll Still Watch (Bred Press), Old Ground (Koyama Press). Sometimes when I have a fever, I can’t break loose of a single, circular thought -- I have the same thought over and over, only to realize once the fever’s broken that it was barely coherent. Friebert’s newer, decompressed work is like that. You turn page after page, and nothing happens. It’s the same characters still doing and saying the same things, again and again. You turn the pages faster and faster, almost in a panic, hoping to break the cycle and resolve the unease before you. But it’s no use.

* gg; I’m Not Here (Koyama Press), Valley (kuš!). I’m Not Here is one of a few books I recommended to people who were enjoying season 3 of Twin Peaks at the time. It doesn’t convey information so much as emotion, and rewards as much thought as you want to put into it.

* Hankiewicz, John; Education (Fantagraphics Books). I loved this so much I only read a few pages a night to make it last. Michael DeForge once called Noel Freibert an “astronaut” -- that applies to Hankiewicz also. No one’s ever done anything like this before, and if we didn’t have Hankiewicz I don’t think anyone ever would. Bringing poetry and modern dance (!!) into the language of comics, this was another book I recommended to watchers of season 3 of Twin Peaks -- you don’t understand the story by connecting facts, you understand it by connecting emotions.

* Hanselmann, Simon; Portrait, XMP-165 (self-published). XMP-165 was the first big payoff of the longform nature of Megg and Mogg, and it destroyed me. Also released this year was Doujinshi, Cold Cube Press’ gorgeous re-release of a Japanese Megg and Mogg fan comic.

Harkam, Sammy; Crickets #6 (The Commonwealth Comics Company). People talk about how good this book is, and I agree, but I’m not sure I could tell you why.

Haven, Eric; Vague Tales (Fantagraphics Books).

Hernandez, Gilbert and Jaime ; Love & Rockets Vol. IV #2, #3 (Fantagraphics). I made the terrible error after Love Bunglers to trade wait Locas, and for whatever reason they haven’t released one since. So I was way behind when this started coming out, but I bought and read it anyway. I initially found the story to be light, but I eventually realized I had a free ComiXology trial and caught up. It’s as great as ever.

Ito, Junji; Dissolving Classroom (Vertical, Inc.), Shiver: Junji Ito Selected Stories, and Tomie: Complete Deluxe Edition (Viz Media). Tomie may have come out in 2016 actually? I describe it to people as being about a beautiful woman who stands around until some total lech of a man inevitably murders her, then she comes back and annihilates him in the most unpleasant manner possible. Repeat ad infinitum. I don’t think the text 100% supports my reading, but that’s what it means to me.

Landry, Tyler; Shit and Piss (Retrofit Comics). The ephemeral, disjointed nature the single issue format served this story better, but it’s still extremely rad.

Loup, Celine; The Man Who Came Down the Attic Stairs (self-published).

Marcus, Ben; Crisis Zone 3rd Edition (Bred Press).

Mignolaverse and John Arcudi; Dead Inside #3 by Arcudi, Toni Fejzula, and Andre May, Lobster Johnson: The Pirate’s Ghost #1 - #3 by Arcudi and Tonci Zonjic, Hellboy: Into the Silent Sea by Gary Gianni, Mike Mignola, and Dave Stewart (Dark Horse Comics). Ignoring a few years in college when I was a lapsed comics reader, I’ve bought every Mignolaverse comic since I was about 13. That loyalty has slowly eroded over the last half decade about. I’m not alone in thinking the Arcudi-Davis run is one of the greatest of all time, and that the books started to go downhill after Guy Davis left. Beyond the departure of Davis, there are a few reasons for that, in my view.

First was the decision soon after to expand the line’s offerings. Doubling the line’s output and bringing in (inevitably) inferior creative teams was a no-win proposition for readers. Who wants more of something not as good?

Second, I think that Arcudi, a great writer, has shifted his focus from tightly-plotted five issue arcs to series-spanning character arcs. While I’m guessing this reads great in big chunks, it doesn’t spread out month to month, some months out of the year. I’m looking forward to a big re-read of everything after B.P.R.D. wraps in a few months, to see if this theory holds. Lobster Johnson: The Pirate’s Ghost came close to standing on its own, but was still rife with moments that I can only assume were big character payoffs because I didn’t remember enough to know. (Especially cool covers by Zonjic on these issues.) However, the non-Mignolaverse title Dead Inside offered the type of visceral, plot-based payoff his B.P.R.D. run with Davis hooked me with. I hadn’t been this thrilled by an Arcudi book since Killing Ground.

But third, and worst of all, has been the addition of writer Chris Roberson, whose books read like updates to the Mignolaverse Wiki. (The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed was okay, but pretty much solely due to Paul Grist’s fun art and layouts.)

I’m staying aboard the main B.P.R.D. book as it races to the finish line, and will continue to buy anything Arcudi writes, which seems to be mostly these Lobster Johnson comics. (Although even that’s looking increasingly, and sadly, unlikely to continue: https://twitter.com/ArcudiJohn/status/1075086925436874753) And I’ll certainly buy any more of these very sporadically-released Hellboy OGNs, like Into the Silent Sea, they decide to release -- the only real non-Mignola drawn Hellboy books anymore.

* Milburn, Lane; CORRIDORS (self-published). Sits comfortably next to Inflated Head Zone by Zach Hazard Vaupen, one of my favorite comics. They both forsake straightforward narrative in favor of theme-driven emotional impressionism, and do it with horror. This is catnip to me, and something I aspire to (although I’m far too boring to achieve it).

* Mirror Mirror II, edited by Sean T. Collins and Julia Gfrörer (2dcloud).

Now: The New Comics Anthology #1, edited by Eric Reynolds (Fantagraphics Books).

* Providence #12 by Jacen Burrows, Juan Rodriguez, and Alan Moore (Avatar Press). It came out months after, but it’s a safe bet Moore wrote this before Trump got elected, right? A more accurate depiction of the shell-shock of being thrust into a post-facts world I haven’t seen.

Roberts, Keiler; Sunburning (Koyama Press). Another big crossover hit in my house.

* Shiga, Jason; Demon Volumes 2, 3, and 4 (First Second). Demon became a book I wouldn’t stop showing to anyone who would listen. Like Gina Wynbrandt’s Someone Please Have Sex With Me, its hook transcends the normal comics reading audience -- you can show it to anyone and they get it right away. Specifically I would show people this amazing video https://youtu.be/NRxCTeM5pyU, which would clue them into what Shiga does enough to get them to read Demon. Demon has a story, but it’s more about rules -- establishing them and playfully subverting them with a level of inventiveness that regularly leaves you in awe.

* Terrell, Jake; Extended Play (2dcloud). This delightful book took me completely by surprise, an experience made possible by 2dcloud’s subscription model.

Tomasso, Rich; She Wolf: Black Baptism #1 - #4, Spy Seal: The Corten-Steel Phoenix #1 - #4 (Image Comics). The end of this second series of She Wolf approached the same hostile disregard for what came before as the end of Tomasso’s previous series, Dark Corridor. But where Dark Corridor acted on that impulse by simply burning it all down, She Wolf has enough respect at least to replace what came before by pivoting into a completely different comic. The freedom this affords the plot to dart in unpredictable directions is exhilarating. And it’s fun and beautifully laid out and designed, as always with Tomasso.

