journal

What good have I done this day

Eagle plugin for YouTube thumbnail preview

I started the day with the goal of creating a custom plugin in Eagle that allows me to upload a thumbnail, and it will take that thumbnail and title and inject them into the HTML of the YouTube.com homepage. This way, I can see how my title and thumbnail will look next to other videos on YouTube, while also supporting other features like light/dark theme, different screens like search results, sidebar, and homepage.

But I tried to implement this from scratch and spent most of my morning on it with no success because YouTube blocked the JavaScript code I wrote to update the HTML file.

So I just made a plugin in Eagle that opens this website, where I can upload a thumbnail and see it in different places and dark/light mode. I can also use a query to show my thumbnail alongside similar videos.

Getting back on track

I’ve been busy the last few days writing about content creation, from the initial research and planning to the final steps after uploading and using the analytics page. This will be added to my notebook once it’s finished. Currently, I’m around 70%, missing some topics, plus I’ll need to read it from start to finish for final adjustments.

This paper is going to help me in the process of creating content from start to finish.

what good shall I do this day

I need to figure out sound design and write about what I find in my notebook so I can have easy access to my resources. When it comes to sound design, there are the regular resources you find about sound design, but I thought about learning from game developers. They go a bit deeper into this topic because one of the very important things that make a good game is its sound effects and music. This will help me understand the logic behind the relationship between sound effects/music and user emotions and how you can use it to release the satisfaction the user is looking for.

For sound management, I’m going to use the Soundly app. It’s a free and great app to manage sounds, listen to them, and drag and drop them into your video editor.

I also want to start studying math because I will need this skill in my projects a lot.

What good have I done this day

I have finished my sound design learnings and wrote down my notes, and I have tested asprite for creating assets for content creation

However i’m not fully satisfied because i did not study math as I was saying today, So i must start math a soon as possible.

what good shall I do this day

I want to learn more about storytelling, there is something behind words—evoking feelings and sharing images through text. This skill doesn’t have clear lines nor a clear path; that’s why even AI can’t get it. I want to learn more about this skill and practice it to master it.

I also want to explore Aseprite and its use cases and where I should implement them in a way that complements the final results and does not clutter it.

And start to think about how to approach math. Math has been a hard step for me to get started on, but I believe once I start, it will be easy to keep going.

What good have I done this day

I have found books that interest me about storytelling, and I would like to finish these books because the topic of storytelling doesn’t have a clear path. Finding resources online isn’t simple, and it is almost cluttered with simple storytelling guidelines, while I want to learn the actual logic.

A systematic approach to understanding narrative and myth: Anatomy of criticism
How language and style can shape meaning: Thank you for arguing
Dramatic structure, tragedy, and the elements that evoke catharsis: Aristotle’s Poetics

I also thought about reading books in one set. A lot of times I said, “this book is great and I want to read it” and it ended up in my pinned tabs for months to come, so to break this I’m thinking to read these books in one set and test if this will help me to read the book instead of not even starting.

After testing Aseprite and its potential, I think it would be a great asset to have when trying to represent things that are decorative/have a different way to be represented than motion canvas approach. I already have some ideas about using this tool to make something interesting.

Math, I think math is something I must start, and I have been delaying things already, so I’m thinking to do the same approach with the books. Should I focus on math first until it’s done or not? I would like to talk with Shy about this more. I feel having the opportunity to follow him in the same journey will make both of us excited instead of him being alone and starting my journey alone. I would have to talk with him about this topic; however, I couldn’t talk to him today because he is in an Azimah.

what good shall I do this day

Today I’m going to invest a lot of time on storytelling I have found a book that gives a systmtic way to write something that grabs attintion.

What good have I done this day

A systematic approach to understanding narrative and myth: Anatomy of criticism Didn’t read it yet
How language and style can shape meaning: Thank you for arguing I have read 60 pages and it’s a 10/10 book so far, would recmened
Dramatic structure, tragedy, and the elements that evoke catharsis: Aristotle’s Poetics this book is not readable

Once I’m done from storytelling I think the approuch I will take with math is, the full day with math rather than taking an hour or too, I think at least to finish the Important subjects.

what good shall I do this day

I would like today to finish the full Thank you for arguing book and if possiable the Anatomy of Criticism as well.

