Hello everyone! We’re already in the last full week of January and I hope you’re all doing well, taking care of yourselves and kicking ass at whatever goals you set for yourself. I spent this month figuring out what I want to accomplish this year and like I said earlier, I’ve changed from annual goals to monthly goals. They’re all still part of larger goals, but I wanted to shake things up and see how I like focusing on a couple of things per month to keep things manageable. 2024 is all about new frontiers for me!

Podcasting About Modern Stoicism

One of my main goals for January is to record my first podcast. It’s taken a lot of hard thinking, because I didn’t really have a clear vision about it yet. I considered podcasting alone, or with friends (which is still a possibility) and I considered two topics; gaming and Stoicism/mindfulness. I was also considering doing it in Dutch or English, because well, that changes the whole premise of the podcast to start with. But when I finally came up with the title (which will be kept a little secret for now) I translated it to Dutch and was like “No, that really doesn’t work.” So, I’m doing an English podcast about Stoicism and I plan to record the first episode before the end of the month. I’m not entirely sure if I will be releasing it then either. I still need to figure out a few things about actually getting my podcast out there on Spotify and the like. But no worries, I’m sure I’ll get it all figured out!

Streaming Video Games

Today I ordered a capture card. The only thing left now is a new, small TV set so I can hook that up to my Switch. I’ll be streaming retro games and releases on my Switch. So it’ll be a bit of a mix between those two. Although I’m sure that my first stream will be a retro game, but I have to settle for which one. I’ll probably do a poll for it later. I’m also going to split my social media into two separate accounts. One will be exclusive to my writing, blogging and podcasting. The other will be purely about gaming. One thing that I’ve been keeping tabs on is that my blogs about gaming are way less popular and I think it’s best if I split my socials so I can focus on the right content for the right media.

Writing That Damn Novel

Yes! I haven’t forgotten that I’m an author. Don’t worry. I have been using Canva to create some really cool AI images to help me get into the “write” mood. I will probably share a couple of them later, so you all have an idea what my characters look like, or at least a close approximation.

Yesterday I talked with Bren about the novel and brainstormed for a bit about it. I have settled on making the entire back story of Bo Damos (the protagonist) one big odyssey as she tries to survives snowy wastes, discovers ancient temples and attempts to make her way back to civilization. She won’t be alone for the entire journey either, but the journey will be hers alone to make.

Slow Starts Are Better

One thing I really like about my new approach is that this month is more about letting ideas crystalize, before actually delving deep into them. It fits perfectly with January, which is a month that is usually slow, with little to no big events.

How has your January been treating you so far? Please let me know in the comments!

Happy Monday!

Jeffrey