Tran, Thu; Dust Pam (Peow). Gorgeous!

Vaupen, Zach Hazard; Combed Clap of Thunder (Retrofit Comics and Big Planet Comics).

* Willumsen, Connor; Anti-Gone (Koyama Press). The part where the protagonists drive their boat past a window with a dog in it rewired my comics-making brain forever. This was another comic I only read a few pages of a night to make it last longer, and also recommended to friends of mine who were enjoying season three of Twin Peaks -- the plot is obfuscated in a similar way.

Yanow, Sophie; What is a Glacier? (Retrofit Comics and Big Planet Comics).

Yokoyama, Yuichi; Iceland (Retrofit Comics). Another comic I recommended to Twin Peaks season three fans. Similar to the residents of the Red Room, the characters seem truly of another world, their motivations and actions incomprehensible to us.

[shvdxs]

she lives in daydreams with me

1. Do you bite or lick ice cream? lick yall some savages

2. What is home to you? wherever im comfy and alone

3. What was the last lie you told? idk i eat hot chip and lie all the time

4. Does everyone deserve the truth? idk some people deserve to be ignored

5. What is the creepiest toy ever made? i wanna say furby but literally any of the toys i had that turned on by themselves

6. Describe a moment in which you did something unacceptable in a bad situation. literally every move i make

7. List two things that are more easily done than said. (No, I didn’t mix them up.) anything because id rather do things than confront anyone

8. When was the last time you worked really hard to achieve something? college and corona took that away

9. How many all nighters have you pulled? too many hell yeah go college

10. If humans didn’t evolve to laugh or smile, how would we express our happiness instead? i figure psychologically and physiologically we still would produce the same effects from experiencing happiness like NT production as well as healthy plasticity but i don’t think we’d express happiness besides like jumping or some shit 

11. How many romantic “things” or “flings” have you had? 0 i hate yall

12. What is your paradise? doing what i want by myself and straight chilling outside

13. What is your favorite background noise? (Ex. Water dripping, people talking.) i hate background noise so much but silence with either a fire crackling or nighttime nature noises either in the woods or a beach

14. How many hearts do you think you have broken? who cares

15. What is the most important thing about electronics? What does this say about you? this is giving me a headache

16. Why do people care about celebrities? Do you care about celebrities? probably because they’re constantly being shared by the media which makes people think they’re important 

17. What is the most annoying thing someone can do to you? when has someone not done something that’s annoying to me

18. Do you overexaggerate? What are the pros and cons of this? oh yeah especially when im in a miserable mood i become so dramatic and see everything as catastrophic

19. Have you played any instruments before? Which instruments? guitar

20. Do you like taking selfies? Why or why not? i used to but i hate how my face has developed

21. List 3 things you like about yourself? id say some bs like im super empathetic and understanding but that’s caused some of the worst situations in my life

22. What is the best advice someone has ever given you? to be selfish

23. Do you have what it takes to raise a child? Why or why not? definitely not

24. How do you cheer yourself up after a bad day? run, listen to music which is what i do regardless, or sleep

25. When was the last time you felt awkward? all the time because i get obnoxious

26. Are you introverted or extroverted? Or a mixture of both? introverted but i like going out, like i don’t want to socialize while im out but i like not sitting inside all day

27. What constitutes a good friend? bruh

28. Would you rather have a lot of friends to hang out with or just one best friend? i like that i have both

29. In a regular day, what do you not want to hear? i don’t want to hear. periodt.

30. What is your dream job? i enjoy anything in the clinical or neurological psychology field, especially research and field studies

31. Is it better to be lazy but smart or hardworking but unintelligent? probably hardworking because i do be that lazy smart bitch

32. What is a truth about yourself that others find hard to believe? no idea

33. What have you always wondered about the other gender? nothing

34. Which fantasy world would you like to visit the most? i haven’t ever thought about it, they all seem dangerous

35. Describe the worst friend you have ever befriended. bruh

36. Imagine that you have switched bodies with someone you don’t know. You can’t switch back. What do you do? simply vibe

37. If you found the recipe for immortality, would you sell it or would you burn it? burn that mf i feel like it would cause more issues down the road but also id take that check

38. What is the most important, applicable class you have ever taken? chem or psychophysiology

39. Name the last book you read. it was one of my psych book, p sure it was a jung book

40. Imagine that you are unable to express emotion. How would this affect your world? i do not express my emotion idk her 

41. When was the last time you made the first move? i dont because id rather not start anything 

42. What is your opinion on electronic music such as dubstep or trap? kinda sucks but is a bop when you’re toasted

43. What was the last movie you watched? ladybird :)

44. Do you like and appreciate your life? i am grateful for everything i have but it definitely gets hard for no reason

45. Do you like and appreciate yourself? no

46. When was the last time you cried? like two days ago

47. What are you scared of? wheelchairs

48. What is the most embarrassing, cringe-worthy thing you have ever done? i cannot even begin to think of ALL the cringey shit ive done

49. What are some of your hobbies? running. that might be it. i like longboarding. my excessive need to listen to music 24/7.

50. What is a superficial yet annoying mistake you constantly make? everything on god

[gffa]

I have a bit of an ongoing struggle to figure out how I define “canon” when it comes to Star Wars.  It can be as simple as “Disney canon vs Legends” or it can be as difficult as, “Yes, but the movies absolutely count more than the new comics, so where does that leave everything in between?” For every person you ask on their approach, you’re going to get a different answer.  Some are going to adhere to the official rules of canon.  Some are going to go, “yeah, but I don’t like multimedia approaches, so I’m only counting these things” and some are going to go, “yeah, but I like those novels better than the canon, I think they’re better stories”.  Everyone’s approach is what should work for them! But my intention here is to figure this out for myself, as best I can, and to make the clarification that I feel there’s a difference between “I enjoyed this story more, I thought it made for a stronger world” and “This is what’s actually canon.” for the purposes of fannish discussion, especially. Which means tackling how Legends fits in there.  And I go by official policy:

The analogy is that every piece of published Star Wars fiction is a window into the 'real' Star Wars universe. Some windows are a bit foggier than others. Some are decidedly abstract. But each contains a nugget of truth to them.

and

While Lucasfilm always strived to keep the stories created for the EU consistent with our film and television content as well as internally consistent, Lucas always made it clear that he was not beholden to the EU. He set the films he created as the canon. This includes the six Star Wars episodes, and the many hours of content he developed and produced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. These stories are the immovable objects of Star Wars history, the characters and events to which all other tales must align.

George, back in 2001 (and would later repeat this in 2005), said:

"There are two worlds here," explained Lucas. "There's my world, which is the movies, and there's this other world that has been created, which I say is the parallel universe—the licensing world of the books, games and comic books. They don't intrude on my world, which is a select period of time, [but] they do intrude in between the movies. I don't get too involved in the parallel universe."

