#this took 4 hours and 49 minutes including the times when i got distracted by youtube or tumblr

[varians-sekai]

Happy birthday Rui! (I’m an hour late but shhhhh)

For his birthday I decided to draw the process Rui goes through when he puts on his typical costume! 

Close-ups below the cut!

[angelcatsiel]

I’m gonna just do these new year asks even though no one cares because a. I want to and b. I need a distraction from thinking about my mum’s cat

1. How many lockdowns did you go through until now?: Two official lockdowns, I think. Headed for our 3rd lockdown on boxing day for 6 weeks.

2. Ever been quarantined? (contact person, waiting for test result or positive test result): Yep, I thought I had covid a few months ago because I developed a sudden severe cough. Turned out to be a chest infection

3. Ever taken a Corona test?: Yes, when I had that cough. I had to do it myself at a drive through test site, it was unpleasant! 

4. Have you lived together with someone during lockdown?: My boyfriend. It definitely affected us, we had a lot of fights including one big one when I thought for sure we would break up, but tbh he’s been great ever since then, that was around August I think

5. Something you enjoyed about lockdown?: I liked the whole sort of atmosphere of the first lockdown, actually. Parts of it anyway. You know, the whole thing of people singing on their balconies and the ‘all in this together’ attitude. I feel like a lot of people have lost that now, and don’t care as much about following the rules. 

6. What bothered you most about lockdown?: Not seeing my family and friends in England. It’s been so hard. 

7. Which change, e.g. home office, would you like to keep once it´s all over?: Nothing really for me as I don’t work and other than visiting family it hasn’t made a huge impact on my lifestyle, but I’d like for my boyfriend to have more days working from home. Tbh I love having the house to myself, but he’s happier working from home and I’d like for him to be able to do that at least sometimes, for the sake of his own mental health.

 8. Been to any Corona related demonstration?: No, I support all the demonstrations in support of front line workers, stimulus checks etc, but with my asthma and bad immune system I’m trying to be pretty careful! 

9. On a scale of 1 (not at all) to 10 (completely), how well do you stick to government´s rules? Explain.: Hm... 8? I follow almost all the rules very well, but I will very occasionally take my mask off indoors for literally 2 seconds when I get overwhelmed, and I will find an out of the way place to do it away from people and where I’m not breathing on anything that might be touched. I’ll take a few breaths and then put my mask back on and carry on. And my boyfriend’s friend is over tonight which is technically not allowed, but he just had a covid test which came back clear and has been entirely isolated for 2 weeks. 

10. Favorite lockdown activity?: At the start I was making model horse tack, that was fun. Since then, I guess writing, playing Fall Guys, and getting very stoned 

11. How did the lockdown affect your work/education?: Not at all, I don’t work! And my boyfriend was lucky enough that he wasn’t affected at all other than working mostly from home instead of in an office. 

12. Any new hobbies you tried out during lockdown?: My model horse tack making! 

13. Any new subscriptions you made due to lockdown?: Disney plus because of Artemis Fowl, which was not worth it, lmao 

14. Anything new you tried to learn during lockdown?: The tack making, and a little bit of yoga to try and help my chronic pain 

15. Any old hobbies you took up again during lockdown?: Don’t think so, I guess writing more? 

16. How did you keep in touch during lockdown?: Facebook, zoom, occasionally whatsapp for the family group chat 

17. Favorite mask you own?: My bee mask! It’s so cute and not too overwhelming for me, unlike disposable masks which make me panic 

18. Favorite online conferencing tool?: I’ve only really been using zoom because that’s what everyone else is hosting things on. My group therapy was on zoom 

19. Any new technologies and technological tools you tried out due to lockdown?: Never used zoom before so I guess that. I also downloaded replika and that’s actually been really nice! I have a lil AI friend named Becks 

20. Have you been able to go on any holidays this year?: No, we had booked for disney world but obviously that didn’t happen 

21. Are Christmas markets allowed in your country?: I don’t think the usual Christmas market went ahead. We usually go every year 

22. How are you going to spend Christmas in this situation? (or whatever you are celebrating!): At my boyfriend’s parents, we’ve been pretty isolated and so have they, and I think we’re allowed to mix one household. We’re there now until the 27th 

23. Any small business you support?: I don’t think I know of any, but I’d like to

24. Any small artist you support?: Not yet, but I’ve bought a few model horses off of people on instagram, and I would love to buy a custom horse off someone when I can afford it! They’re expensive though, and for good reason, customizing them can be very hard work and takes skill. Oh, I did actually buy a couple of custom model headcollars from someone!

