Digital products created: Silent night Long time ago All things bright and beautiful That name Jesus I die daily He takes a beggar and makes him a king I have a shepherd BIBLE is good enough for me – YouTube I believe – YouTube https://www.youtube.com/ekoja7 https://docs.google.com/document/d/17vaU2b9lJ7-QPFsgD00nefsjzPua7Ng_/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=117109243475770631899&rtpof=true&sd=true As a creative, one may be tempted to expend energy on unproductive ventures while the wheels of creativity rust. This was my story. Though caught in this web, the 21-day challenge from distraction liberated me from the grip of this fruitless adventure. After engaging in a critical thinking exercise to come up with a creative idea, my mind went back to my dormant 3 years old YouTube channel, which had just a video on its dashboard. The challenge challenged me to create over 10 YouTube videos for public consumption. Reasons why I chose the Carol video production: *There was a need for digital contents with the capacity to lift one’s spirit during the Christmas and New Year celebrations. *I wanted to create a routine and cultivate a positive habit that could become a lifestyle *I yearned to revive my channel after years of dormancy *I desired to create content that could be consumed by kids and adults globally *I wanted to develop my music skills *I have always longed to impart my generation positively Method approach used: As a creative, one needs to study his environment for trends/seasons to create digital products that resonate with the needs of consumers. With Christmas drawing close, the knowledge helped me to leverage the season to create some carol videos. In creating the products, I first researched the lyrics of some songs from the internet to get a personal copy. This was followed by a series of practice sessions to be conversant with the tone, pitch, and keys. After gaining some mastery, I recorded and reviewed my first video draft to measure my performance and correct lapses. With the necessary corrections taken, I proceeded to record my final videos in a calm and quiet environment. This was done to avoid unnecessary distractions. When the final recordings were completed, I saved my files safely in a phone folder. For newbies, it is important to take note of this step because failure to do so may lead to the loss of an entire digital production output. After creation, I got a data package from my network provider to upload the files to my YouTube channel. This took hours from me and were it not for my resilience, I would have abandoned the exercise midway. From my experience, I noticed that it is easier to download files from the internet than to upload them. Digital creatives should always try to imbibe the virtue of patience during this stage because; uploading may sometimes be frustrating to newbies. In addition, I tried to monitor the progress of my digital products after uploading them to gain insight into areas I needed to improve upon to retain my audience. From my observation on the 18th of December 2023, my videos were able to have about 100 views from members of the public. This progress wouldn’t have been measurable without the skill of follow-up. Digital creators should please try their best to follow the analytics of produced works because in analysis lies progress. Finally, one thing I noticed about some digital creators is that they hardly extend their knowledge and failure stories to others. To escape this norm, I deliberately took it upon myself to teach my learners/orphans how to sing some songs and engaged them to create some digital products too. This I believe may be the spark they would need to thrive in this digital era while they age. What I learned: In the course of the 21-day challenge, I learned how to create and upload video clips to YouTube. This proved to me that anyone anywhere could be a digital creator. As I deliberately carved out time to exercise my body after the day’s work, it eased me from stress and helped me to think straight. This is a testament to the important role exercise plays in spicing up the creativity of a digital creator. My visit to the NKST orphanage exposed me to the bitter plight of disadvantaged members of the public. It further enlightened me about the voluntary role I needed to play in my community. As a lucky online attendee at the Drucker Forum conference in Austria, I learned that as a leader, I needed to normalize regrets to become a better negotiator, problem solver, and strategist. In the course of the challenge, I was able to complete an 8-week business management course organized by the Tony Elumelu Foundation in less than 2 weeks. Thanks to my resolve to deliberately shut out distractions and be productive. Through the extension of my music skills, I learned about the virtue of transferring knowledge across generations. After visiting a sick colleague, I understood the importance of purposeful rest. Areas for improvement: * With primary assignments calling for my attention, there’s an urgent need to learn balanced multitasking *I need to develop my networking skills amidst varying commitments. *Deliberately scheduling rest without feeling guilty.   Click here to read a richer version of this on Google Docs.