What good have I done this day

Today grandma wasted 3h of my morning, and made me get headach for the whole day, I’m not happy about it, and I made some discions to never talk to her in any shape or form other than normal talks but will never try to get into in argument wiht her because you will just wast time and get headach, lesson learnd

I spent the rest of the day reading the Thank you for arguing book it’s a very good book and I have reached page number 119

what good shall I do this day

Today I want to keep reading Thank you for arguing book

I’m giving this book a lot of time but it’s teaching a lot about writing and how to make a great storytelling, so this skill is the core of my work.

What good have I done this day

This day, I sat with Shy and talked about how above and beyond I was with my suggested content creation setup. We went into a long conversation that I agreed with, and now I have completely changed the process of how I will be creating content.

The focus is simple, fast, and gets the idea across.

I will be using Apple Notes with their screen recording and adding my face—that’s all. The core here is the content itself. I’m very happy with this process. While it doesn’t challenge my brain in terms of the content creation part because it’s simple, what it does is allow me to challenge my brain in writing a better script for the video rather than focusing on music choice or fancy editing. This is where I get the best of both worlds—still challenging my brain while not taking too long to make a video.

have finished the growth mindset course by Khan Academy, and it’s a very good course that talks about a growth mindset and a fixed mindset.

I have also reached page 134 in the Thank You for Arguing book.

what good shall I do this day

Today I want to keep reading Thank you for arguing book

What good have I done this day

I have finished the book, and listed down a lot of ideas that I think they are helpfull when it comes to content writing.

Also i talked with shy about content writing and he gave me a great advice to learn from others that I like and make my own logic and assmptsion, people will like you because of you.

I have finished the book so today there will be multiple things I want to work on and update regarding my process in video creation and writing following what me and shy talked about.

what good shall I do this day

I would like to rewrite my video creation process, the first one mentiond sound design and motion canvas animations best practies, etc and these are no longer needed because i will be looking to make it simpler in apple notes

and I will watch and collect creators I like in one place so I can make my own logic and things that I like, not copying theme but learning from them to see what can I add to my process

If I have finished earily I would start on math rightaway.

What good have I done this day

I have rewritten my video creation process to a simpler one that focuses more on topic research. I also made these changes based on my logic when watching YouTubers I liked. The advice I believe in the most is not to fake things—it’s easy for people to spot, so just be yourself.

I also wrote about how I can use metrics to help me see if my videos are working or not.

Yesterday before sleep there was a lot of stuff going on, so it did make me feel a bit busy/fuggy in my head this morning, it will be fine, I teached my family a lesson to not add me to these pointless conversations

what good shall I do this day

Today, I’m looking to start learning math on Khan Academy. Also, Shy might come by to give me the iPad and the mic, which would be nice because I could see how my video plan works with this setup.

What good have I done this day

My head still isn’t feeling good, so I didn’t want to start math like this. I did get the iPad today, but after testing it, it didn’t work as I expected, so I decided not to rush things. Things will work out soon, inshallah. The goal is to stay consistent with some tasks, and that’s what I’ll be focusing on for the next few months, inshallah.

Yesterday before bed, I talked with Shy and reached a lot of conclusions. Instead of chasing different projects and ideas every day:

I will set a goal and focus on making each day as good as it can be. This will build consistency, which will help me reach my goal.
I will stop trying to find the absolute best tool and instead use the tool that simply works.
I will stop constantly thinking about different opportunities and ideas throughout the day and stick to the plan I wrote for myself.
I will make sure to start all the things I want to do before 12 PM. After that, it’s easier to continue working on tasks rather than starting something new.
I will also create a list of things that could stop me from following my plan (e.g., sleep schedule, setting plans after 12 PM, morning interruptions).