Though, Leeland Chee would later clarify that, while it sounds like two separate worlds, it’s really not.  And it’s more like that George’s Star Wars exists by itself, but then you have another layer around it that is the EU, that it’s built on the framework of the Immovable Objects of Star Wars History. And the ordering of canon went like:

GWL-canon or G-canon stood for George Lucas canon: Marked GWL after George Lucas (whose middle name is Walton). It included Episodes I–VI (the released films at that time), and any statements by George Lucas (including unpublished production notes from him or his production department that are never seen by the public). Elements originating with Lucas in the scripts, filmed deleted scenes, film novelizations, reference books, radio plays, and other primary sources were also G-canon when not in contradiction with the released films. GWL-canon overrode the lower levels of canon when there was a contradiction. In the words of Leland Chee: "George's view of the universe is his view. He's not beholden to what's gone before."

T-canon was Television canon: Referred to the canon level comprising the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Many stories wound up superseding those depicted in continuity canon, and the second Clone Wars animated series and its film also overwrote Gendy Tarkakovsky's 2003 Clone Wars animated micro-series.

C-canon was Continuity canon: Consisting of most of the materials from the Star Wars Expanded Universe including the books, comics, and videogames bearing the label of Star Wars. According to a Wired article, the creation of stories that introduced radical changes in the continuity, like The Force Unleashed video-game which introduced Darth Vader's secret apprentice, required Lucas's approval, and he spent hours explaining to the developers anything he deemed necessary for them to know. Games and RPG sourcebooks were a special case; the stories and general background information were themselves fully C-canon, but the other elements such as character/item statistics and gameplay were, with few exceptions, N-canon.

S-canon was Secondary canon: Covering the same media as C-canon, it was immediately superseded by anything in higher levels of canon in any place where two elements contradicted each other, the non-contradicting elements were still a canon part of the Star Wars universe, this included certain elements of a few N-canon stories. The Star Wars Holiday Special is an example of secondary canon.

N-canon was Non-canon: "What-if" stories (such as the Star Wars Tales comic anthology series published under the Star Wars: Infinities label), crossover appearances (such as the Star Wars character appearances in Soulcalibur IV), game statistics, and anything else directly contradicted by higher canon ends up here. N-canon was the only level that was not considered official canon by Lucasfilm. Any published material that contradicted things established in G-canon and T-canon was considered N-canon.

(Quoted from the Wikipedia entry on the Holocron Database, which is how they kept track of story elements, since the Lucasfilm Story Group wasn’t founded until 2013.) What I’m less clear on--as I can’t really find anything that actually talks about it with any kind of depth--is how Disney canon approaches things now.  Do they consider a comic or a novel on the same level as the films?  Or are they still adhering to the Immovable Objects of Star Wars History vs A Foggy Window Into The World Of Star Wars policy? But, as far as Legends material goes, this is generally why I try to stay away from it while doing any kind of in-depth discussion, because it’s not reliable and George Lucas has said many times that he’s not really involved at all in that part of Star Wars and the Storygroup wasn’t created until 2013 and even then I don’t know how much we really know about how strict they are about continuity being kept vs artistic vision and handwaving details. Will I flail over things from Legends?  HELL YEAH I WILL because they were given to us by official Star Wars Stuff once upon a time and because they’re super fun!  And sometimes I think they can come up with some interesting takes on the characters that I want to discuss further!  But I don’t think novels and comics and all of that will never replace Immovable Objects Of Star Wars History for me.

[perfectionistincrisis]

Day 81

i keep talking to myself all the time - no not cause im mad or alone - but like i said earlier - i pretend like its ‘him’ and just him. meaning, no, im not those people who talk to themselves cause they enjoy doing it, or like um neither those who talk to themselves cause they dont have anyone else to talk to - but rather, -i-just-talk-to-him-

wow, no that was a nice way to put it out there. so much for defending myself lol

ok so im kinda energetic - as in -my mood is- i am not, physically energetic though. i mean i just spent the last hour and a half in bed scrolling through my phone until my phone shut off cause it ran out of charge and only then i dragged myself slowly to the washroom to pee which i shouldve done 60 minutes ago. so yeah - very lazy 

speaking of time. WTH is going on with this world? i feel like the number of seconds in one minute is a subject to small rise and falls like the world currencies! I mean seriously, i swear nowadays “1 minute” = “EIGHTY seconds” No Kidding!!!! It all started from after fajr today!!!!! 

yeah so after fajr today, at first i kind of blanked out - as in - that rush, impatience and i dont even know how to describe it - kinda feeling i was telling? about missing him and all that? like i need some action something to happen and wow this is such an off season - so yeah i was kind of stuck in my chair,, just switching from one social media to another doing nothing literally other than idk - trying to fast forward life and hit play somewhere cool ugh ok

so then something happened and it cheered me up and i got on the treadmill as was planned. usually do 3 hours but i knew doing 3 now, including my tiny 3-5 min breaks every 30 mins would take too long 

anyways ended up doing two hours at around 7 30 and then was too tired to take a shower so i just pulled a bed sheet from my closet and slept on the floor, cause no way im putting my stinky body to bed. 

when i got up, prayed zuhr and YESSS i did the one hour i skipped in the morning and yeah well thats pretty much it for the day. i mean then i sat and ate and then went to the hosp came back, chilled and still chilling right now as im typing :) 

oh something i said yesterday about how i wish life was full of action like in movies. like i just wish it was although i know its BS thats totally against how this life works. whats more surprising is how i actually wish for stupid stuff - i mean you know how on social media - one gets to present themselves the way they want. i mean you can be anything. happy sad widow married depressed gay - its like - its in your hands - how do you want to present yourself to the world mam? yeah you get my point? but like i lot of people fall for it. you look into others posts and you might wonder how their life is so wonderful and yours is not, how someones life is picture perfect and yours is not and BLABLABLA but Lol - i neverrrrr fell for that. pretty much cause i sugar coat my life too loool 

Its actually funny - im actually laughing - anyways where im getting at with this is - i was thinking about it - i mean for someone like me who never fell for all the crap people put up on display on social media - i sure am one hell of a dreamer to ‘wish’ for a busy ‘movie-like’ all colorful life. But then again in my defense - those are real people and people are full of crap so yeah i dont fall for their shit but i mean a movie is a well organised script being played out - ofcourse you ‘wishing’ for something like it is acceptable yasss (whatever makes you sleep at night:3 ) 

Also i assure you my vocabulary aint that poor, i just seem to lose my words when im posting anything here. mostly cause i have no words - everything is so messy and twisty and complicated Ugh 

Also its really weird that i feel like a days just passed by too fast this week. i mean i mustve slipped. i mean im like a human clock. lol i mean it. i mean when im not on vacation - and you ask me the time, anytime - my guesses are so close to accurate - like im aware of every second ticking by - now, im just saying im aware of it - that doesnt really mean i make the most out of time - but then i do know how precious it is, and i do feel like crap when im just shitting it away. and just randomly wasting time is one thing, but trust me when you are aware youre doing shit - ouch that burns! 

