Record a Video Every Day - Day 30
What I learned while completing my thirty day challenge.
Thirty days ago I began a thirty day challenge to record my self every day. My goal was to become more comfortable in front of a camera with the hopes of posting on YouTube to build credibility. I chose that platform because of research I’d done regarding small creators in that community and the success of authentic non-edited videos.
The thought was that if I could regularly create and post YouTube videos it would be the highest leverage activity and content I could create. Once you’ve recorded a video that can be repackaged and repurposed in many ways on other platforms and mediums.
It was a success.
It only took three days before I was comfortable enough to publish a video on YouTube. It took two weeks before I was comfortable enough to create a three day a week publishing schedule (M/W/F). It took thirty days to publish 11 videos.
What I Learned
Sustainable Habits
The habit of recording my self is sustainable and one I’ll continue moving forward. I’m sure I’ll miss a day or two here or there, but in general I plan to continue to record a video daily. All you need is your phone and I never regretted the activity. It allows me to test ideas and hone the way it’s communicated in a much quicker way than writing it down. I do a “voice” edit of all my writing—reading it aloud to hear if it sounds natural—and this short circuits that.
I still want to write, but I’m saving my writing efforts for my product (see below).
Incremental Improvements
My approach of starting with the minimum and getting a little better every day went extremely well. My first videos were vertical (one even hand held), then I switched to horizontal, then I added a thumbnail, then I used the built in YouTube editor to trim, then I worked on my hooks, then I focused on descriptions, then I moved into my car for better lighting/audio, etc. If I would’ve targeted for what I did for my last video I would’ve never gotten started.
I’ll add 13 more videos by the end of August and I’m excited to see where those incremental improvements get me.
Lifesmithing
I’m moving away from the term Lifesmithing. I didn’t have a solid name when I made my initial announcement and this came out of forcing my self to put a term out there. I have always wanted a term that my community could call themselves. I believe Getting Things Done, one of the most influential books I’ve ever read, has suffered from not having a term people can use to describe themselves. GTDers doesn’t roll of the tongue.
But the truth is I never got comfortable with lifesmith. It’s clunky to say and while I heard positive feedback about the name, it’s a jacket I don’t want to wear. If that’s true for my self, then how can I expect others to put it on too.
It also diluted and caused confusion with Commitment Theory—the philosophy that backs everything I’m creating. I still need a term to describe the practitioners of this philosophy. I’m moving forward with navigators. The idea there is that we’re all navigating the space of possibility.
We’ll see how the jacket fits, but for now it feels good.
Product
I shifted away from the Banish Scrolling Digital Booster Pack. I still love this idea for the long term, but it’s not feasible in the short term. My thoughts need to progress a lot further before they are digestible in the form that I want them to be. Since I’m prioritizing speed, I don’t want to spend the time to work through these problems.
I’ve shifted to a short book. The plan is to create a book funnel and give it eyeballs through PPC ads. My audience isn’t big enough to fuel this organically. That’s my long term goal, but while I’m building the idea of paying for traffic seems more sustainable. The idea would be to charge only enough for the book to pay for the ad spend with the hopes of driving a small percentage of that audience into coaching clients.
Like everything I’m doing, this is only a hypothesis that I plan to test. But I’ve got to write the book to get there!
Subscriptions Paused
Due to my current strategy of using YouTube to build credibility while writing a book to build authority I’ve had to pause weekly Thoughtspear essays. I’ve literally paused my subscriptions, so if you’re a paid subscriber you won’t be affected by this change.
Honestly, I wrestled with this. I had committed to posting every week and each person that subscribed I felt like I would be letting them down by halting posts. Especially the paid subscribers. At the end of the day though, I have to do what’s right for me and the project as a whole is a commitment I made to my self.
I’m not done writing. I still have a ton of content to create in the written form. There are just other things I need to focus on at this time.
Fun
The biggest thing I learned? It’s fun to record video and post it on YouTube. I’m sure the novelty of the platform and the tools that support it will wear off a little bit, but it’s been a blast so far. I love to learn and this is a real challenge for me. There is so much to dive into and get better at. Not just for YouTube, but the entire creator/attention economy in general.