Consistency is the goal here, and I will follow the growth mindset goal-setting approach from Khan Academy to set up my goals today.

what good shall I do this day

Today, I want to make a plan for my goal that I want to follow for the next few months.

A S.M.A.R.T Goal that is simple to follow and that I like.
Create a list of things that I think might stop me from following my plan.

Math Roadmap

This roadmap was already made by Shy.

19- Arithmetic
17- Algebra 1
9- Geometry
12- Algebra 2
4- Trigonometry
10- Pre-calculus
6- Differential Calculus
5- Integral Calculus
5- Multivariable Calculus
3- Linear Algebra
Statistics and Probability

The numbers at the beginning represent the number of units in each subject, ignoring statistics because it’s not pure math—just something I would love to learn next.

The goal is to complete at least 2 units per day, but the more, the better.

This goal is already tested by Shy because he started before me, so it’s specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bounded, which makes it a 5/5 S.M.A.R.T goal.

Some Rules and Tips:

You must score at least 28+ on all exams before moving on, especially the highlighted ones.
Preferably, finish the highlighted lessons within 26 days, since the next lessons might take 1 day per lesson.
To learn a bit faster, Shy told me to start with the Quiz. If you fail the quiz, it will give you a video for the issue you had so you can learn it. This works, but if you think you got lucky or you’re unsure about an area, it’s better to learn it step by step to really understand it. The goal here is understanding math, not speedrunning it. The quiz strategy is meant to help you skip what you already know.

Next Goal: Content Creation on YouTube

Creating content on youtube depends on the content type you want to make but generally make content following these tips

Generall Youtube Content Creation Plan:

Make content you will enjoy and watch if it was recommended in your homepage.
Build familiarity around your content so viewers can expect what to watch from you and its based on what you like to talk about.
*Be consistent As youtube content creator you will need to keep uploading about your niche so people can expect new and better content from you.
Quality Quantity > Quality > Quantity The more high quality content you upload the better but if you can upload a lot then upload less but high quality, the last thing is quantity content.
**Upload content you like and you will watch if the content didn’t feel like that than you can delete it and start over because quality is important.
Create a persona whatbdoes it like and what does it want and make content for that persona.
**Pick that type of content you want to make. if you want face or faceless content.
**Set a goal to follow for your specific content you want to upload.
Make a lot of content but don’t upload unless you like the video the faster you fail the faster you will learn and improve

My Youtube Content Creation Plan:

Pick 2 hours in the morning for content creation.
First task: Select a subject that i find interesting or helpful and i like to watch and has potential to gain views. than i write about it in the first 2 hours.
Second task: Create the needed graphics in Figma slides in the same 2 hours.
Final task: Record the video and upload/schedule it to YouTube in the same 2 hours.
Sub-task: Once I have enough data, I can analyze and make decisions that leads to making better content that aligns with what i like to make and the content the gains the most views within the same 2 hours.

Some Rules and Tips:

It’s better to spend the first 2 hours of my day on this task. After that, I can do math because when I start math, I don’t want to stop until maybe bedtime or when my brain is exhausted.
Create a persona—my persona is people just like me so what i want to watch and enjoy is what I should make.
Follow your plans in the simple video creation steps in my notebook inside the persnal folder to help you create an engaging story
No face, just voice—for simplicity.
Make content as much as you can, but at least 1 video every 2 weeks create as much content as you can so you can fail fast and learn fast.

specific: Making content around ideas and concepts that I found helpful, enjoyable, and inlike to watch and has potential to gain views.
measurable: As long as i spend the 2 hours on content creation daily it means if I didn’t i will know earlier. actionable: The three simple steps to do them everyday following the simple video creation steps in my notebook inside the persnal folder. realistic: my goal is realistic to make content i like and at least spend 2h a day working towards that goal. Time: I don’t want to have a deadline like “at least upload 1 video a week or so” but instead i will have a video every 2 weeks at least, whether it’s uploaded or not.