so august is coming, and i was kind of planning on fasting - i mean i didnt fast in july cause i wanted to get used to working out and fasting would just be disturbing. but yeah now its almost august and i think i should fast - for like the whole month - yeah :) cause i barely fasted for i think 8 days this Ramadan i need to make all the rest of it up. AND THEN AFTER THAT, it is sunnah but not one im actually brave enough to do to be honest but but but i think i have no choice - i mean i think i have to fast like every monday or thursday every week - cause i have a lot and a lot of fasting to do to make up for ALLLLL the ones i missed my entire life and trust me thats quite a lot - not the normal amount any girl would miss - cause ive been having problems and so i had to skip a lot and stuff - and i never kept an exact count - well actually its impossible cause its been a problem for years but then i do have to admit that i never tried either - cause idk- i guess i kind of took it as - oh cmon its just fasting - i mean i think i missed around 20 roughly - so ill just fast 30 - thatll cover it up plus ill fast extra - which is a good thing and blabla all that random thoughts! 

anyways i should now just focus on the 30 i wna fast for this year, in august but idk i have to come up with some legit plan where my work out schedule fits in perfectly too. both  are important to me, and im not choosing one over the other, i dont want to and i dont have to inshaAllah 

oh just a random thing - but i go for brands! Meaning, you know if something is sold by a really well known brand youd obviously expect it to have good quality and most of the time yes youre right. sometimes, nope! but then there are things which are not “branded” but the quality is amazing, and the price? well most of the time it is cheaper, but yeah i guess sometimes the price is almost similar - well the thing is - i am the type of person - whod want the brand name on PLUS the quality. like if there were 2 bags for example or two shoes, SAME quality, but one is cheaper ONLY cause it does not have a famous brand name on it - i am definitely the person whod pay wayyyy wayyy more for the branded one! - SO now you know the type of person i am :) :) :) :) 

Lol im sure that kind of information is something a lot of people would use to judge someone :3 But then im not all so irrational loool - like thats definitely something that is “goals” for me! I mean, i am a medical student being financially supported by my dad right now and will be for atleast the next 3 years. ATLEAST! ATLEAST! ATLEAST! 

SO yeah im not saying i cant afford branded products right now but i sure am not comfortable living a life of luxury at this phase of my life. I want to earn it. With my own sweat and energy. I want to tell myself that i deserve it. So yeah, thats the type of person i am but im not currently ‘practicing’ it like religion and one day IF i do, i know it will be something i earned and something Allah will not be unhappy with, because I am not planning to disappoint Him 

Okay enough with that. i really dont need to talk about it as long as i know ill be alright inshaAllah 

Oh something really interesting - so i REALLY REALLY need to smile. like NOT “smile more” but like “SMILE” for gods sake hahhaha. I mean idk - its like i hate people so much and idk i feel like everyone for some reason is turning against me or doesnt like me, and its not like i even care or want them to like me and thats exactly why im like all -pokerface-pokerface- but like cmooooon! if youre really talking to someone, something as simple as a short interaction in the hospital for example with the receptionist or pharmacist - i mean cmoon - just smile a little? i mean i REALLY need to work on it. cause if i am planning on being a doctor - OH PLEASE - smiling is part of the job OH WAKE UP LADYYY!!!!!!! 

but like im not kidding - like i just said - i feel like everyone for some reason is turning against me or doesnt like me. and ofcourse its not true, i mean MOST people dont even know me. like in the hospital i went to today for example - whyd everyone hate me? :) i mean idk its just something i feel. its weird. but sheeeeeet. have to work on it. fake a smile honey :) 

Okay and idk how wrong or right it is. but i thought of it and i dont feel like there is any harm to it. Like, id like to have the idea in my head that me and him, we love each other and we are meant to be together one day. inshaAllah. For which i always and always pray to Him and ask from Him. But as of right now, we are not together. but deep deep deeeeep deeeeeeeeeep deeeeeeeeeeeeeep and deeeeeeeeeeep’errr in my heart i keep telling myself that. We are.

now idk if its wrong, or right - but - i believe it is not making me do something which might anger my Lord.  All what it does is calm my heart. a little. And so i guess its okay! At least for now, i cant let go of the idea. Not today <3  Tada, guess thats enough for today! 

xox

[rtscrndr53704]

Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays

Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays

The holidays are notoriously unproductive times, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Follow these productivity hacks I’ve used to stay in the game this holiday season.

It’s inevitable. The holidays always bring a rush of activities as you try to balance your home and work life.

But the tension of holiday traditions at home while getting everything done at work are just the beginning.

Many education marketers also find it hard to get things done this month because of final exams and graduation.

You might not have this problem if you’ve got more staff and resources at your school.

But if you serve at a smaller private, organization, your non-marketing co-workers might not be able to collaborate with you on marketing projects in a timely fashion as all their extra time is being used for end of semester responsibilities.

There’s also the hard-to-measure reality of people just “clocking out” mentally.

Decembers are to the year what Fridays are to the week. Everyone’s productivity wanes as they look forward to their holiday vacation activities.

One other pesky thing that can bog down productivity is that many of your colleagues might be working shorter hours as they prepare for holiday parties.

Getting the answers you need to move forward on projects is hard when you keep getting out-of-office replies.

But while you can’t fire on all cylinders at holiday time, you can still get a lot done if you use the right approaches.

Here are the 3 productivity strategies that I use to boost my productivity, even during the holidays.

#1. Pomodoro Technique

It’s difficult to keep your mind on work-related matters for long periods during the festive season.

That’s where the Pomodoro technique comes in to save the day.

The procedure uses a timer to break down work into segments, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.

Here’s how it works:

Choose a task you’d like to get done.

Set a timer for 25 minutes (or whatever you decide).

Work on the task until the timer rings.

When the timer rings, stop.

Take a short 5 minute break (Grab a coffee, meditate or go for a short walk. Just make sure you do something not work related.)

After 4 sessions take a longer break of 20 or 30 minutes.

These short intense sessions allow you to do your best work.

Because the whole technique revolves around timing yourself as you work in short bursts, it’s helpful to have an app to track your progress.

So here are some handy Pomodoro apps to keep you focused throughout the day:

PomoDoneApp (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android) for using Pomodoro with a third-party task management app.

KanbanFlow (Web) for combining Kanban and Pomodoro.

Pomotodo (Web, Windows, macOS, Chrome, iOS, Android) for combining GTD® and Pomodoro.

Marinara Timer (Web) for teams looking to complete pomodoros together.

Be Focused (macOS, iOS) for simple task and time management on Apple devices.

Tomatoes (Web) for motivating you to complete pomodoros.

Engross (Android) for figuring out when you’re the most focused.

Pomodoro cc(Web) for people who are new to the Pomodoro Technique.

Timerdoro (Web) for people who need multiple timers.

#2. Getting Things Done (GTD)

Chaos is the number one enemy of productivity. GTD is all about ordering your workflow.

Here’s the essence of the GTD process in 5 simple steps:

1.    Capture what has your attention.

Use a notepad or voice recorder to collect the personal or professional projects or to-do lists.

