Hello everyone! We’re already in week 8 of this new year and the first signs of spring are showing, finally. The past years I’ve always felt as if February was just some sort of January 2.0. Boring, dark, cold and wet (at least here in the Netherlands). A true winter with some proper snow and ice has yet to present itself, and I doubt it’s coming at this point. Thanks global warming!

Last week I shared my goals for February with you and I’ve been having a lot of fun with my new projects. Admittedly, I’ve spent more time on live streaming video games and my new Instagram page, than I have on other projects, but there’s one thing I wanted to let go of this year and that’s that I must spend time on my projects when I don’t feel like it. They are pet projects that I want to explore at my own pace. More on that in a future blog!

Fuck it, let’s just do it!

Sometimes, you just got to dive into something you know next to nothing about. That’s what I wanted to experience this year, by starting a Twitch channel and recording a podcast. It’s new ground, it’s fresh and exciting. It’s something I haven’t done before and most importantly, it’s something I want to explore and become good at. But the most important thing is that it should be fun to do.

A lot of our regrets come from things we don’t do in life. So with that in mind, I decided to delve into new areas that I don’t know much about. Of course, I started with reading about the subjects and asking people I know who are already doing these things what kind of things are needed. One thing that’s handy in my case is that you need a good microphone for recording a podcast, but also for live streaming. On top of that, I even got a good microphone from a friend of ours who once bought it, but decided not to use it. I’m glad she gifted me the microphone instead, it’s really proven to be a great tool for my projects!

We all got to start somewhere

If you ever wanted to do something you haven’t done before, just ask yourself: “Why am I not doing it?” Is it because you think you’ll be shit at it, or that it’s just some stupid idea? Well, it really is not. Sure, there’s a factor of talent involved in almost every endeavour, but everyone can reach a certain level of skill in almost every hobby. If it interests you, you’re much more prone to learn as well, which is a big boon.

When I started my two new pet projects I just knew I wanted to do them and everything will get better as I go along. That’s my take on things at least. If there’s room for improvement, then I’ll just take small steps to get better at it. One thing with streaming that I’m aware of now is that I need a better webcam. Another is that I need to work on making the stream more appealing by doing a couple of things, some graphical work and playing certain types of games that will allow me to grow and interact with my audience and make the stream more interesting to watch. That will all come in due time, because I know another trick and that’s if you create enough content and keep a steady stream going, you’ll stay relevant and people will start to take notice.

Making the best of it

So, that’s pretty much my take on pet projects. It’s all about having fun, improving constantly and getting out of my comfort zone, by breaking new ground!

What’s your new project going to be? Are you finally going to start painting, or writing that novel? Please let me know in the comments!

Happy Monday!

Jeffrey