Things That Can Break My Consistency

Sleep schedule – This is the number one priority. You must sleep early to wake up early.
Waking up from my bed because I have to, not because I want to.
Not doing my daily health exercises.
Morning interruptions from family.
Feeling like I’m not accomplishing anything—but you are! Measure your daily progress to stay motivated.
Making plans after 12 PM. it’s easer to keep doing the task you are alredy doing rather than starting a new one.

I would like to talk with Shy about this goal to make sure it is a S.M.A.R.T goal or not.

Lastly, being productive isn’t hard—it’s a cycle between motivation and work.
If you’re motivated, start working and you’ll keep going.
If you’re not motivated, start working anyway, and motivation will come to keep you going.

What good have I done this day

I have made the first plan of what I want to do and showed it to Shy. We had a long talk together today about it and made some changes to my plan to achieve a better goal, But since I went to Shy’s house this morning, it took up the whole morning and midday as well. Now the day is almost over, and while I was able to make a plan, I haven’t started on it yet.

what good shall I do this day

Today I’m going to follow my plan, I will start writing about a topic on my 2h content creation time, and then I would do math.

What good have I done this day

So i did exercise, walk, work on content creation I created a persona that I would use when creating content and titles for my videos, and I did 2 unites of math, i had time to do more but i I felt my head hurts a bit so i went to look into figma.

i also ordered a headset because my current headphones one of them doesn’t work and it might be one of the reasons why my head hurts some times.

what good shall I do this day

Today I’m going to start working on content creation and then I would do math.

What good have I done this day

I did start writing about the first video topic that i’m going to make, and I have done 4 unites in math better than yesterday, but still I want to do much more.

what good shall I do this day

I will start writing more about the topic I want to make a video about “Brain growth”

and I would like to finish more lessons on math than last time.

What good have I done this day

I did write a lot in the video script and came up with the title as well, however couldn’t do math, shy called me and we started to do other activates and chill, talking and games.

what good shall I do this day

I will start writing more about the topic I want to make a video about “Why some people are just better at things they’ve never done?”

and I would like to finish more lessons on math.

What good have I done this day

what good shall I do this day

I will start draw the storyboard for the “Why some people are just better at things they’ve never done?” video

and I would like to finish more lessons on math.

What good have I done this day

Today I did draw all the needed story boards and i just need to double check if there is any changes that need to be done other than this looks good so far

for math I did 1 unite, not happy with how i’m slow in the prograss but at least it’s going.

what good shall I do this day

Today I have the script and the storyboard, I just would like to discover my style and see what would I like the videos to be looking like

and I would like to finish more lessons on math thank the day before.

What good have I done this day

I have tried different styles, and I’m looking for something that builds familiarity and is a bit different from the usual but still experimental.

I also have done two units in math today, and it’s going slowly but steadily. I will be trying harder to be a bit faster.

what good shall I do this day

Today I would like to start animating the storyboard and finish some math units

What good have I done this day

I got stuck with an issue for more than half of the day, trying to find a good way to export the final animations out of figma, figma doesn’t allow this and plugins are very pricy for no good reason so I just started to search for a way and i did find a way, it’s to change ur screen resultion to 4k to fit ur frams in figma and then screen recored it using a screen recording tool this will give you a hgih riss video that you can add to ur editor for final edits

i spent most of my time fixing this issue so it was late to start on math so i wan’t able to do math today.

today i did work a bit on the animations but i had to move to alahsa to meet my sister, this is going to take the whole day and the day after.

Today I came back from my trip and I started to work a but on the animations in figma and I will get ready to get back on track with my routine.

what good shall I do this day

So the current content creation process should be good enough for my videos I should not get distracted by possiable improvments to the process during working hours, these can be improved after I’m done with my main tasks other than that I should ignure them

currenlty i’m behind by 10 unites from my goal, I should go back to the treack first before doing anything else so from now and own I should only spend 2h on content creation as planed and the rest is on math, so I can get ahaed not just breack even with my goal.

What good have I done this day

So I have worked a lot into the content creation process from expermenting with a new way to export the final figma animation and creating multiple new slides, but I have a call with shy and I agree that this is not going to be good I spend so much time on content creation that it makes me behind in the main task i have, so i set a goal to come back to the track.