2.    Clarify and prioritize.

Take everything you listed in step 1, and decide if it’s actionable or not. Something is actionable if it involves a visible, physical action. If not, discard it. If it takes two minutes or less, do it now. If more, set the time when you’ll do it or delegate it.

3.    Organize your list.

Group tasks into related categories (e.g. emails to send, meetings to attend, errands to run, etc.) Have action reminders on the lists.

4.    Review and reflect regularly.

Critique your list weekly. Decide what to do next. Update the list and refocus.

5.    Do what’s required.

Take action using the system you’ve created.

At its core, the GTD theory is simple: you work better when you are relaxed. By getting rid of clutter and organizing your thoughts, you can be more productive.

Use the technique’s 4 Ds to zip through your to-do list:

Do it, if it’s actionable and takes less than 2 minutes.

Drop it, if it’s not actionable.

Delegate it, if it takes more than two minutes.

Defer it, if you can’t do it that very day.

#3. Automation

Would you like to grow your email list, follow up on leads, and share great content to your audience on social media while enjoying the holiday at the same time?

Well, you can! By automating your marketing.

So much of marketing involves doing certain tasks again and again. Such jobs can be done on auto-pilot through automation software. Automate marketing tasks with tools like:

Buffer– schedule posts, analyze their performance, and manage all your social accounts in one place.

Hootsuite– schedule posts, manage multiple accounts, send targeted messages and monitor brand mentions.

CoSchedule– communicate in one place, integrate tools you use regularly and have a unified calendar for your team.

HubSpot CRM– organize, track, and nurture your leads and customers with ease.

Sharpspring – powerful marketing automation that helps you increase the leads you send to the enrollment team

Salesforce– get a unified view of every interaction with prospects, students, alumni, donors, and affiliates.

Marketo– engage students based on their individual interests, and respond appropriately based on their stage in the student lifecycle.

Put these three principles into practice as you implement your automation strategy:

1. Tie everything to your goals.

Don’t just use the latest automation tactic without checking to see if it aligns with your goals first. Only do what makes sense for your enrollment marketing plan.

2. Avoid generic messages.

It’s easy to fall into the temptation of bombarding your list with general messages. This is the quickest way of losing audience interest and ending up in the spam folder. Segment your audience and send highly-targeted content to them.

3. Engage current students.

Your institution’s best evangelists are the current students and their parents. Have specific campaigns targeted at them so as to keep them engaged.

While it’s true holiday cheer might keep you super busy in the coming weeks, your productivity levels don’t have to take a nosedive.

Try out these three productivity strategies to stay on top of your game and still have a good time with friends and family.

Want to Improve Your Digital Marketing Results?

Then you’ve got to know how to write for the web. That’s why we want to send you our latest ebook: Writing for the Web: 7 Secrets to Content Marketing Success for Education Marketers!

With this helpful resource from Caylor Solutions, you’ll learn how to:

Grab your reader’s attention immediately

Pull your reader’s attention deeper into your content

Write so that Google (and other search engines) find you easily

Increase your website’s conversion rates

In short, you’ll be able to write the copy that makes your digital marketing strategy work for you. Download your copy today!

Featured image by GaudiLab via Adobe Stock

This post was originally published at: https://www.caylor-solutions.com/3-key-strategies-ive-used-to-boost-my-productivity-during-the-holidays/

The post Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays appeared first on edSocialMedia.

https://ift.tt/2L0TWEy

[bestwindow30901]

Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays

Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays

The holidays are notoriously unproductive times, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Follow these productivity hacks I’ve used to stay in the game this holiday season.

It’s inevitable. The holidays always bring a rush of activities as you try to balance your home and work life.

But the tension of holiday traditions at home while getting everything done at work are just the beginning.

Many education marketers also find it hard to get things done this month because of final exams and graduation.

You might not have this problem if you’ve got more staff and resources at your school.

But if you serve at a smaller private, organization, your non-marketing co-workers might not be able to collaborate with you on marketing projects in a timely fashion as all their extra time is being used for end of semester responsibilities.

There’s also the hard-to-measure reality of people just “clocking out” mentally.

Decembers are to the year what Fridays are to the week. Everyone’s productivity wanes as they look forward to their holiday vacation activities.

One other pesky thing that can bog down productivity is that many of your colleagues might be working shorter hours as they prepare for holiday parties.

Getting the answers you need to move forward on projects is hard when you keep getting out-of-office replies.

But while you can’t fire on all cylinders at holiday time, you can still get a lot done if you use the right approaches.

Here are the 3 productivity strategies that I use to boost my productivity, even during the holidays.

#1. Pomodoro Technique

It’s difficult to keep your mind on work-related matters for long periods during the festive season.

That’s where the Pomodoro technique comes in to save the day.

The procedure uses a timer to break down work into segments, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.

Here’s how it works:

Choose a task you’d like to get done.

Set a timer for 25 minutes (or whatever you decide).

Work on the task until the timer rings.

When the timer rings, stop.

Take a short 5 minute break (Grab a coffee, meditate or go for a short walk. Just make sure you do something not work related.)

After 4 sessions take a longer break of 20 or 30 minutes.

These short intense sessions allow you to do your best work.

Because the whole technique revolves around timing yourself as you work in short bursts, it’s helpful to have an app to track your progress.

So here are some handy Pomodoro apps to keep you focused throughout the day:

PomoDoneApp (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android) for using Pomodoro with a third-party task management app.

KanbanFlow (Web) for combining Kanban and Pomodoro.

Pomotodo (Web, Windows, macOS, Chrome, iOS, Android) for combining GTD® and Pomodoro.

Marinara Timer (Web) for teams looking to complete pomodoros together.

Be Focused (macOS, iOS) for simple task and time management on Apple devices.

Tomatoes (Web) for motivating you to complete pomodoros.

Engross (Android) for figuring out when you’re the most focused.

Pomodoro cc(Web) for people who are new to the Pomodoro Technique.

Timerdoro (Web) for people who need multiple timers.

#2. Getting Things Done (GTD)

Chaos is the number one enemy of productivity. GTD is all about ordering your workflow.

Here’s the essence of the GTD process in 5 simple steps:

1.    Capture what has your attention.

Use a notepad or voice recorder to collect the personal or professional projects or to-do lists.

2.    Clarify and prioritize.

Take everything you listed in step 1, and decide if it’s actionable or not. Something is actionable if it involves a visible, physical action. If not, discard it. If it takes two minutes or less, do it now. If more, set the time when you’ll do it or delegate it.

3.    Organize your list.

Group tasks into related categories (e.g. emails to send, meetings to attend, errands to run, etc.) Have action reminders on the lists.

4.    Review and reflect regularly.

Critique your list weekly. Decide what to do next. Update the list and refocus.

5.    Do what’s required.

Take action using the system you’ve created.

At its core, the GTD theory is simple: you work better when you are relaxed. By getting rid of clutter and organizing your thoughts, you can be more productive.

Use the technique’s 4 Ds to zip through your to-do list:

Do it, if it’s actionable and takes less than 2 minutes.

Drop it, if it’s not actionable.

Delegate it, if it takes more than two minutes.

Defer it, if you can’t do it that very day.

