Thoughts – Page 101 – Michael's Musings

Routines pt. 1

November 25, 2019November 25, 2019 by MAÔ, posted in Advice

The benefit of routines is the creation of a kind of daily specialization. Routines program your body to daily perform the same tasks (or similar tasks) at the same time. Your body knowing this, it starts to prepare for that task as the time nears.

You free up precious decision-making capabilities, your mind already aware of what you’re going to be doing. Then it can focus on limiting or ignoring potential distractions.

Routines are extremely beneficial, and routines can be designed around any number of specific needs – morning routines; workouts; meal planning; scheduling meetings (or running meetings); etc.

Some examples of morning routines can be found in My Morning Routine from Benjamin Spall and Michael Xander. 99U has a small book called Manage Your Day-To-Day. And of course, Tim Ferriss’s books Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors are full of examples you can use.

Christmastime is here…

November 24, 2019November 24, 2019 by MAÔ, posted in Holidays

Today, I’ve set up a Christmas tree, and helped with some outdoor decorations. At two houses. Neither one was mine.

And that’s great! Helping others set up for Christmas is part of getting in the spirit. It’s not a copmpetition of who has the best decor. It’s a collaboration of good tidings.

Here’s a photo of my friend’s house.

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And my big contribution was making sure that the Y in “JOY” was lit up. Before I helped, it just said “JO”.

And everything else was extension cords.

So, even if we’re not quite to Thanksgiving yet, “Merry Christmas, you filthy animal!”

What you are

November 23, 2019 by MAÔ, posted in Advice

There’s a tendency to use the word failure as a description of a person who has failed. But people are not failures. Someone may have failed, but it does not make them a failure. Often, those who fail are persevering.

If you have a disease, you are not that illness. In the same way, if you have failed, you are not that failure.

You are who you are supposed to be. Trying, and failing, and persevering. And that is enough.

Weekly Roundup

November 22, 2019November 21, 2019 by MAÔ, posted in Social

Here it is, another edition of my Weekly Roundup.

What I’m reading: Still on Dracula… Some distractions this week.

What I’m watching: Why Horror?, from Tal Zimerman, Rob Lindsay, and Nicolas Kleinman. An investigation into the popularity of horror films, looking at cultural references in America, Mexico, and Japan. Part of a research project I’m working on, and this had some nice tidbits – especially an incomplete history of horror. You can watch some extras on their YouTube channel.

What I’m listening to: Charlie by Mallrat. This is off the Driving Music EP, and for whatever reason, I cannot stop listening. It’s catchy, I like her voice, and the simple piano part sticks with me. Check it out.

What I’m spending time with: Marketing this notebook for actors. My friend and I had been working on this for a while. This is the first publication, but we have other projects we’re starting on now. So, that will be taking up a lot of my time in the coming weeks.

Other things of interest to me this week:

Visiting Disney World? For a little (lot) of extra money, you can have the exclusive experience…
Revisiting Austin Kleone’s Steal Like an Artist. Reading those first pages again, I’m reminded that an artist looks at the world to see what’s worth stealing. And then moves on to the next thing.

“Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn.” – T.S. Eliot

A 30-year retrospective on Comedy Central, from Kirk Miller at InsideHook.
Disney+ launched, but not without some hiccups.

Checking in

November 19, 2019November 19, 2019 by MAÔ, posted in Advice

Every once in a while it’s good to check in. How does this feel? Are you noticing any discomfort?

They tell you this in yoga, but it’s true for life as well. We go through so many days blind to the experience – just getting by. Check in. At least weekly, but daily is better.

My check-ins are scheduled on my calendar, every Sunday. Sometimes I forget them, it’s true. But I know that when I do, I can expect the week to veer off-course in unexpected ways.

When fear leads

November 18, 2019November 17, 2019 by MAÔ, posted in Advice

There are times when doing that one thing seems so scary, it’s nearly impossible to take the first step. Fear stopping you in your tracks; leading you away from your goals.

Steven Pressfield calls this the resistance. But it has many names. Practicality. Complacency. Normalcy.

The vast majority of us are just skating by, no more sure of ourselves than any other. What we consider to be normal is that same fear leading all of us.

What happens when you give fear the backseat? What do you do? The truth is, only you can answer that. But I bet you it feels a hell of a lot better than letting fear have control.

Rearranging

November 17, 2019November 16, 2019 by MAÔ, posted in Writing

After three years, I’ve changed my tagline. No longer am I trying to keep it together. Now it’s all about exploration. I’ll be changing the look and feel of the blog as well, though I’m still committed to daily postings.

That’s been a challenge, but one that’s kept me focused these past couple of months. I’m planning on some positive changes to complement some other of the other projects that I am working on. Hopefully I’ll have more to say on that before the end of the year.

And that’s coming up soon!

Weekly roundup

November 15, 2019November 14, 2019 by MAÔ, posted in Social

Well, here we are again. Another week down, another week closer to 2020. And what the hell have I been doing with my life?!

Not important…. Here’s my week:

What I’m reading: Still on Dracula. I’m about two-thirds of the way done. I only read for about an hour before bed, because I’ve been hard at work on a few other projects. Dracula has stood out to me for some time – a book that I should have read. I’m glad I’m finally getting it done. I also found my paperback edition, purchased in the early-nineties for fifty cents. I’ve seen the theater where Bram Stoker worked, for God’s sake. And I’m just now reading it. Sometimes I question my priorities.

What I’m listening to: La Nozze di Figaro. The opera by Mozart. I’m going to be in New York and Pennsylvania in a couple of weeks, and I thought it would be fun to see a show at the Met. Because, in all the times I’ve been to New York, I’ve never been to the Met for a performance. I’ve toured it. Had my photo taken in the lobby. But, you know… Priorities. Anyway, this production brings back Luca Pisaroni and Adam Plachetka, reversing the roles of Figaro and Count Almaviva. Needless to say, I’m looking forward to it.

What I’m spending time with: This acting workbook my friend Anthony and I have been going over. I took a lot of time over the past two days to look through it again. I’ve got maybe a couple hours worth of work left, but I’m excited that it is so near completion. I’ll post links once I can get it up for sale.

Other things of interest:

Why retiring might mean never having to grow up.
As only a random watched of Courage the Cowardly Dog, I do recall laughing. A lot. But I don’t remember it being overly scary…
HBO’s His Dark Materials. I hate to say that I’m mostly waiting for the armored bear, but I’m mostly waiting for the armored bear. And Lin Manuel. But I really want him to finish his work on the Name of the Wind adaptation!
Speaking of Lin Manuel, the Drama Book Shop is set to reopen in the spring!
And lastly, because this was heavily slanted towards performance and acting, something that caught my eye dealing with none of that! Yoga… the cure for insomnia.

Prescriptions

November 10, 2019 by MAÔ, posted in Advice

Something simple for today.

PRESCRIPTIONS

Remember always to take care of yourself.