Prolific creators must fall in love with the process. I wouldn’t go that far yet, but it’s definitely been fun!
What I Created
It’s worth sharing with you all what I’ve created in the past month. Don’t watch any of these videos unless you plan to watch them from beginning to end! When people click away from a video after starting it, YouTube takes that as a bad signal for the creator. Either watch it all or don’t watch it. Both are appreciated!
What Happened When I Replaced One Scroll With Another [5:40] - My first video and still my most viewed (buoyed by my announcement I’m sure). I talk about how I stopped Facebook/Reddit but replaced it with YouTube. I share the three rules I put in place to ensure I don’t infinitely scroll. I need to revisit this one.
I Relapsed (Scrolling)! Where Did My Sanctuary Go? [4:05] - Another story of how I fell back into an old habit because of a change in my situation. I plan to revisit the concept of sanctuary soon since this one didn’t perform well. I’ve realized by paying attention to Gary Vee (and he even says this) that he really only posts about three different things but keeps hammering them over and over.
Cold Turkey Is Hard Mode – Try This Instead to Stop Scrolling [5:55] - My first horizontal video! The idea that you shouldn’t stop cold turkey is probably one of my “things” that I need to keep talking about. It’s not a sustainable way of making a change. Definitely will cover this stuff again.
Why You Should Replace Your Phone With a Laptop [6:46] - This one did well probably because the premise is strange. You can see by all my titles here that I’m really trying to figure out this whole title thing.
Scrolling is NOT as Distraction—It’s Something Worse [9:15] - I made my first real thumbnail for this video. Content wise, this is a sentiment that I want to get out a lot more. I paint scrolling as an obligation by defining three different types of commitments. Need to keep working on the messaging of this one.
we built the web. now we’re caught in it [8:03] - This was one of my favorite titles. I went all lowercase with it because it reminds me of my early internet obsession with all lowercase. Something about that feels good. But it shows that just because I like it doesn’t mean it’ll get clicks. The idea here was that I grew up on the internet, we were promised this amazing thing and at the start it delivered. I grew up on the internet and it’s given me so much. Now it’s taking things away from us.
Motivation and Discipline Are Dead Ends: The Empowerment Secret [6:44] - The first video I did in my car (because I was away for the weekend) and my worst performing video by quite a bit. That’s a shame because it’s some of my favorite content. Part of my “redefining” series where I actually define empowerment within Commitment Theory.
i’m a hypocrite? (+cats) [4:12] - This was in response to jokes people in my life made about me trying to help people with their phone addiction by getting them to use their phone. This highlights one of my big differentiators. Most people try to quit things cold turkey which can work but has huge drawbacks. I’m focused on helping people use these tools intentionally.
you’ll scroll forever without this [4:49] - I introduce my first “pillar of harmony” here. A pillar is the combination of a belief and a commitment. This one: Grace is mandatory (belief). Trust your self (commitment). It fell a little flat. It’ll come back!
It’s Impossible to Find Purpose—Here’s Why [6:53] - Another one of my “redefining” series. This time I redefine purpose under the lens of Commitment Theory and try to explain why my definition has more power than the traditional definition.
what this xennial discovered in the corn pit (about scrolling) [9:03] - Trying to go absurd with the title. I could probably stand to go even further but I couldn’t figure out the specifics in time. This is the most I wrestled with a title and it’s because I’ve realized that the title and thumbnail really are the most important thing. This isn’t a secret, every YouTuber will tell you that, but now I know it from experience.
What’s Next
I’ve been having a ton of fun figuring out YouTube so I plan to continue to post three times a week. That means I’ll keep recording a video every day, even if I have no plans to post it. It’s sort of cathartic. I will most likely miss weeks posting on Substack (paid subscriptions are paused). The content will vary. My writing time will be devoted to writing for my product.
I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts about what I’m doing. I know people read this but I’d appreciate knowing everyone’s opinions—good or bad.
The people I value the most are those that challenge me.
I’ve watched the YT videos. They’re getting better. With people’s attention span, do you think the video length is too long?