#3. Automation

Would you like to grow your email list, follow up on leads, and share great content to your audience on social media while enjoying the holiday at the same time?

Well, you can! By automating your marketing.

So much of marketing involves doing certain tasks again and again. Such jobs can be done on auto-pilot through automation software. Automate marketing tasks with tools like:

Buffer– schedule posts, analyze their performance, and manage all your social accounts in one place.

Hootsuite– schedule posts, manage multiple accounts, send targeted messages and monitor brand mentions.

CoSchedule– communicate in one place, integrate tools you use regularly and have a unified calendar for your team.

HubSpot CRM– organize, track, and nurture your leads and customers with ease.

Sharpspring – powerful marketing automation that helps you increase the leads you send to the enrollment team

Salesforce– get a unified view of every interaction with prospects, students, alumni, donors, and affiliates.

Marketo– engage students based on their individual interests, and respond appropriately based on their stage in the student lifecycle.

Put these three principles into practice as you implement your automation strategy:

1. Tie everything to your goals.

Don’t just use the latest automation tactic without checking to see if it aligns with your goals first. Only do what makes sense for your enrollment marketing plan.

2. Avoid generic messages.

It’s easy to fall into the temptation of bombarding your list with general messages. This is the quickest way of losing audience interest and ending up in the spam folder. Segment your audience and send highly-targeted content to them.

3. Engage current students.

Your institution’s best evangelists are the current students and their parents. Have specific campaigns targeted at them so as to keep them engaged.

While it’s true holiday cheer might keep you super busy in the coming weeks, your productivity levels don’t have to take a nosedive.

Try out these three productivity strategies to stay on top of your game and still have a good time with friends and family.

Want to Improve Your Digital Marketing Results?

Then you’ve got to know how to write for the web. That’s why we want to send you our latest ebook: Writing for the Web: 7 Secrets to Content Marketing Success for Education Marketers!

With this helpful resource from Caylor Solutions, you’ll learn how to:

Grab your reader’s attention immediately

Pull your reader’s attention deeper into your content

Write so that Google (and other search engines) find you easily

Increase your website’s conversion rates

In short, you’ll be able to write the copy that makes your digital marketing strategy work for you. Download your copy today!

Featured image by GaudiLab via Adobe Stock

This post was originally published at: https://www.caylor-solutions.com/3-key-strategies-ive-used-to-boost-my-productivity-during-the-holidays/

The post Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays appeared first on edSocialMedia.

https://ift.tt/2L0TWEy

[chipwin08109]

Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays

Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays

The holidays are notoriously unproductive times, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Follow these productivity hacks I’ve used to stay in the game this holiday season.

It’s inevitable. The holidays always bring a rush of activities as you try to balance your home and work life.

But the tension of holiday traditions at home while getting everything done at work are just the beginning.

Many education marketers also find it hard to get things done this month because of final exams and graduation.

You might not have this problem if you’ve got more staff and resources at your school.

But if you serve at a smaller private, organization, your non-marketing co-workers might not be able to collaborate with you on marketing projects in a timely fashion as all their extra time is being used for end of semester responsibilities.

There’s also the hard-to-measure reality of people just “clocking out” mentally.

Decembers are to the year what Fridays are to the week. Everyone’s productivity wanes as they look forward to their holiday vacation activities.

One other pesky thing that can bog down productivity is that many of your colleagues might be working shorter hours as they prepare for holiday parties.

Getting the answers you need to move forward on projects is hard when you keep getting out-of-office replies.

But while you can’t fire on all cylinders at holiday time, you can still get a lot done if you use the right approaches.

Here are the 3 productivity strategies that I use to boost my productivity, even during the holidays.

#1. Pomodoro Technique

It’s difficult to keep your mind on work-related matters for long periods during the festive season.

That’s where the Pomodoro technique comes in to save the day.

The procedure uses a timer to break down work into segments, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.

Here’s how it works:

Choose a task you’d like to get done.

Set a timer for 25 minutes (or whatever you decide).

Work on the task until the timer rings.

When the timer rings, stop.

Take a short 5 minute break (Grab a coffee, meditate or go for a short walk. Just make sure you do something not work related.)

After 4 sessions take a longer break of 20 or 30 minutes.

These short intense sessions allow you to do your best work.

Because the whole technique revolves around timing yourself as you work in short bursts, it’s helpful to have an app to track your progress.

So here are some handy Pomodoro apps to keep you focused throughout the day:

PomoDoneApp (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android) for using Pomodoro with a third-party task management app.

KanbanFlow (Web) for combining Kanban and Pomodoro.

Pomotodo (Web, Windows, macOS, Chrome, iOS, Android) for combining GTD® and Pomodoro.

Marinara Timer (Web) for teams looking to complete pomodoros together.

Be Focused (macOS, iOS) for simple task and time management on Apple devices.

Tomatoes (Web) for motivating you to complete pomodoros.

Engross (Android) for figuring out when you’re the most focused.

Pomodoro cc(Web) for people who are new to the Pomodoro Technique.

Timerdoro (Web) for people who need multiple timers.

#2. Getting Things Done (GTD)

Chaos is the number one enemy of productivity. GTD is all about ordering your workflow.

Here’s the essence of the GTD process in 5 simple steps:

1.    Capture what has your attention.

Use a notepad or voice recorder to collect the personal or professional projects or to-do lists.

2.    Clarify and prioritize.

Take everything you listed in step 1, and decide if it’s actionable or not. Something is actionable if it involves a visible, physical action. If not, discard it. If it takes two minutes or less, do it now. If more, set the time when you’ll do it or delegate it.

3.    Organize your list.

Group tasks into related categories (e.g. emails to send, meetings to attend, errands to run, etc.) Have action reminders on the lists.

4.    Review and reflect regularly.

Critique your list weekly. Decide what to do next. Update the list and refocus.

5.    Do what’s required.

Take action using the system you’ve created.

At its core, the GTD theory is simple: you work better when you are relaxed. By getting rid of clutter and organizing your thoughts, you can be more productive.

Use the technique’s 4 Ds to zip through your to-do list:

Do it, if it’s actionable and takes less than 2 minutes.

Drop it, if it’s not actionable.

Delegate it, if it takes more than two minutes.

Defer it, if you can’t do it that very day.

#3. Automation

Would you like to grow your email list, follow up on leads, and share great content to your audience on social media while enjoying the holiday at the same time?

Well, you can! By automating your marketing.

So much of marketing involves doing certain tasks again and again. Such jobs can be done on auto-pilot through automation software. Automate marketing tasks with tools like:

Buffer– schedule posts, analyze their performance, and manage all your social accounts in one place.

Hootsuite– schedule posts, manage multiple accounts, send targeted messages and monitor brand mentions.

CoSchedule– communicate in one place, integrate tools you use regularly and have a unified calendar for your team.

HubSpot CRM– organize, track, and nurture your leads and customers with ease.

Sharpspring – powerful marketing automation that helps you increase the leads you send to the enrollment team

Salesforce– get a unified view of every interaction with prospects, students, alumni, donors, and affiliates.

