Life Update / Taking Time On Projects

Quick Update

Hey all!

I’ve been gone for a hot minute, and for good reason.

My amazing wife gave birth to our second child on March 19th. We are so stoked to welcome Joel Simeon Pugh (see his photo below) to the family and have had our hands full learning how to take care of a new born while chasing a two and a half year old round and round. It has been exhausting. It has also been the coolest thing to happen to us so far in life.

Before that, I was all tied down trying to prep for my two weeks off from work while preparing our home life for baby boy to join us as well.

So, I am sorry I have been gone, but I am back to my full time job and to creating content again this week!

So excited to be back online and back in the saddle of working again.

I do love it so.

Hope you all are doing well!

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Ship it, but make sure it’s the product you want it to be.

There is always this balance I fight to maintain. This balance is between shipping (publishing, sharing, etc.) art, content, music, videos, projects, etc. and taking time to make that thing really special and as perfect as possible. I always tend to air on the side of “good enough, ship it”. I try to get out a ton of content because honestly, I like to ship.

I really don’t think this is a bad thing, however, I always end up finding myself being inspired by other creators who actually take their time and ship great projects.

Part of the problem with my somewhat reckless, quick turn around on projects is that I have my hands in too many things. For starters, I am a dad (of two now), a husband, and I have a full time job. That alone is enough for most people’s plates.

For whatever reason, I am a crazy hobbyist and am always lost in side projects and creative endeavors in my small amount of free time. Because of this small creative space, I am always searching for ways to create “minimum viable products” when it comes to content creation and art.

Though I am able to create lots of content this way, I am not 100% happy with the products I ship.

It’s always a struggle, but this time off from work has allowed me to think about the things I am making and I really want to push myself to hold on to projects just a little longer, to work harder on them, and bring them closer to the finished result I first imagined in my little mind’s eye.

For starters, this means less YouTube videos, less newsletters, less shared photos, etc. BUT(!) this will also hopefully mean each of these products will be far better in quality and hopefully have a greater impact on those who consume them.

I will still do my best to maintain consistency - just on a less frequent basis.

That said, if any of you are also considering something similar I must warn you of one thing:

If you never ship, it doesn’t matter how great the product is.

So, if you have something to share, share it, but share it well.

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Grab my Notion Morning To-do List Launchpad

This is how I start my day each morning when I get into the office. This launchpad includes a morning to-do list to set my mind and focus on the most important things first. It also presents a quick view of my main projects and where they lie on my radar. Finally, a social posting checklist is to the right, so I can stay present on my social media channels of choice each day.

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Latest Content

Videos

Main Channel:

I am a pretty average guy with a pretty average life. But I love it and I love the rhythms I go through each day. In this video, I discuss my morning routine and how I set myself up for productive days.

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Many of you know of my affinity for Apple products. That even goes for their phone cases. But let’s be honest, the leather case is the best of the best.

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Photography Channel:

A POV Photo Walk from last October on 5th Ave in New York City.

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POV Photo walk of a rainy Friday afternoon in Vinton, VA.

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This video discusses street photography when there are no people around. Time to get creative.

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In this sit-down, I discuss street photography on a rainy day that forced me to be content coming up short.

Favorite photos from March

Follow my new photography Instagram Account.

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Stuff I’ve Been Enjoying

Fujifilm X-T4 — My new camera and I’m pretty excited about it.

Lemon8 — It’s a mix between Pinterest and Instagram. Leans more female but I’m posting a little there to see what it’s all about. Owned by the company that owns TikTok so take that as you may.

Pedometer — Sounds lame but I want a way to see my steps on my Apple Watch face.

Mighty DOOM — Spent too many hours playing this while feeding the baby. Good one-handed arcade kinda deal set in the DOOM universe.

Bonjoro — Cool way to send videos to customers to update/thank them for buying your products, etc.

White Border — Stupid simple app to put borders on your images.

(Not Boring) Habits — Aesthetic is cool. Narrative story-driven kinda take on habit making/breaking.

Arc Browser — Finally out with the mobile version.

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