My next video is going to be about… | The Friday Update

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Friday Update, in which I give a little insight into what I’ve been up to for the past seven days.

What have I been up to this week?

So, I guess it’s time to announce what my next video is going to be about…

This feels a little bit different this time around. See, prior to taking some time off for my wedding a couple of weeks ago, I put a lot of effort into getting nice and ahead with my writing. This was partly in order to ensure I could take the time off to get married without anything going wrong but was also part of a much bigger effort which I’ve been calling “Project Get Ahead”.

The goal here, as the name would suggest, is for me (and Georgia, my editor) to get a little ahead with our work. Recently, we’ve been in a state of constantly chasing deadlines which, whilst we’ve always hit them, has just been a little bit stressful. So, I’m keen to get to a point where both my deadlines for having scripts ready and Georgia’s deadlines for final exports of videos are a decent while in advance of the dates we’re planning on actually releasing stuff.

One outcome of this is that I already finished writing the next video to be released around a month ago. And I’m currently heading into the final stages of writing the video after that! Which feels like a great place to be in. Whilst I’m still working incredibly hard, it’s much less stressful knowing that there’s a bit more “slack” in the process.

But, what is that next video which I finished writing some time ago about, you ask?

Well… Patreon.

It’s going to be about the history of Patreon as both a platform and a company. It’s going to examine some of the more questionable decisions that company chiefs have made along the way and how they might affect the platform’s future in light of some challenges it’s recently been facing.

But, I’ll reveal more about that in next week’s Friday Update!

And outside of work?

Being a little further ahead with my writing is allowing me to be a little more relaxed in the late afternoons/evenings than I have been for some time. Until recently, it would often be the case that my wife would need to tear me away from the computer to eat dinner or go out in the evening.

Some of this has involved catching up on a few bits of DIY around the house. The kind of things that don’t actually take that long to do but, when you’re busy, always end up getting ignored anyway. I’ve been rewiring speakers in the living room and fitting a new letterbox and hanging some dried flowers (from our wedding) as a nice decoration over the backdoor.

I’m also quite keen to spend a bit more time cooking. I’m not a particularly good cook, but I often find it quite relaxing. It’s also weirdly one of the few times I get to watch much YouTube or listen to audiobooks these days as, knowing that I’m doing that *whilst* doing something handy for the house helps me to give myself the excuse to do so!

I’ve currently got some flour and water on the side in an attempt to make a new sourdough starter so I’ll let you know how that comes along!

What have I been reading/watching/listening to?

Whilst I was on my honeymoon an hour or so away in Cornwall, I picked up The Climate Book.

This is a large reference book which has been organised and edited by Greta Thunberg. It brings together short chapters (sometimes just a page or two long) by a wide range of scientists, anthropologists and other academics to give a really good overview of climate science and policy.

I first spotted the book at a train station some months ago and was really intrigued by the idea. But it was quite a book one to pick up and carry home on short notice! So I’m glad to have finally picked up a copy.

Personally, I’m finding it really insightful. My science knowledge isn’t great and whilst I have a basic understanding of the science of climate change, it’s been really fascinating to re-immerse myself in that to feel much more confident talking about climate politics and policy.

This definitely feels like a book which will be coming off my shelf an awful lot when I need to refer to key facts and processes in the future!

That brings us to the end of this week’s edition of the Friday Update. I hope you’ve found it mildly insightful.

Thanks as ever for your generous support and I’ll look forward to updating you more next week!!