Marketo– engage students based on their individual interests, and respond appropriately based on their stage in the student lifecycle.

Put these three principles into practice as you implement your automation strategy:

1. Tie everything to your goals.

Don’t just use the latest automation tactic without checking to see if it aligns with your goals first. Only do what makes sense for your enrollment marketing plan.

2. Avoid generic messages.

It’s easy to fall into the temptation of bombarding your list with general messages. This is the quickest way of losing audience interest and ending up in the spam folder. Segment your audience and send highly-targeted content to them.

3. Engage current students.

Your institution’s best evangelists are the current students and their parents. Have specific campaigns targeted at them so as to keep them engaged.

While it’s true holiday cheer might keep you super busy in the coming weeks, your productivity levels don’t have to take a nosedive.

Try out these three productivity strategies to stay on top of your game and still have a good time with friends and family.

Want to Improve Your Digital Marketing Results?

Then you’ve got to know how to write for the web. That’s why we want to send you our latest ebook: Writing for the Web: 7 Secrets to Content Marketing Success for Education Marketers!

With this helpful resource from Caylor Solutions, you’ll learn how to:

Grab your reader’s attention immediately

Pull your reader’s attention deeper into your content

Write so that Google (and other search engines) find you easily

Increase your website’s conversion rates

In short, you’ll be able to write the copy that makes your digital marketing strategy work for you. Download your copy today!

Featured image by GaudiLab via Adobe Stock

This post was originally published at: https://www.caylor-solutions.com/3-key-strategies-ive-used-to-boost-my-productivity-during-the-holidays/

The post Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays appeared first on edSocialMedia.

https://ift.tt/2L0TWEy

[ptiodoors77028]

Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays

Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays

The holidays are notoriously unproductive times, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Follow these productivity hacks I’ve used to stay in the game this holiday season.

It’s inevitable. The holidays always bring a rush of activities as you try to balance your home and work life.

But the tension of holiday traditions at home while getting everything done at work are just the beginning.

Many education marketers also find it hard to get things done this month because of final exams and graduation.

You might not have this problem if you’ve got more staff and resources at your school.

But if you serve at a smaller private, organization, your non-marketing co-workers might not be able to collaborate with you on marketing projects in a timely fashion as all their extra time is being used for end of semester responsibilities.

There’s also the hard-to-measure reality of people just “clocking out” mentally.

Decembers are to the year what Fridays are to the week. Everyone’s productivity wanes as they look forward to their holiday vacation activities.

One other pesky thing that can bog down productivity is that many of your colleagues might be working shorter hours as they prepare for holiday parties.

Getting the answers you need to move forward on projects is hard when you keep getting out-of-office replies.

But while you can’t fire on all cylinders at holiday time, you can still get a lot done if you use the right approaches.

Here are the 3 productivity strategies that I use to boost my productivity, even during the holidays.

#1. Pomodoro Technique

It’s difficult to keep your mind on work-related matters for long periods during the festive season.

That’s where the Pomodoro technique comes in to save the day.

The procedure uses a timer to break down work into segments, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.

Here’s how it works:

Choose a task you’d like to get done.

Set a timer for 25 minutes (or whatever you decide).

Work on the task until the timer rings.

When the timer rings, stop.

Take a short 5 minute break (Grab a coffee, meditate or go for a short walk. Just make sure you do something not work related.)

After 4 sessions take a longer break of 20 or 30 minutes.

These short intense sessions allow you to do your best work.

Because the whole technique revolves around timing yourself as you work in short bursts, it’s helpful to have an app to track your progress.

So here are some handy Pomodoro apps to keep you focused throughout the day:

PomoDoneApp (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android) for using Pomodoro with a third-party task management app.

KanbanFlow (Web) for combining Kanban and Pomodoro.

Pomotodo (Web, Windows, macOS, Chrome, iOS, Android) for combining GTD® and Pomodoro.

Marinara Timer (Web) for teams looking to complete pomodoros together.

Be Focused (macOS, iOS) for simple task and time management on Apple devices.

Tomatoes (Web) for motivating you to complete pomodoros.

Engross (Android) for figuring out when you’re the most focused.

Pomodoro cc(Web) for people who are new to the Pomodoro Technique.

Timerdoro (Web) for people who need multiple timers.

#2. Getting Things Done (GTD)

Chaos is the number one enemy of productivity. GTD is all about ordering your workflow.

Here’s the essence of the GTD process in 5 simple steps:

1.    Capture what has your attention.

Use a notepad or voice recorder to collect the personal or professional projects or to-do lists.

2.    Clarify and prioritize.

Take everything you listed in step 1, and decide if it’s actionable or not. Something is actionable if it involves a visible, physical action. If not, discard it. If it takes two minutes or less, do it now. If more, set the time when you’ll do it or delegate it.

3.    Organize your list.

Group tasks into related categories (e.g. emails to send, meetings to attend, errands to run, etc.) Have action reminders on the lists.

4.    Review and reflect regularly.

Critique your list weekly. Decide what to do next. Update the list and refocus.

5.    Do what’s required.

Take action using the system you’ve created.

At its core, the GTD theory is simple: you work better when you are relaxed. By getting rid of clutter and organizing your thoughts, you can be more productive.

Use the technique’s 4 Ds to zip through your to-do list:

Do it, if it’s actionable and takes less than 2 minutes.

Drop it, if it’s not actionable.

Delegate it, if it takes more than two minutes.

Defer it, if you can’t do it that very day.

#3. Automation

Would you like to grow your email list, follow up on leads, and share great content to your audience on social media while enjoying the holiday at the same time?

Well, you can! By automating your marketing.

So much of marketing involves doing certain tasks again and again. Such jobs can be done on auto-pilot through automation software. Automate marketing tasks with tools like:

Buffer– schedule posts, analyze their performance, and manage all your social accounts in one place.

Hootsuite– schedule posts, manage multiple accounts, send targeted messages and monitor brand mentions.

CoSchedule– communicate in one place, integrate tools you use regularly and have a unified calendar for your team.

HubSpot CRM– organize, track, and nurture your leads and customers with ease.

Sharpspring – powerful marketing automation that helps you increase the leads you send to the enrollment team

Salesforce– get a unified view of every interaction with prospects, students, alumni, donors, and affiliates.

Marketo– engage students based on their individual interests, and respond appropriately based on their stage in the student lifecycle.

Put these three principles into practice as you implement your automation strategy:

1. Tie everything to your goals.

Don’t just use the latest automation tactic without checking to see if it aligns with your goals first. Only do what makes sense for your enrollment marketing plan.

2. Avoid generic messages.

It’s easy to fall into the temptation of bombarding your list with general messages. This is the quickest way of losing audience interest and ending up in the spam folder. Segment your audience and send highly-targeted content to them.

3. Engage current students.

Your institution’s best evangelists are the current students and their parents. Have specific campaigns targeted at them so as to keep them engaged.

While it’s true holiday cheer might keep you super busy in the coming weeks, your productivity levels don’t have to take a nosedive.

Try out these three productivity strategies to stay on top of your game and still have a good time with friends and family.