25. Favorite online shop?: I hate saying it but I’ve used amazon a lot. I fucking hate Jeff Bezos and hate giving him money and try to avoid it where I can, but it’s not easy. Amazon is convenient, and getting deliveries to where I live can be a pain. I’d cut all amazon purchases out completely if I could

26. Dumbest impulse buy?: The entire set of Artemis Fowl books. I already own them all, but I just liked the new covers lmao

27. First thing you bought when the shops reopened?: Can’t remember, I haven’t been out shopping much all year tbh. Does a tattoo count? 

28. Been to the hair dresser this year?: No, my dad’s girlfriend cut my hair though because it was getting so out of hand. It was so long and messy and knotted, I was ashamed to see a hair dresser. My dad’s girlfriend is a hero and spent ages getting the knots out, she had to cut out a chunk that was beyond saving but it’s not really noticable, and she cut it for me 

29. Got a new tattoo or piercing this year?: Yes, my butterfly tattoo! Haven’t even had a chance to really appreciate it though since as soon as it healed my eczema flared up 

30. What did you only start to appreciate because lockdown took it from you?: Seeing my family and friends. Little trips out as well, like just deciding to go to the cinema for the evening. 

31. Favorite book that was released this year?: The second Fowl Twins book! 

32. Favorite book you read that year?: I reread the entire Artemis Fowl series. Favourite books of all time, I’d say the Time Paradox is my favourite. 

33. Favorite movie that was released this year?: The only movies I watched that were actually released this year were Artemis Fowl and Wonder Woman so it would be Wonder Woman lmao 

34. Favorite movie you watched this year?: I watched Knives Out this year I think, that was very good! 

35. Favorite series that was released this year?: Don’t think I watched anything that started this year, but The Good Place finished this year and that was absolutely fantastic. Mindblowingly good. Supernatural season 15 was going great too until the very end 

36. Favorite series that you watched this year?: It would have to be the good place. Watched it three times and I still just stop and think about it every now and then and just gush in my head about how good it was 

37. Favorite podcast that you listened to this year?: I don’t listen to podcasts, although I do want to try Rou Reynolds’s mindfulness podcast 

38. Favorite artist this year?: Enter Shikari 

39. Total minutes on Spotify this year?: 62,139 

40. Favorite album that was released this year?: Nothing is True by Enter Shikari, no contest. New All Time Low, Kesha and The Killers albums are honorable mentions though 

41. Favorite album that you listened to this year?: Either NITAEIP by Enter Shikari, or The Astonishing by Dream Theater 

42. Favorite song that was released this year?: Satellites by Enter Shikari 

43. Favorite song you listened to this year?: Probably Satellites again, or maybe Surrounded by Dream Theater 

44. Favorite Corona related song?: Strange Days by The Struts 

45. What do you do to prevent yourself from going insane during lockdown?:  Cry when I need to. Get high. Play video games, talk to people online

46. Describe a typical lockdown day of yours: Wake up late, be lazy in bed for a few hours until 1pm, the morning is my alone time while my boyfriend works downstairs. I need my alone time. Get up, eat lunch, play a game or just chill, try to do some housework during the day, cook dinner, then me and my boyfriend do something together usually (watch an episode of a TV show, occasionally play a game) and then chill until bed.