I have finished 3 units today, and if I finish arithmetic tomorrow, I will be able to break even. Then, I can be faster than my goal.

what good shall I do this day

Today i want to fix math so after content creation i should not go more than the set hours and spend the rest on math

What good have I done this day

i have worked on the animations created more slide and i’m happy with that, and i stoped to spend more time on math, however i need to finsish arthmiteics currently i’m getting a bit board from this and it’s slowing my prograss

what good shall I do this day

today I would like to work on the slides and finish Arithmetic

What good have I done this day

I have worked on the animation slides today, and i’m super hapyy, i can see me imporving realy quicky in animations on figma, I also have done Arithmetic but i’m still behind I need to keep the grind and finish more unites at least 4.

What Good Shall I Do This Day

I’m about to finish the animations, so today I will try to get as close as possible. I have finished arithmetic and will move to algebra next, with the goal of completing 4 units a day.

What Good Have I Done This Day

I made progress on animations and think I can finish them tomorrow. For math, my goal was 4 units but today wasn’t the best - I played with Shy midday and afterward had less energy. I only completed 1 unit. I’m not happy with this result, but I think the main reasons are:

Lack of focus
Not enough physical movement
Low energy levels throughout the day (I yawn a lot)

What Good Shall I Do This Day

Today my goal is to finish the animations and finish 4 units of algebra

What Good Have I Done This Day

So I have finished the animations so to complete my first video I need to record the voice over and add it to the animations but for now I think tomorrow will be purely for math because I am behind and I must get ahead.

What Good Shall I Do This Day

Today my goal is to finish math units as much as I can but at least 4 my goal is to be ahead so because i finished my animations i decided that I want to spend this day for math.

What Good Have I Done This Day

I have finished 4 unites of math, it took a lot of time but was mostly learning rather than doing + I had some hours mid to day where i played for some time with shy and it was a bit harder to get into the mood again but al is good now.

What Good Shall I Do This Day

Today also is aimed for math only, I’m trying to force math in my brain so I can be faster with these unites

What Good Have I Done This Day

I have finished 2 unites very disappointed, i think it’s still very hard for me to focus with math but still i’m going to try more until it works, it’s not hard but a bit boring, maybe because my inner brain doesn’t know why I’m learning but whatever the reason I’m still going to try.

What Good Shall I Do This Day

Today I going to spend some time on fixing the script and recording the voice over for the video and doing math my goal is the same 4 units

What Good Have I Done This Day

I was able to fix the script but didn’t record it yet and i did do 1 unit in math not happy with the progress but I had to go to azimah today there wasn’t enough time

What Good Shall I Do This Day

My goal today is to record the voice over and do more unites in math

What Good Have I Done This Day

Today in the morning i have recorded the voice over and edit it but after that I slept because i was tired and i didn’t have enough time sleeping in the day before it, after i woke up i did a unite in math and then i had calls with shy until the breakfast so it’s not a very good day mainly because of sleep schedule.

What Good Shall I Do This Day

I’m going to fit the animations to the edited voice over so they fit and edit the final version of the video and I’m going to do more math units

What Good Have I Done This Day

Today I have finished editing the final video but i showed it to shy and he had some feedback to keep improving the video instead of uploading the current one so I do agree with this i also have some feedback on the final video that I would like to fix, i didn’t do math mainly because When I was done with the video and the feedback it was afternoon and I was sleepy because I didn’t sleep good to fix sleep so I“m awake still to fix it.

What Good Shall I Do This Day

Today I will rewrite the script and improve it, it seems like it’s the main problem with the video I have, there is other issues to be fixed but the most important is the script, and I want to do some unites in math as well.

What Good Have I Done This Day

today i did a research on how to write a better script, i messaged a youtuber and he gave me some tips and i wrote the ideas i got down to improve the script then i spent some time with shy/sanad and family after that i did math before breakfast but it wasn’t that much time, i think i should fouces to finish my tasks before the after noon because it’s going to be harder after.

