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Streaming Focus

December 2025

A Bullet Points Post

  • I don't have a jobjob. I get to work on whatever I want. Right now, that's bittybitty.

  • Most days, getting started isn't a problem. I'm either directly excited about the part I'm working on, or, it's a day where I know it's just work to be done and I put my head down and start.

    It's not motivation. It's momentum.

  • Some days, I can't get going. Can't find the first gear. On those days, I stream.
  • It's a form of Body Doublingdoubling. An invitation for folks to be present while I work.
  • Jumping into a voice chat is enough body doubling for some folks. It doesn't work for me. I end up in communication modecomms. Talking not making.
  • Streaming puts me in create modecreate. Conversations can still happen, but they come in through text and are inherently async. I don't have to break a train of thought until I'm done with it. Then, I catch up on chat.

  • I think pretty much everyone should give streaming a shot to see if it works for them. I recommend the following:

    1. Don't tell anyone you're steaming yet. Treat it as an idea to play with to see if you like it.
    2. Create an account on twitchtwitch.
    3. Download OBS to use for the streaming software.
    4. Connect OBS to your twitch account.
    5. Set up a single scene the just shows your desktop and picks up your mic (i.e. don't set up a facecam, or worry about making it look cool in any way, the goal is just to get something showing up on the stream).
    6. Turn on the Docks -> Chat and Docks -> Twitch Activity Feed in OBS so you're set up to see interactions from chat.
    7. Don't open you page on twitch or anywhere else that shows you the number of folks currently viewing.
    8. Click "Start Streaming" in OBS.
    9. Say, "Hello, world", and type something, then click "Stop Streaming" in OBS.

    Congratulations! You are officially a streamer now. Welcome to the club!

    Start and stop your stream three times just to get used to feel of it.

    Then, click "Start Streaming" and go for a little while. Make sure you can't see anything telling you how many viewers are watching. Act like the audience you want is watching. Talk to them.

The most important part of streaming for me is intentionally not knowing how many people are watching. At the start, that number is going to be zero. It takes time before folks start finding your stream. Even longer before they start chatting and sticking around.

That's fine. If you're goal is to use streaming as a helper to get you focused it doesn't matter. It's a method of working in public where you're inviting people to stop by. The visibility is what powers the focus regardless of the number of folks watching at any given moment.

Working in public ain't for everyone. But, it's a tool that can be useful. Not with the goal of being A Streamer™. Instead, it can be a tool for focus to help get work done.

-a

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Endnotes

The nice thing about not telling anyone you're doing the experiment is that you don't have to worry about if anyone is going to show up or not. You might get a surprise, but mostly the first few streams are just getting in reps of pressing the "Start Streaming" button.

Chat will show up later.

Footnotes

job ⤴

I don't have a job right now. I'm riding on savings for as long as I can. TBD on what the future looks like.

bitty ⤴

bitty is a tool designed to make it easier to make interesting pages on the web. It takes the hassle out of wiring up elements to functionality. You get to work on the parts fun parts instead of the plumbing.

bitty.alanwsmith.com

doubling ⤴

paraphrasing: Body doubling is a strategy used to initiate and complete tasks. It involves the physical or virtual presence of someone with whom one shares their goals, which makes it more likely to achieve them.

comms ⤴

I have this idea that we can generally categorize our mental states as being in one of three modes: Creating, Communicating, or Consuming. If you're doing one, the other two take a back-seat.

One of these days, I'll write up the post with a few more details, but that's most of it.

create ⤴

i.e. the Create option from Create, Communicate, Consume.

twitch ⤴

If you've already got a YouTube account, use it.

Of, if you just want to use YouTube instead, that works. The goal is to get started, you can dual stream to both platforms later if you want to be in both places or switch.