Journalled on Thursday, 31 October 2024 | Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 25 degrees, hot, sunny and slightly overcast.

Today has been another productive day, with classes, exercise, journaling and blog posts in the morning, and Descript video editing in the afternoon.

Almost one more video is ready. Tomorrow I will do one more, and another at the weekend. I’m starting to get into the bones of using Descript as a video editing platform. In my case, it is not originally a video; it will only be in the future. At the start, the blog posts are the main source and primary form of content.

The blog text is transcribed using AI, and an AI voice is added. I add video B-roll and photos, the title, and the captions, and now I almost have a video.

Descript is an AI video-editing and podcast platform that lets you create almost anything with its AI tools. It can check everything for you and help produce videos much faster than the traditional method. I’ve been thinking about getting 5 videos ready, but now I’m thinking of 10. When I have 10, I will begin uploading them to YouTube 3 or 4 times a week.

Am I enjoying doing it?

I am learning to master the platform, and once I do, it will be easier and quicker, and more pleasurable and gratifying to work with. When we learn to do something well, we feel a good sense of fulfilment.

Again, when I began posting blogs, it was not as rewarding as I had thought at first. Over the months, as I have become faster, more efficient, and better, and as the blogs have become more interesting and better presented, it has become much more rewarding.

When we do something we enjoy and are fully engaged and committed, the time flies by like a train without brakes.

This afternoon, I opened Descript at 2:30 and finished at almost 6:00 p.m. I did not feel the time pass; it flew by. Besides, time passes quickly when you are doing something engaging and productive, or something essential for your own growth, even if it is not very pleasurable at the moment.

When you finish that work, you will feel it was worth it. After X amount of time engaged in it, you get a sense of mission completion and reward.

Tomorrow will be the 1st of November, a new month, and we are moving quickly towards the end of the year. What a year it has been for me, both good and bad.

Now that I am living alone, I have set some priorities for the next 6 months or so. Some I will try to keep, while others I think will be difficult, if not impossible:

1. The obvious ones related to work:

Blog post every day.

Post at least 2 videos every week.

Try to develop Teahogui.

Finish off Placebeads with a new proposal and packaging.

2. My health needs:

Workout at least four times a week.

Swim in the condominium’s pool as much as possible.

Eat healthy food.

3. My mental health:

Do not be so anxious. Accept life and the things as they are and trust the divine universe and its selection.

Think less about Julie. I am much better than I was, but even so, I have to accept the choice I made, understanding that it is better for me in the long run.

Be happy and believe in myself; be self-compassionate; be my best friend; and don’t be so hard on myself, whilst always believing in my own capacity.

4. And now the DO NOTS!:

Stop drinking alcohol for the next 6 months. I do not drink spirits; I drink only wine and, at times, beer. For me, it is almost impossible to stop at weekends, but let’s try!

Stop eating bread! One of my deepest passions in life is bread. It is like alcohol, smoking or even sex for me. I really love bread, but I need to give it a break or put it on hold for a while.

Getting below 90 kilos would be good. 89, 88 or even 87 would be good, which I think, in a healthy context, is almost impossible for me. I am big, heavy and a little clumsy, so getting down below 90 kilos is difficult. When I moved out on my own, I was almost 98 kilos. I weighed myself this morning, and I am 95, almost 94. Another 5 kilos and I will be below 90, but those last 5 kilos will be hard to lose.

So that is it. I am already creating with Descript, which I had been procrastinating on for so long. In itself, that is an achievement I should have done a year ago.

When we think too much, we are neither doing nor acting. The lack of action stems from too much thought and not enough action.

In bed by 9.30 p.m.

Thank you.

Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Richard