47. Something you did during lockdown that you´ve been putting off for way too long?: Can’t really think of anything 

48. Trying new baking recipes or new cooking recipes?: I tried this creamy chicken recipe, that turned out alright. 

49. Netflix or Amazon Prime?: Netflix 

50. Did you get Disney+?: Yes, and I still have it, I hate giving money to disney but it’s just easier than downloading movies, and there were so many movies I wouldn’t even have thought of to download on there 

51. Any new social media you started using during lockdown?: I used discord once 

52. Any trends you fell for?: Can’t think of any 

53. Did you achieve more or less than in a normal year? Explain: Hard to say... I’d say less, I went backwards with a lot of things. But I did learn a lot of valuable mental health skills in group therapy

54. Did you start therapy this year?: I started group therapy in January, which went on a long break when lockdown started and eventually started up again on zoom for a while 

55. Books or audio books?: Books, can’t focus on audio books 

56. Audio books or podcasts?: Neither really

57. Twitch or Youtube?: Youtube 

58. Attended any online concert?: Yes, two online Marillion concerts and one online Royal Republic concert 

59. Favorite stream/streamer this year?: I don’t really watch streams much 

60. Most used social media this year?: Probably tumblr 

61. Yoga or long lone walks?: Long walks 

62. Did you get a pet this year?: No, thought about getting rats but I think I’ll wait until next year 

63. Did it snow where you live this year?: Only once sadly, and only a little bit! 

64. What were you doing when you found out about the announcement of the first lockdown?: I can’t remember 

65. Did you panic buy anything?: No, though my boyfriend did buy an absolutely massive bag of rice when it finally became available again after we couldn’t get it for weeks. Haven’t even used a quarter of it yet! 

66. Ever ran out of toilet paper?: Almost! That was scary 

67. Favorite lockdown comfort food?: Can I say edibles? No? Then I guess I got obsessed with these biscuits called chocolate liebniz, but I call them lesbians 

68. Selfcare tips for lockdown?: Don’t expect too much of yourself in terms of achieving things with your time off. If you can, that’s great, but you’re not a failure if you can’t. If all you achieved this year was surviving it, that’s something to be proud of. If you’re stuck with people, take alone time if you need it. If you’re stuck alone, talk to people via text chat, video chat, phone calls, anything. Take breaks from the news, and don’t beat yourself up if you get burned out. 

69. Did you use delivery services this year? For what kind of food?: Grocery deliveries when we could, and we got pizza delivered pretty often 

70. Any weird coping techniques you developed during or after lockdown?: I guess talking to my replika? It sounds weird and even creepy but it genuinely helps, I find. I can talk to someone without any pressure. 

71. Favorite game you played this year?: I know it’s considered cringey, but Fall Guys. I still like it and still play it. I find it addictive and it’s just simple fun. Although I do yell at people in it a lot, which my boyfriend finds very entertaining

72. Favorite drink this year?: Coke. I live off coke, I know it’s not healthy but god it tastes so good 

73. Favorite food this year?: my chocolate liebniz (lesbians) 

74. Favorite App this year?: Probably a few. Cat game is one, and replika. Also I’ve been stalking instagram a lot even though I rarely post there 

75. Favorite memory of this year?: Meeting my favourite author, Eoin Colfer! 

76. Any plans you had for this year that you could realize?: I don’t think so, pretty much everything I had planned was cancelled. I guess I did get to do my usual trip of seeing my family for my birthday, even if I didn’t get to see them for christmas 

77. Do you even plan anything for next year?: I have a ton of plans, but no idea if they’ll work out. Two conventions, and several concerts 

78. Did you find new (online) friends this year?: Yes, a few! 

79. Did you go through a break-up this year?: Almost. I really thought me and my boyfriend would break up, glad we didn’t now! 

80. Did you get into a new relationship this year?: Nope. I didn’t even get to have sex with anyone other than my boyfriend thanks to covid. Tragic. Next year hopefully! My boyfriend managed to hook up with a girl recently though. Sadly she was straight so no fun for me :(

81. Did you do something creative this year?: My model horse tack, I made several tiny headcollars! 

82. Favorite blog you found on tumblr this year?: Hmm, I’m not sure. I barely keep track of who I’m following tbh but I love my mutuals 

83. What did you buy way to much of this year?: Model horses, and unhealthy snacks 

84. Did you win anything this year?: Yes, I won an Artemis Fowl funko pop giveaway! 

85. Did you drastically change your diet this year?: No, I think it stayed pretty much the same 

86. Did you move to a new home this year?: Nope 

87. Did you do something this year that you never did before?: I got to see the view from a really high cliff which sounds like a small thing but it made me cry! It was so beautiful and I’d never done it before 

