A gentle amount of focus, concern, urgency toward creative action. That's my favorite thing and only thing I like about deadlines right now. Writing it is helping me describe this feeling I get with frequent deadlines while trying to make something worthwhile.

Let's explore that feeling.

So this is the sixth article I started writing today. When I look at a given draft text or drawing and think aw-crap this is not going to get developed enough today. Part of the writing practice is to write through blocks and feeling stopped, at least a little bit. Another sentence to hopefully help the future me. There's always a few more thoughts worth capturing if I can manage it. Accepting, I put what thoughts I have and push forward to make progress. At the end of the session I had an article further than it was but it's just not far enough to finish it today.

That happened five times. Today.

It's a little frustrating. Also I know it's kind of helpful. It has conflicting ingredients. It's this is not ready, I feel good about the potential coming together. I roll my eyes and growl grunt a little that I'm not going to finish it yet. I say that knowing I can force it, call it an assignment, get more severe about the daily publishing deadline. But I know if I choose that path, it's needlessly harsh and takes too much of the fun of practicing.

What would be a good name for that feeling? It's a mix of good and grumpy. It's a self created road block that kind of bites.

How about gutchomp? Editor note: I did a quick brainstorm and internet search and whoooooo... I tell you what, most one syllable words I gathered were already both taken and saucy. Two syllables saved the day.

Here I am. Stuck at gutchomp on 5 posts. Four are talking about user experience as a mindset and related tools. UX Mindset articles are coming along but not today. I have an article with too many words talking about the arcade cabinet illustrations commission I did last summer. Also coming along but not today.

Then this article came to me. Describe this feeling, name it. This could be useful, the gutchomp is a helpful guard against half hearted work and a rather annoying work session friend. Gutchomp as a situation is something I've talked with Jerzy Drozd about on Lean Into Art before, probably in one of the Art Soundoff reflection episodes.

But not for this article. Start to finish, no gutchomp. Haha gutchomp, you didn't get me this time.