This was written April 28, 2024
Hello everyone and welcome back. Well, I haven’t exactly been active this month, which is why I wanted to take the time to write this post.
First of all, I did work on the Youtube extension mentioned in Youtube Extension – Introduction, and have a prototype that fulfills most of the initial needs, although it does have some bugs that I will need to iron out. I’m also daily driving it, which should help me a bit. But while I am still planning to write posts on the topic, I think it will definitely be challenging, since my goal is to bring to a level where my thoughts and process can transpire, while also making it beginner friendly. But I just need to sit down and find some time to go through my videos and write some posts.
Next up, I have posts on the back-burner that I should write. For instance, I’ve continued swimming, and have some extra thoughts to share about the experience (although it will probably be one of the last posts about swimming, since there’s gradually less to say). I also have a lot of ideas regarding my experience with learning Chinese, including important lessons I’ve learned and the tricks I think helped me most.
As for the drawing challenge, I expect some of you might wonder whether I plan to revive it. I’ve had a lot of thought on the topic, and I already know how I want to approach it next, in a way that should be more sustainable and more interesting. I just need to iron out the details, post an update, and just get started.
Beyond that, I keep thinking of so many things I could and want to do, making it hard for me to keep my focus on one thing and succeed at it. But it’s not too surprising, I did choose to name this blog “Shawn Meanders” for a reason. Consequently, I probably should find a way to restrain myself and narrow my focus, bringing a project to a close (or pause) before moving on to the next attractive project. Indeed, the alternative seems to be stretching myself too thin.
Finally, there are a few changes I think I should make to this blog, the first one being a “newsletter”, where you can subscribe to get updated (probably weekly) about new articles I’ve posted. But this requires doing some research, and I worry it might add an extra cost to this non-monetized blog. Still, this is something a few friends have asked for, and it’s great for “retention”, and fairly impactful when taking long pauses like I just did. I might also look into RSS as an extra option. On the topic of this blog not being monetized, I’d be curious to hear your thoughts. Do you think it would make sense for me to add an option for people to “tip” me? Possibly something like “Ko-fi”. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments (about this, or other aspects of my blog).
I think that’s mostly it for my updates. Hopefully I should be getting back into a better flow soon (Although it may be delayed by the imminent final exam). Although, I’m soon adding one year to my age, and somehow that tends to help serve as a motivation booster with new habits (That’s how I got into reading daily a few years back after all).
Take care everyone!
P.S.: Having struggled a bit with my mental health lately, I want to take a moment to highlight the importance of it. If someone you care about seems off lately, consider reaching out to them and offering to talk or listen to them. If you’re not feeling too well yourself, reach out to your close ones, or to professionals. Remember: you’re worth it!