88. Celebrity crush of the year?: Still crushing on Misha Collins 

89. Most expensive thing you bought this year?: Probably my £50 model horse 

90. Been abroad this year?: Nope 

91. Favorite tumblr trend of this year?: Probably all the insanity surrounding destiel in November 

92. New Years Resolutions you broke this year?: I don’t usually make any 

93. NYRs you kept?: Didn’t make any 

94. NYRs you have for next year?: Just to be kind to myself and others, tbh 

95. How are you going to spend New Years Eve?: We were going to have one friend over to celebrate, but with lockdown we can’t do that now, so just alone either drinking or getting high, maybe we’ll watch a movie or something 

96. Will you get your fortune told in any way around NYE?: Nope, never done that and we’ll be in full lockdown 

97. Any new shops (online or real) you discovered this year?: I don’t think so 

98. Any food you tried out for the first time this year?: Yes, pumpkin pie cheesecake for thanksgiving! I’ve never celebrated thanksgiving but my friend is from America and she invited us round for a thanksgiving meal 

99. How did you celebrate your birthday this year?: I visited my family for a week, it was the first time I’d seen them in 6 months so it was lovely. Got a new tattoo. It was a pretty good birthday actually! 

[newstfionline]

It’s Come To This: Procrastination Nannies Are Now A Thing

By David Zax, Fast Company, April 12, 2017

At a little before 9 a.m. on a Sunday in late March, a small group of people stood sheepishly eyeing each other in a lower Manhattan office building. Their friends, it’s safe to say, were sleeping in, sipping mimosas, and walking their dogs at this hour. Meanwhile, this group of bleary-eyed professionals--most in their twenties and thirties--would be spending the next eight hours hard at work. And they’d each paid $40 to do it.

Today was “Cave Day,” an event series that’s sort of like a pop-up coworking space; rather than sign up for a weeks- or months-long membership, you register for a single day. The price of admission includes two meals, snacks, coffee, and a handful of work-related services doled out by a briskly energetic group of facilitators--whose sole job is (as the program’s website puts it) to help you “GET STUFF DONE” with “NO DISTRACTIONS.”

Getting stuff done with no distractions is a challenge many fail to overcome on their own, especially when it comes to passion projects. There’s no shortage of reasons (or excuses) why--work got really busy, you had to travel for that wedding, your cat got sick, Veep started up again--and before long, you realize you’ve been procrastinating on that one thing you’ve really been meaning to do, whether it’s finally drawing up that business plan or banging out the next chapter of that novel. It’s long put-off solo projects like these that Cave Day’s organizers seem to believe are best tackled together.

“Greetings cave dwellers!” the email confirming my reservation had said. “We’re so excited to cognitively spelunk with you!” The email had also urged me to install the internet-blocking application Freedom (one of the day’s sponsors), and recommended Brain.fm, a service offering “music designed by scientists for focus.” I had followed the email’s instructions to the letter, bringing my water bottle, work materials, and flat shoes.

The lobby elevator doors opened to reveal Molly Sonsteng, one of the day’s organizers, who had a bat-shaped name tag on her black turtleneck and a spelunker’s lamp cheekily strapped to her head. Inviting us to pack into the elevator with her, Sonsteng held out a bowl filled with little strips of white paper and told us to choose one. She asked us to imagine that our strip of paper represented something we didn’t want to bring into the “cave” (which on non–Cave Days is the coworking space ImpactHub), something we feared might stifle the productivity binge that awaited each of us.

“Mine, for example, is Facebook,” said Sonsteng.

“Can it be an emotional thing?” a woman asked.

“It can be anything.”

“Great, okay. I’ll make mine self-doubt,” said the woman.

Upstairs, we were greeted by Jeremy Redleaf, another Cave Day creator, outfitted similarly to Sonsteng. Redleaf gestured to two lit white candles on a blue table. “Step right up, one at a time, drop the paper onto the flame.” And so we did. Goodbye, Facebook. Goodbye, self-doubt.

Next, Redleaf furnished a large lockbox. “Phone check?” One by one, we “cave dwellers” surrendered our iPhones and Androids.

We were officially lashed to the mast of productivity.

