matgilbert.com

One of the things I was worried most about when I created this blog was the idea that I'd start it up and forget about it. There's nothing I hate more than an abandoned blog. So what did I do? Exactly what I was worried about. Obviously. Classic target fixation.

What am I stuck on? Well mostly the verticaltubejig.com website. Also the drawing robot too, but the most pressing thing at the moment is the lure website. I can't do everything at once, the only thing I really can do is focus on one thing at a time until I see the needle move.

I have fallen really hard into a perfectionism about the photos of the lures. To me, I feel like I can drive more engagement and loiter time on my site with good images, as well as the templates built in social sharing icons. The natural human tendency of "hey look at that!" is something I hope to use to my advantage.

One of the counter-intuitive solutions to this anxiety is compassion, not anger. Instead of being angry at myself for falling short of my unrealistic goals, I'm trying a new thing where I give myself a break. I am understanding of the reasons around not making things work correctly.

It's really hard to take good pictures of shiny lures. I've made some good progress though, I have a small lightbox and enough can lights to shake a stick at. I have a rat nest of power strips that looks straight out of christmast story. It's so close. All I want are nice crisp photos of lures that are on a white background. The aesthetic will be worth it, I keep telling myself.

I started writing this yesterday but I got distracted. I just ticked the date up one, and I'm back now to finish it. I have compassion for the fact that it happened. It's not ideal. It's not what I want. It is better than the dead, abandoned blog that this was becoming though. I don't have to update every day, but I do have to update.

More to come on the lure website soon. Pictures are so close. One thing at a time till the needle moves.