Hello! I was previously running these online courses through the Canadian school VFS' Short Circuit but have decided to focus on self-hosting my content more (in so many ways, I've been learning so much back-end these days, it's hard work to the surprise of no one) so now you can register for them through my website: https://erikamoya.com/intro-to-blender-classes/ https://erikamoya.com/intro-to-vfx-classes/ They're both aimed for beginners, live classes where we do work together, you can ask questions and get feedback in-between classes as well, limited to 7 students per group to assure no one gets left behind. The courses are aimed at teaching the technical knowledge of using the software plus good practices so you have all the tools needed to work by yourself and improve your craft through practice and feedback. With Blender I teach the whole generalist pipeline so students can get an understanding of areas that maybe they didn't have any idea on what they meant or they would like before starting (like rigging for example), also helpful for those that are looking to switch from Maya to Blender. I invite you to look at the pages I've written to see more about what each covers. Humble bragging but previous students have told me they really enjoyed the classes ;p I'll still be working with VFS occasionally teaching other topics, like maybe perhaps an introduction to freelancing course in a few months.
Start by deleting social media from your phone, make it so it's really inconvenient to get in there.
If you can't afford to close your accounts then log out of the web brower's websites and change the password to something randomly generated that you only have on your computer so you can only log in there when needed.
You can still access the chats using something like Beeper.
Find things to replace the doomscrolling with. Short simple games that actually help your brain like Tetris, Sudoku, and/or word games - I've been really enjoying Blossom Word Search, it's really calming and satisfying.
Get books that are about topics you care about or enjoy, doesn't matter how good they are or if they provide any actual value.. reading books will help you regain your attention span and reading comprehension skills while keeping you away from screens. You can set tiny goals like reading two pages without getting distracted and then grow it to 5, a chapter, and so on. Put your phone on do not disturb while you read or leave it in another room. Visit your local library, they're free!
Physical excercise will do wonders for your brain too. I personally love rope climbing in a gym and recently started doing parkour too. It's a fun way of excercising and building community. Find a sport that calls to you and start by doing it one time a week, even if you suck, we all start somewhere. It's much easier if you join other people already doing it, look for local groups that practice it. You don't have to step foot in a regular boring gym.
Anything you do start with small achievable goals and then build them up as that becomes easier. If you get distracted or start going back into old habits it's ok, just stop and get back to it as you catch yourself. Eventually it'll become easier.
Oh and do not use LLMs to get answers. Use a search engine like Duck Duck Go with AI turned off. Researching skills are super important and LLMs can really liquify your brain, they take away your creativity and critical thinking skills.