What Good Shall I Do This Day

Today I’m going to list a lot of scripts and read them from Youtubers that I like there script style from youtube so i can improve at the script writing, also i need to do math unites

What Good Have I Done This Day

Today the whole morning was playing video games with Sanad/Shy, playing games in the morning miss up the day but I was able to go back on math after noon and I have done 2 unites but today we had also Fatoor Azimah so there wasn’t a lot of time after Alasir until Magrihbe prayer, so really no more games in the morning and you need to fauces on finishing before after noon.

What Good Shall I Do This Day

So today the content creation task is to get a lot of scripts from youtubers i like to read how do t hey write the script but because it’s a simpler task than math I will do it after math so first I will start on math today

What Good Have I Done This Day

Today I start with math instead of content creation, because math needs more fauces so i started it first and I was able to complete more unites than any previews day, today was pretty good for math as well I was able to finish all my tasks before asir, I was hoping to finish before afternoon so this is going to be my goal, I think after noon the energy starts to get lower + family interruptions tend to be higher after noon. i did also my tasks in content creation where I wrote down multiple scripts from youtubers I liked so I can look at how they make there scripts to improve my scripts

What Good Shall I Do This Day

Today I would like to try to finish algebra there is 7 unites left and I will read the scripts I wrote, to look at there style of writing and try to write like it

What Good Have I Done This Day

today i could’t fouces on the morning unlike yesterday so i stoped forcing myself and went to do the script part and i have done my tasks there, i tried to go back to math but it was after noon do i set with shy untile breakfast, today as well i went with the family and just got back 12:25am this is going to mess up my sleep so i need to fix it asap.

What Good Shall I Do This Day

last night i had to go with family and I returned home around 12:15am today so I slept very late and had to wake up to eat shoor so I went back to sleep after fajer and woke up around 9am, so the morning wasn’t very great so I need to fix sleep asap, so i can start training tomorrow because today I will get the gymnastic rings, and tomorrow is the start of a new week, but I still plan to do math today so I’m going to try to finish some unites

What Good Have I Done This Day

I have done one unit in math because i woke up late today but I’m going to try to sleep early today to fix sleep and i have got the rings so I’m ready for this week to exercise, but not enough time to do content creation

What Good Shall I Do This Day

today I fixed sleep and as soon as i woke up i set up the workout routine because i’m going to start working out from today, after that i will work on math as much as i can and i will start reading the scripts and learn from them to rewrite my own script

What Good Have I Done This Day

Today I have done setting up my workout plan on hevy app and things look good, i also did math there is 4 unites left in algebra but didn’t have time for the scripts yet

I though sleep fixed but it seems, it still not fixed %100 because i slept today around 9am for some time, I felt very tired so it seems like i don’t sleep enough hours in night, while it’s hard to sleep for a full 8h in ramadan I usually sleep 9 - 10 pm but i have to wake up for shoor and then stay up until the next 9 - 10 pm to sleep so after doing this for multiple days i tend to be very tired at some point

What Good Shall I Do This Day

Today I’m going to work on the script style ane tone and write it done so I know how to write better scripts, also I would like to finish the last 4 units in algebra but will see if I can do it today because i slept in the morning, i’m not sure if i have the time for it.

What Good Have I Done This Day

Today I have worked on the scripts and made my own style that I like and it’s going to be the start on how i write my scripts in the future, but i didn’t do math today because of the time i slept in the morning

I’m going to move the 30m walk boost from after noon to around 9am - 10am it’s where i usually have a low energy so it’s better to take a walk at that time instead sleeping like yesterday.

What Good Shall I Do This Day

today I’m going to finalize the script and see if I need any changes before i rewrite my video script, + I will try to finish algebra today.

What Good Have I Done This Day

Today went decent with math and content creation didn’t finalize the script but did some progress and with math the same there is 3 unites left in algebra, the main reason is sleep schedule i was super tired in the morning so I’m going to sleep early today to fix tomorrow