A Little Momentum - Micro Prompting

The last couple of days have been a strange mix of stalled energy and small breakthroughs. I’ve been wrestling with that familiar feeling where even simple steps feel too heavy. Still, I ended up sketching twice, and that feels worth slowing down to recognize.

The first sketch happened late last night. I opened my digital app thinking I’d make something loose, but digital work has a way of pulling me straight into detail. Shapes begin to unfold, lines sharpen, and before I know it I’m sinking deeper than I meant to. It wasn’t frustration with the work itself. It was the clock. I could see the tradeoff forming in real time. If I kept going, I’d shave hours off my sleep and pay for it the next day. So I stopped, not out of defeat, just practicality. I saved the sketch, put the stylus down, and let myself walk away.

This morning was different. I had only a few minutes before getting ready for the day. No plan, no pressure. I opened my sketchbook, made one simple shape, and the rest slipped out fast. This was the micro sketch ChatGPT nudged me to try. It took less than fifteen minutes and surprised me with how naturally it flowed. No overthinking, no wrestling with detail. Just movement. In some ways it felt more alive than the digital one I spent over an hour on.

What I’m learning is that momentum doesn’t always look like big progress. Sometimes it’s two sketches made under totally different conditions. One chosen by discipline. One chosen by spontaneity. Both valid and part of the same larger arc of becoming better at my craft and more consistent with my practice.

I’m posting all four images here, including the AI interpretations, partly to show the contrast but mostly to remind myself that effort counts even when the day is messy. I want to keep experimenting with these micro prompts and maybe build them into future shorts, maybe even full process videos down the road.

For now, I’m glad I showed up at all. And I’m glad something came out of it.