It's been a month already!
I've tried a few times to start a newsletter but never found the right formula to keep me going consistently. This is the first try I've made it to 4 consecutive on-time posts :)
What was on your mind this week?
This week it feels like Monday-Thursday pretty much didn't exist. Farcaster launched Frames on Friday and that took up pretty much all of my headspace.
I had Real Life Stuff to do over the weekend, so I haven't been able to build my frame yet, but I'm working on a fortune teller frame!
Here's a preview of one of the visuals:
What challenged you this week?
Focus.
I'm trying to slowly and sustainably build a morning routine, and last week I didn't feel like doing it so I didn't force myself to do so.
Holyyy did it have a hugely negative affect on my ability to focus and exert will power. The difference from last week to this week was astonishing - I maybe got 1/3 of the work done when I didn't do this routine.
It's funny how such a simple routine can have such a big effect on the rest of your day. I always thought the whole "make your bed as a way to start your day right" thing was a bit silly, but now I'm realizing it's not making your bed that starts your day off right, it's the vibe and environment you curate for yourself.
My morning routine is simple:
Wake up, glass of water, rinse face
20min walk outside, no matter the weather
(This one is quite hard in Montreal, as it can get -25C and below in the winter, not to even mention blizzards or freezing rain)15 min mobility routine
Tea, toast, and a bit of time cuddling with my cat
Finally check phone/email/messages and get the day started
But it works so well.
And now that I've done a whole week on it and a whole week off it, and noticed how big of a difference it makes in my mood and productivity...I think it'll be a lot easier to maintain it.
What new thing did you learn or do?
I'm designing the dashboard for a smart contract security company and I dove deep deep deep into smart contract architecture and potential vulnerabilities.
Shout out to Samuel who spent an hour going through his own smart contracts and teaching me about opcodes!
Now that I have a better foundational understanding of smart contracts, how they're structured, and how they function within the EVM, I'm currently in the middle of sorting through all of these smart contract attributes, categorizing them, and labeling their potential risk appropriately:
I also continued on my journey to becoming a fullstack UX/UI designer/developer (someone needs to come up with a better name for this) and building my own product by diving into Next.js.
Did I start learning Next.js for my own project, or to build a frame? I think we all know the real answer here.
What are you grateful for?
This week I'm grateful for the understanding and space I gave to myself despite not being as productive or focused as I wanted.
Past Erica would have punished my self so harshly for how I spent my time last week, but now I know I never deserve to be spoken to that way, whether by myself or someone else.
Learning to be gentle with myself even when I slip up is one of life's lessons I'm most grateful for :)
What are you most excited about right now?
Honestly, frames.
See y'all next Monday,
Erica