Adam’s Daily Post

A fancy pencil that’s easier to draw with?
You’re great with the one you practice with.

A new application that’s got faster features?
You’re faster with the one you’ve mastered.

A new productivity hack to get more done with?
You’re productive when you’re not busy looking for new hacks.

There’s always a shiny new thing promising to make you better/faster/stronger.

They don’t know who they’re dealing with.

It’s not about your phone’s operating system.
It’s not about how awesome you are using it.
It’s usually about how long you can leave it alone.

It’s not about choosing the right project.
It’s not about how naturally talented you are at it.
It’s usually about how much commitment you show up with.

It’s not about the resources you have as a family.
It’s not about the fancy holidays you go on with them.
It’s usually about how present you were in the empty moments.

The most important parts don’t usually seem all that important in the moment.

Pay close attention. Or you may miss them entirely

There are lots of things you could be working on right now.

And yet you’re working on that.

“Is it really the best use of your time?”

That, right there, is a silly question.

One you’ve probably asked yourself many times.

Am I working on the ‘right’ thing?
Should I be doing this, or that?
What if I’m going to regret this?

Forget those questions.
Replace them with this salve:

You’re working on it, because you wanted to.
You will never know if it’s ‘right’ or not.
Because there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.
Only ‘this’ or ‘that’.

You chose ‘this’.

And you can always choose ‘that’ later if you want to.

Don’t waste energy worrying about it any more than that.
It leads nowhere.

If someone doesn’t like your work, fine.

It’s not for them.

I have small toys all over my desk, painted by various underground artists.

One is dead. One is about to pop his own head. One has a cow’s udder for a face.

Some people may not like them.

That’s fine. It’s not for them.

It doesn’t distract from the art.
It doesn’t negate nor diminish the art.
It’s simply not for them.

And so it goes with your work. By all means, take feedback. Make it great for those you make it for.

But everyone else?

Nor for them.

When I started creating toons and games and designs and worlds as a kid?

I did so because it was what I wanted to do.

The act of doing it, was the reward.

The idea of being able to do it ‘as a grown-up’ was a pipe dream. Family assured me (frequently) that I would eventually have to think about what ‘real job’ I would like to do when I grew up.

The idea of fashioning it into a real career wasn’t realistic. Family assured me (frequently) that it wasn’t a viable path, that the tertiary skills required to even try weren’t ones I posessed, and that it was better to do something else.

And yet it’s all I’ve ever done. I’ve earned more doing it by my 30s than I ever imagined I’d ever earn across my whole lifetime. I proved them wrong, and I did my kid-self proud.

But you know what?

If it only ever generated minimum-wage,
If it only ever worked through struggle,
If it only ever made family say “told you so”,
That wouldn’t matter.

Because I remember why I started. Not for money. Not for comfort. Not for proof. But because it’s simply what I wanted to do.

I married a woman who loved me when all I had was minimum-wage and struggle. We’d be happy together if it’s all we ever had.

So wherever you are in your career or your interests,

Don’t let new goals move into your mind like squatters. Don’t let nay-sayers dissuade you from doing you.

Remember why you started.

You can’t not care less.

If you care about everything, you can’t show any of them that much care. You care about each thing…less.

If you care about fewer things, you can care more about them, at the expense of everythint else. You care about…less.

If you care about everything in your product, even if your customers don’t, you care less about what they want than what you want.

If you care about what your family needs, to the point of not making any time for yourself, you care less about the person doing the caring.

I guess we’re all care-less.

There’s no getting around it.

All that remains is to choose what we want to care about.

And care less about the rest.

I’m hearing more and more creatives freak out about AI.

Some are drawing conclusions such as:

“If I don’t delegate to AI, I will be too slow, too expensive, and obsolete.”
“If I don’t delegate to AI, I will be stuck with skills no one wants.”
“If I don’t delegate to AI, I don’t know how I’ll pay my bills in a few years.”

If you read the news, you’ll sympathize.
Except here’s what all of these thoughts are missing:

Some artists use the latest digital art tools, others still use paint on canvas.

Some writers prefer to write without inspiration, others love to bathe in ideas before starting.

Some animators will auto lip-sync their sequences, others will take pride in subbing mouth shapes manually.

None of these things are right or wrong.
None of these things have been about tools.
Only about the creative process for that creative.

Maybe AI will make some things cheaper.
But art has always been found at a variety of prices.

Maybe AI will make some things easier.
But tools have been doing that for generations.

Maybe AI will change the job market.
But creative job markets have always been changing.

Maybe you have nothing to worry about.
Maybe you should simply focus on doing your best work.

“Oh my goodness we’re already 20% through 2025!”

I saw this on social media, or words to that effect.

This kind of thing strikes panic into the hearts of every ambitious person who feels the need to compare themselves to others.

Here’s the thing about this:

Deciding you’re behind and panicking, is a useless activity that makes you feel bad, and may cause you to rush, cut corners, and fail to do your best work.

Deciding to grade your performance based on days passed so far is a great way to put pressure on yourself even if you’re actually doing just fine.

Deciding to ignore such nonsensical measurements in favor of simply trying your best to do the right work and move forward meaningfully, is a much better way to invest your emotional energy.

Don’t get sidetracked by silly grades.

You’re doing just fine.

Everyone has an opinion about what it means to spend time well.

That you should do this, or shouldn’t do that.

But you should ALWAYS or NEVER do this in particular.

In reality, they’re just reflecting the sum total of their regrets, progress, goals, and books read.

Some—or all—of those sources may have nothing to do with you, your goals, or even your interests.

Feel free to discard advice that doesn’t suit you.

“Time well spent” is simply time you spend in ways in-keeping with your definition of a good life.

Don’t deviate rom that.

Strangely, the opposite of a good idea is often another good idea.

“What if we did this as a small team?”
“What if we did this as a huge team?”
“What if I did this with no team?”

All viable options.

Don’t get caught up on which is “best”.

Think about which is “best for you” and move on.

(And remember others may choose differently, and that’s fine too.)