progress punk update december 4

self improvement stuff, media stuff, project stuff :)

hi everybody! this is not going to be a super exciting or concise post, but i wanted to give you pals some updates about what i've been thinking about because that is, after all, what you've signed up for!

reminder that this is a non-hierarchical space where i am NOT an expert in almost anything, so feel free to open a dialogue with me! i'm not really sure how messaging or commenting works on substack, but drop me a line!

self improvement stuff: making a daily schedule with sectograph & the pixel watch 2

daily scheduling

i've had some realizations recently about how i make decisions and the struggles i have with the entire subject, which i will be detailing in a forthcoming post. part of the evolving situation made me realize that i need more of a daily schedule.

in the push and pull of being neurodivergent and both hating and needing structure, i needed a daily schedule that was flexible enough to allow me to make decisions on the fly about what activity to devote myself to, and yet narrowed down the choices so i didn't end up ragequitting the decision making process and, instead, scrolling on my phone for 3 hours.

i work in the evenings, but i am a morning person. i'm also going to be going back to grad school in january (i am on a break now). therefore, i needed to get in the habit of sitting down to do REAL studying in the morning BEFORE work tires me out.

so i designed my ideal schedule. i would normally advise against scheduling your ideal day and trying to make it happen, but i am very forgiving with myself (this time!) if something doesn't go according to plan. i try to keep in mind that my schedule is a rough estimate of what i should be devoting time to, and i am training my brain to do the right thing. if things get done out of order or not at all, i am okay!

so if you're looking for ideas for making your own daily schedule, mine includes leisurely morning time (coffee, breakfast, pills), hygiene time wherein i take the fastest & simplest shower on record, an hour of study time (while i am out of school, this is read-a-book-for-fun time just to get me in the habit), and then Get Shit Done time for about two hours before work. Get Shit Done time is when i get to prioritize what i feel is most important (or enjoyable) that day. when i go back to school, this might be more schoolwork, but for now i am making phone calls, bullet journaling at the coffee shop, and doing random cleaning tasks (sometimes). on the weekends, i do Get Shit Done time in the afternoons while my laundry is running, and then art time. make sure you schedule meal times too!

too much phone time

relatedly, i have been on a crusade to use my phone less. if i was doing something genuinely enriching, like really enjoying screen-based media or expressive creation or catching up with my beloved friends, it would be a different story-- but i often find myself neglecting those things and scrolling in a way that is NOT making me happy. (though i do still do a lot of messaging with my loved ones!) HOWEVER, with various life situations COMBINED with a general propensity toward anxiety, ignoring notifications makes me nervous as hell.

therefore, i thought maybe i could get a smart watch and use it to assuage my phone anxiety while also avoiding scrolling.

solution: pixel watch 2 & sectograph app

i ended up deciding on the pixel watch 2, because i have a pixel phone... and they were on sale. i disabled all the fitness tracking (which i wasn't sure i would be able to do, but actually ended up being easy!) because i felt like measuring those things would give me anxiety.

i set up the watch so i would only get my most important notifications from my phone. besides that, it just shows a static screen with my schedule and the time and date. i can also use it to control spotify, but that is rather clunky in my opinion. (happy spotify wrapped day though!)

i was previously using tiimo for scheduling, which is designed for neurodivergent brains, but it does not have watch functionality at the time of this writing. therefore, i switched to the app sectograph, which also provides a visual schedule. it's more for business types with a lot of meetings, and does not include checklists for each activity, but i am enjoying being able to see my color-coded day in an easily digestible form.

glancing at my watch will tell me if anyone has messaged me with important news AND the time AND approximately how long i have in my current activity. i feel like my set-up has REALLY helped me with my attention span and anxiety, especially when i am trying to read.

that is all to say that i HIGHLY recommend the pixel watch 2 and the app sectograph together, for both daily routine planning and staying off social media.

media stuff: what i've been reading

witch in darkness by kelly ann maddox

anyone who keeps up with my witchcraft stuff knows that i am a big fan of kelly ann maddox. i feel like she brings a lot of inspiration for possibilities for your practice without bogging you down with must-do's.

her second book, witch in darkness, is about responsibly practicing witchcraft and spirituality when you're feeling strong (usually negative) emotions. while it's PACKED with ideas for witchcraft when the shit hits the fan, she also recommends that you notice when it's NOT time to witch.

as is often the case, i have not finished this one yet (especially because i started over so i could make notes) but so far it's absolutely one of my favorite witchcraft books ever.

open throat by henry hoke

this is a poetic narrative told from the point of view of a queer mountain lion and it is amazing. honestly, i would not have known interpreted the narrator as queer from just the text, but knowing that the author intended that layer makes it so much richer. HIGHLY recommend this one.

my projects: what i'm up to

new job

obviously i don't want to doxx myself, but i started a new job monday. it's a promotion and at a different location, but it's not going to be too different than what i was doing before! it definitely has me tired out though, so i haven't been doing as much creative work as i would like!

top surgery

i'm getting top surgery in march! that's all!

baking

lately, i've been craving something to really dig my intellectual teeth into, and both creative work and my new job are NOT scratching the itch. i've actually been really missing my days problem-solving as a theatrical technician. therefore, i think i'm going to bake more often to have something to perfect!

what to expect from me in the future

substack

in the works is some stuff about making decisions and also a post about where else on the internet you can find me! for now, if you'd like to check out linktr.ee/bugtourmaline , feel free! remember, i make almost NO money off my projects, so they're all available!

zines

the winter solstice is coming up, and i'm going to try to have something witchy ready by then!

also in the works are some poetry chapbooks, which will be available on itch.io just like my zines!

i am also working on something about your poetry practice, based on the talk i gave at queer zest zine fest.

if you ever want to collab, let me know!