Want to Improve Your Digital Marketing Results?

Then you’ve got to know how to write for the web. That’s why we want to send you our latest ebook: Writing for the Web: 7 Secrets to Content Marketing Success for Education Marketers!

With this helpful resource from Caylor Solutions, you’ll learn how to:

Grab your reader’s attention immediately

Pull your reader’s attention deeper into your content

Write so that Google (and other search engines) find you easily

Increase your website’s conversion rates

In short, you’ll be able to write the copy that makes your digital marketing strategy work for you. Download your copy today!

Featured image by GaudiLab via Adobe Stock

This post was originally published at: https://www.caylor-solutions.com/3-key-strategies-ive-used-to-boost-my-productivity-during-the-holidays/

The post Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays appeared first on edSocialMedia.

https://ift.tt/2L0TWEy

[winreplace30303]

Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays

Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays

The holidays are notoriously unproductive times, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Follow these productivity hacks I’ve used to stay in the game this holiday season.

It’s inevitable. The holidays always bring a rush of activities as you try to balance your home and work life.

But the tension of holiday traditions at home while getting everything done at work are just the beginning.

Many education marketers also find it hard to get things done this month because of final exams and graduation.

You might not have this problem if you’ve got more staff and resources at your school.

But if you serve at a smaller private, organization, your non-marketing co-workers might not be able to collaborate with you on marketing projects in a timely fashion as all their extra time is being used for end of semester responsibilities.

There’s also the hard-to-measure reality of people just “clocking out” mentally.

Decembers are to the year what Fridays are to the week. Everyone’s productivity wanes as they look forward to their holiday vacation activities.

One other pesky thing that can bog down productivity is that many of your colleagues might be working shorter hours as they prepare for holiday parties.

Getting the answers you need to move forward on projects is hard when you keep getting out-of-office replies.

But while you can’t fire on all cylinders at holiday time, you can still get a lot done if you use the right approaches.

Here are the 3 productivity strategies that I use to boost my productivity, even during the holidays.

#1. Pomodoro Technique

It’s difficult to keep your mind on work-related matters for long periods during the festive season.

That’s where the Pomodoro technique comes in to save the day.

The procedure uses a timer to break down work into segments, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.

Here’s how it works:

Choose a task you’d like to get done.

Set a timer for 25 minutes (or whatever you decide).

Work on the task until the timer rings.

When the timer rings, stop.

Take a short 5 minute break (Grab a coffee, meditate or go for a short walk. Just make sure you do something not work related.)

After 4 sessions take a longer break of 20 or 30 minutes.

These short intense sessions allow you to do your best work.

Because the whole technique revolves around timing yourself as you work in short bursts, it’s helpful to have an app to track your progress.

So here are some handy Pomodoro apps to keep you focused throughout the day:

PomoDoneApp (Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android) for using Pomodoro with a third-party task management app.

KanbanFlow (Web) for combining Kanban and Pomodoro.

Pomotodo (Web, Windows, macOS, Chrome, iOS, Android) for combining GTD® and Pomodoro.

Marinara Timer (Web) for teams looking to complete pomodoros together.

Be Focused (macOS, iOS) for simple task and time management on Apple devices.

Tomatoes (Web) for motivating you to complete pomodoros.

Engross (Android) for figuring out when you’re the most focused.

Pomodoro cc(Web) for people who are new to the Pomodoro Technique.

Timerdoro (Web) for people who need multiple timers.

#2. Getting Things Done (GTD)

Chaos is the number one enemy of productivity. GTD is all about ordering your workflow.

Here’s the essence of the GTD process in 5 simple steps:

1.    Capture what has your attention.

Use a notepad or voice recorder to collect the personal or professional projects or to-do lists.

2.    Clarify and prioritize.

Take everything you listed in step 1, and decide if it’s actionable or not. Something is actionable if it involves a visible, physical action. If not, discard it. If it takes two minutes or less, do it now. If more, set the time when you’ll do it or delegate it.

3.    Organize your list.

Group tasks into related categories (e.g. emails to send, meetings to attend, errands to run, etc.) Have action reminders on the lists.

4.    Review and reflect regularly.

Critique your list weekly. Decide what to do next. Update the list and refocus.

5.    Do what’s required.

Take action using the system you’ve created.

At its core, the GTD theory is simple: you work better when you are relaxed. By getting rid of clutter and organizing your thoughts, you can be more productive.

Use the technique’s 4 Ds to zip through your to-do list:

Do it, if it’s actionable and takes less than 2 minutes.

Drop it, if it’s not actionable.

Delegate it, if it takes more than two minutes.

Defer it, if you can’t do it that very day.

#3. Automation

Would you like to grow your email list, follow up on leads, and share great content to your audience on social media while enjoying the holiday at the same time?

Well, you can! By automating your marketing.

So much of marketing involves doing certain tasks again and again. Such jobs can be done on auto-pilot through automation software. Automate marketing tasks with tools like:

Buffer– schedule posts, analyze their performance, and manage all your social accounts in one place.

Hootsuite– schedule posts, manage multiple accounts, send targeted messages and monitor brand mentions.

CoSchedule– communicate in one place, integrate tools you use regularly and have a unified calendar for your team.

HubSpot CRM– organize, track, and nurture your leads and customers with ease.

Sharpspring – powerful marketing automation that helps you increase the leads you send to the enrollment team

Salesforce– get a unified view of every interaction with prospects, students, alumni, donors, and affiliates.

Marketo– engage students based on their individual interests, and respond appropriately based on their stage in the student lifecycle.

Put these three principles into practice as you implement your automation strategy:

1. Tie everything to your goals.

Don’t just use the latest automation tactic without checking to see if it aligns with your goals first. Only do what makes sense for your enrollment marketing plan.

2. Avoid generic messages.

It’s easy to fall into the temptation of bombarding your list with general messages. This is the quickest way of losing audience interest and ending up in the spam folder. Segment your audience and send highly-targeted content to them.

3. Engage current students.

Your institution’s best evangelists are the current students and their parents. Have specific campaigns targeted at them so as to keep them engaged.

While it’s true holiday cheer might keep you super busy in the coming weeks, your productivity levels don’t have to take a nosedive.

Try out these three productivity strategies to stay on top of your game and still have a good time with friends and family.

Want to Improve Your Digital Marketing Results?

Then you’ve got to know how to write for the web. That’s why we want to send you our latest ebook: Writing for the Web: 7 Secrets to Content Marketing Success for Education Marketers!

With this helpful resource from Caylor Solutions, you’ll learn how to:

Grab your reader’s attention immediately

Pull your reader’s attention deeper into your content

Write so that Google (and other search engines) find you easily

Increase your website’s conversion rates

In short, you’ll be able to write the copy that makes your digital marketing strategy work for you. Download your copy today!

Featured image by GaudiLab via Adobe Stock

This post was originally published at: https://www.caylor-solutions.com/3-key-strategies-ive-used-to-boost-my-productivity-during-the-holidays/

The post Three Key Strategies I’ve Used to Boost My Productivity During the Holidays appeared first on edSocialMedia.

https://ift.tt/2L0TWEy