Preamble…

Nope, I haven’t got a new job, I’ve still at my current one but, after a couple of weeks annual leave, I started to slip into a routine which I felt I could do everyday, if what I was doing, was my new job. I know that after a year or so doing it I might get bored or it might get repetitive, but for the time being, it seems to be the sort of life I long for.

What is my job?

I guess the first thing I should mention is what is this new job which you are going to get a glimpse into. Well I think I would sum it up as a content creator. This includes, blogging, streaming and YouTubing! Yes, I suppose that is many people’s dream job and for once I agree with a quote from Shakespeare. Although reading up on the quote, I have no intention of dying and lapsing into a dreamless death! (I actually thought it mean something else!)

….perchance to dream

Hamlet (William Shakespeare)

Day in a life of inwils the content creator.

7:00am – Some people might have a lie in, but I am definitely a morning person, so I would be up and having breakfast and coffee at the start of the day. This would be my catch up period. Checking Twitter, YouTube and Discord for interactions, and responding, contributing and initiating conversations. I would also, of course, have Twitch on and be listening, watching and supporting other streamers. This would also be the time that I would be checking my ‘to do list’ and organising my day. I would also embark on emails, answering them – I feel I can do this in my dressing gown, and having a set time in the morning suits me well. During this time, I would also update programs and download videos etc that I might need. My computer is not being used for rendering or streaming at this point so it can be dedicated to this task. I would get all this done all before a shower and getting ready to leave for a coffee shop!

9:00

I’m not sure if I would be able to afford my regular visit to Costa Coffee, but I think I would find a way. Here, I would be starting the content creation part. In this environment which for me is devoid of distractions, I would write new content. This could be a blog post like this or scripts for videos (yes I do plan with scripts!) or even adventures for my RPGs. I really work well in this situation and I can be super focused and more creative. Even now, with my current job, if I need to achieve something, I take myself off to a coffee shop and sit alone and concentrate.

11:00

– Back home! This time would be all about video creating. It is still before noon, so I can focus on work and create video clips and edit them together. It would also be the time to create anything else, from images to After Effects intros. In the background I would be supporting other streamers, have their channel on in the background and saying hi! While things would be rendering, I would grab a light lunch and check emails and meetings. I’m very active on Twitter and Instagram, so throughout all this, posts would be made to the social media sites and comments responded to. This is almost like my human interaction for the morning.

13:00

– I might be a bit ambitious here, but just to stick to the two-hour segments, I would now have so downtime. while enjoying the latest box set or Miss Marple mystery on the good old tele! You never know, I might even watch a cooking show, not that I ever cook, but it makes me feel that I am healthy. I guess, if I had a number of sponsors, then this time might also be taken up with meetings. That sounds so strange, meetings about my content??? Well, Zoom could be powered up and meetings attended.

14:00

-This time would be flexible, but essentially it would be focused on content. It might be related to doing admin work from crunching numbers to answering emails. Or, creating thumbnails and ensuring that Hootsuite is loaded up ready for the rest of the week/month. These jobs would require little concentration, hence why they are after lunchtime. I would also like to be streaming during this time if possible. It might be a GM prep session or a Vaguely Creative live stream or even a Twitch Sings. I would like to ensure I do two streams a day so this would definitely be the first one. Believe it or not, I actually find streaming relaxing so the next four hours usually goes very quickly.

18:00

– Food and tablets time! I have to stick to a schedule for these otherwise I know I will forget to eat and take my medication. Even now, I put an alarm on to remind me. This would mean a short break in the streaming schedule to eat and put the laundry in! Yes, I would still be doing my own laundry!

19:00

– And now, back to streaming! This would continue to about 22:30/23:00 before I would eventually retire to bed. If the day went better I would start earlier and stream for longer. Often, I can have an early meal at 17:00 and be streaming by 18:00. Whatever happens, I would be streaming every evening, apart from one – it is important that you have an evening off! After the stream, it would be a quick relax and reflect before heading off to bed smiling at how productive I had been that day.

End of the day

Even typing this it has given me that warm and fuzzy feeling inside. The thought of, while I am slipping into slumber land listening to my favourite streamers, knowing that tomorrow I will be in control of my day and working at something I really love. I do think that all this comes down to some aspect of my anxiety. With my current job I am having to respond to work and that means I have little or no control over my day, which consequently activates me anxiety. In this new day, the control is firmly in my hands. I don’t long for an empty day, what I long for is control over my day, so perhaps that’s why I long for it and even wish for it.