We did it! We removed the fridge! This made me very happy, but the state of the steel underneath it was terrible. Nothing we can’t fix, but the first sight of incredibly thick layers of rust is always somewhat intimidating. It was a very nice process though, and I could do it by myself! Now the time has come to make long and dusty days in removing all the rust. But the end is in sight and that motivates us to go to LIV as much as possible, so we can finish it before the rain season starts here.
Current Stage of Learning: Conscious Incompetence
Learning is something weird. I love to study, read books, articles, and dive into things. Most of the time, it is about a subject that I already have some knowledge of, but I want to understand the background better or I want to know more about a similar subject. In this case, I became totally conscious incompetent with the great online possibilities on YouTube and this website. I already had the same experience with the ‘Meta Business Website’ where I can plan Instagram and Facebook messages, stories and reels and with learning jumping back, floating and the handstand with yoga. But in the first case, the planner works intuitively, and I could work with it pretty quickly. With yoga, I know this is a process of practicing every day and slowly I will gain the strength and flexibility that is necessary for these movements.
This time, it was a bit more confrontational and mastering this will probably take more time. On YouTube, I will have to explore a bit more about thumbnails and titles. I don’t want to create misleading and over-sensationalized clickbait, but I could definitively make the thumbnail and title more appealing. It is like a basic thing that I totally overlooked.
The same goes for this website. I just found the extra options on the editing side to make the website more fun to be on. I think it takes the visitor a lot of effort to get to know us and follow the progress we make on LIV, you literally have to read everything, and there are no easy options to engage. But as I discovered this, I noticed that I felt a bit overwhelmed by it all, because at once, all the things that I could improve on this website came in my brain like water in the Niaraga Falls.
I started changing some things already, which I did totally unhinged because I wanted to do them all at the same time, but then I realized I just entered the conscious incompetent phase twice in one day, four times in ten days, and I am learning a lot at the moment. Peter came in at that exact time and asked what I was doing. This was very helpful! Haha… I had to pause, something that I normally don’t do enough, and organize my thoughts. So I told him my experiences with what I found out on the website, and that I was very conscious that I had much more to learn and to do. Recently, I also had to remind myself to work relaxed. Not only on LIV (like taking more breaks and drinking enough water instead of getting a heatstroke) but also when I am working behind the computer. I can get in a sort of working modus, and I can be very productive, but it could feel a bit tense and forced, because I really want to finish it. I realized I can do the same, but with a relaxed body and a relaxed mind, making a cup of tea, organize my desk before I start and take a walk in the garden now and then. So that is also how I approach this current situation and I could tell Peter all about it in a relaxed way. He also asked, ‘Is it really necessary?’. A very good question, because we do this for fun, and it is the first time we ever built a website. After I explained the different possibilities (like displaying the posts different, making a current location on the homepage, a short introduction, gallery, social links, and some other stuff) it made sense for him, to be a bit kinder to our visitors by making the information more readable, engaging and easily accessible.
So if you see some catchy thumbnails or changes on this website, know that I am going through this process and if you like it, we would love to know this! The easiest way is to leave a comment underneath this post, on YouTube is to like and subscribe to our channel @SanvdH or follow us on Instagram @Rustycat124. Although I am writing this, Peter contributes mighty much to this blog and the other social channels behind the scenes and he is totally supportive of this message ;).