It’s something I’ve been seeing across social media the past week or two, memes and messages telling us that it’s ok to be unproductive, and to not be hard on ourselves for that. I totally agree with that sentiment, but for me, accepting that idea has been for others, I’m not holding it against others who aren’t being productive, but I’m having a very hard time letting myself off the hook.
Before the shut-downs, and work from home, and eventually the stay at home orders, I was feeling really productive. Chocolate Diamond Media may not have had the most stuff coming out in public, but we were getting stuff done, and I really felt like things were grinding away, and then the world changed and I feel as though in a lot of ways things came to a screeching halt.
Don’t get me wrong, becoming the primary carer for my son has been really fun, and I know that in ten years from now he’s going to remember it as the time he got to spend a ton of time with my wife, the dogs and I, but it really shifted so that by the time my wife is done with work in the day, all of my energy has been zapped. Let’s face it, there is only so much productivity you can have with a four year old.
What I have managed to do, is chip away at things slowly. I’m trying to obviously keep our presence online going, which isn’t always easy (this blog is being written six hours after I hoped to have it posted). It has meant, to some degree that I’m focusing more on the fun, and less on the business end of things, but I think it’s still a good way of getting our personality across (creating TikToks and Instagram stories). As far as the serious work, that’s been at a slower but still consistent pace.
Right before the shut down, I had shot video for a Cheerwine Spec commercial, and the editing has been slower on it because of not having wide-open days to just sit for hours and keyframe and edit. It’s looking great, but there’s a lot to do (I am hoping to have it done soon!) I’ve also been keeping up with different contests that are helping video and filmmaking professionals to keep going in this time, and currently working one (I’ve found at least 4, only had 1 that I had a good idea for, and that fits with what I’m hoping to do with Chocolate Diamond Media when the quarantine/shutdown is over.
I know personally, it feels as if stagnation is death, especially when it comes to business, but it’s really important that we do what we can for the community, both globally and locally, and I’m adhering to guideline’s as strictly as I can. I’m also doing my best to come up with creative ways to move forward, or at least preserve momentum, while following those guidelines. So yes, I have to be less hard on myself for not being as productive as I want, but I also have to be as productive as I can.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about an idea I had, something that could bring us together as a community, while we remain apart physically. The idea of documenting what it is that we’re doing in this time. It’s something that I really want to do, and I think there must be a ton of amazing and beautiful stories out there, and I hope you can help me to create this. You don’t have to be a filmmaker, in fact, hopefully we’ll get a good amount of people who aren’t. Hopefully we’ll get people who are doing story time online, or using Zoom to connect people, or making masks. I think right now the human spirit is thriving in these types of stories, and if you have one, I hope that you’ll tell it to me, and let me share it with the world. Check out the original post for more details.
Chocolate Diamond Media 