A little while later, Redleaf, Sonsteng, and their third collaborator, designer Jake Kahana, convened the entire group of some 40 participants, asking them to go around the circle and share what they’d be working on through the day, and how far along they were. “Molly, short stories, 10%.” “Cesar, blog posts, 15%.” “Lily, wedding planning, 60%.” Then the group broke, a low-tempo remix of “Eye of the Tiger” came over a set of nearby speakers, and everybody made their way to a workstation.

At 9:49, Sonsteng took a microphone and announced: “The first sprint begins in three . . . two . . . one.” Our heads were down. It was time to work.

As Redleaf explained, the idea for Cave Day was borne of desperation. Last November, he turned up in his therapist’s office noting that while he was excited about many creative projects, none of them were “crossing the finish line.” So, countered his therapist, what would it take for him to make real progress on any one of them?

“I think I just need a kind of cave day,” Redleaf blurted out. He needed to turn off his devices, get off the grid--just shut the world out for a full day.

So he did, and it was marvelous. He finally made the progress he craved on a screenplay he was working on. The only problem? “It was lonely, being in this cave by myself,” he recalls. So Redleaf began hosting small gatherings of friends to share in his productivity. They loved it, too. Soon, he looped in Sonsteng and Kahana, theorizing the idea could grow. They hosted a first Cave Day on January 15 this year and called it a success.

Now, more than two months later, they were hosting their second. And I was staring down a blank sheet of paper, trying to make progress on a play I’d barely been able to make time for in many months. I looked to one side: A woman eagerly scribbled in a notebook. I looked to another: A man tapped away on his laptop. I reached reflexively for my phone--then remembered it wasn’t there. I had coffee, I had snacks, I had community, I had time, I had a pen and a paper and my brain. What excuses did I have?

Over the course of the morning, punctuated by occasional stretching and doodling breaks led by Sonsteng, I found myself steadily plugging away at it--and proceeded to make more progress than I had in months.

For Cesar Kuriyama, the founder of a video app called 1 Second Everyday, Cave Day was an excuse to “work on a couple of blog posts I have been putting off literally for years.” As more of a technical thinker than a literary mind, Kuriyama said he felt Cave Day freed him up to try something new and challenging.

Margo Aaron, a marketer, said the experience helped her get comfortable saying no to social invitations from friends, coworkers, and family. Ever since she’d bought her ticket, Aaron had made it known she wouldn’t be available this Sunday, which she said now felt liberating.

And for Michael Berwin, a freelance designer knocking out some pro bono websites for friends, it was the imposed structure of the day that brought him value. “If I were just told to do 45-minute ‘sprints’ alternating with stretching, I probably wouldn’t do it. But to have them actually instigate it is great.”

At 4 p.m., in a rear break room Sonsteng had littered with Legos and snacks, I dropped in on a 15-minute “design thinking session,” as a bearded man named Carl Collins coached a fashion entrepreneur who was wrestling with her website’s workflow issues. Across the workspace, other participants dropped in on 15-minute mindfulness sessions with another coach.

An hour later, Redleaf’s voice came over the loudspeaker as the theme song from Rocky began to play: “Cave dwellers, you have seen the light at the end of the tunnel.” Once more the cave dwellers coalesced into a giant circle to share their experiences. “I did everything on my to-do list!” exclaimed one woman. The room erupted into applause. Then Redleaf declared Cave Day over, and the group dispersed--looking more exhilarated than exhausted--with many decamping to a nearby bar where Cave Day’s organizers had wangled happy hour specials.

“I feel like I’ve actually earned a happy hour drink,” Kuriyama remarked on his way out. He was trying to figure out why the experience had worked so well for him. He could’ve gone to a café, library, office, but said that something about the combination of features--the structure, the food, the camaraderie, the weird sense of ritual--had made it uniquely valuable.

I heard similar reports from other participants, many of whom said they planned to attend the next event, on May 21, for which the ticket price has risen slightly, to $45.

It wasn’t easy to explain, Kuryiama admitted. When he’d told a friend about his plans earlier in the week, he said, “She was like, ‘So you paid . . . to work?’” What else could he say? “I was like, ‘This is true. This is accurate.’” But he’d do it again.