Journals

Here is a general breakdown of my workflow. It looks like a lot because it is. While you can speed up the process and use an automation tool, the whole point of posting by hand (or manually) is to have a more human element to this as that's pretty much how it was "back in the day." Also to be able to help by ensuring you wrote your descriptions, and tags proper, or at least to the best of your ability. I'm sure majority of you now see posts on platforms like FA that are empty, have zero tags, and you don't know who the artist is, or even where to contact them.

Before getting into this, the text below follows the rules of todo.txt which is just a set of guidelines for plaintext productivity. Feel free to use whatever you like, it should all be about the same in the end.

(A) 2026-01-26 Update queue status on GitGay @admin @queue +Coord where:Forgejo est:5m
(A) 2026-01-26 Remove queue order on GitGay @admin @queue +Coord where:Forgejo est:5m
(A) 2026-01-26 Upload commission file to Bluesky @Comm @upload +Pub where:Bluesky est:10m
(A) 2026-01-26 Upload commission file to FurAffinity @Comm @upload +Pub where:FA est:10m
(A) 2026-01-26 Upload commission file to Furbooru @Comm @upload +Pub where:Furb est:10m
(A) 2026-01-26 Upload commission file to Ko-Fi @Comm @upload +Pub where:Kofi est:5m
(A) 2026-01-26 Upload commission file to Mastodon @Comm @upload +Pub where:Mastodon est:10m
(A) 2026-01-26 Upload commission file to SoFurry @Comm @upload +Pub where:SoFurry est:5m
(A) 2026-01-26 Upload commission file to Telegram @Comm @upload +Pub where:Telegram est:10m
(B) 2026-01-26 Add commission tags on Bluesky @Comm @tags +Pub where:Bluesky est:5m
(B) 2026-01-26 Add commission tags on FurAffinity @Comm @tags +Pub where:FA est:10m
(B) 2026-01-26 Add commission tags on Furbooru @Comm @tags +Pub where:Furb est:20m
(B) 2026-01-26 Add commission tags on Mastodon @Comm @tags +Pub where:Mastodon est:5m
(B) 2026-01-26 Add commission tags on SoFurry @Comm @tags +Pub where:SoFurry est:10m
(B) 2026-01-26 Write commission description on FurAffinity @Comm @writing +Pub where:FA est:20m
(B) 2026-01-26 Write commission description on SoFurry @Comm @writing +Pub where:SoFurry est:5m
(B) 2026-01-26 Write commission descriptive text on Bluesky @Comm @writing +Pub where:Bluesky est:10m
(B) 2026-01-26 Write commission descriptive text on Furbooru @Comm @writing +Pub where:Furb est:10m
(B) 2026-01-26 Write commission descriptive text on Mastodon @Comm @edit +Pub where:Mastodon est:10m
(C) 2026-01-26 Plug commission url from Bluesky to FurAffinity @Comm @bridge +Pub where:FA est:5m
(C) 2026-01-26 Plug commission url from Furbooru to FurAffinity @Comm @bridge +Pub where:FA est:5m
(C) 2026-01-26 Plug commission url from Ko-Fi to FurAffinity @Comm @bridge +Pub where:FA est:5m
(C) 2026-01-26 Plug commission url from Mastodon to FurAffinity @Comm @bridge +Pub where:FA est:5m
(C) 2026-01-26 Plug commission url from SoFurry to FurAffinity @Comm @bridge +Pub where:FA est:5m
(C) 2026-01-26 Plug commission urls from ALL to Furbooru @Comm @bridge +Pub where:Furb est:10m
(D) 2026-01-26 Deliver commission to client @Comm @delivery @client +Pub est:5m
(D) 2026-01-26 Share commission on Telegram @Comm @share +Pub where:Telegram est:5m

Seriously this takes me about 2-3Hrs to make a complete post.

Toyhouse: (*Requires invite, or paid tokens.) This is mostly for adopts. If we get a commission through this platform, extra steps are taken to transfer the character or art to your account upon completion.

Pixelfed Abandoned.

Weasyl Abandoned.

Pillowfort (*Requires invite, or paid tokens.) Ultimately abandoned, for...a number of personal reasons.

*If a platform is not listed here, we don't have it, or use it anymore. This applies to Instagram, X, discord, etc.

• Complete guide, Todo.txt | source
• Goodbye Trello, Hello ToDo.txt | source
• I Tried Every Todo App and Ended Up With a .txt File | source
• Work Journal | source
• Using todo.txt in Obsidian | source

Learning the absolute basics of GIT is handy, but not required.

"Git" has a handful of ways it can be used, and it's not always just a terminal only thing. You can use it in the web if you prefer.

I would suggest using a Forgejo instance, but if you just wanna get going, Github or Gitlab should do you just fine. (On the Forgejo website, they have resources and comparisons of various other instances.)

Using tools you love! This is pretty vital. Do you legitimately hate using Trello? Prefer Notion? Maybe you just like using your own Email, or notepad? Don't force yourself to use something you really don't like. If it adds too much friction, maybe consider looking elsewhere. (This applies to platforms too. Maybe you don't like Instagram, or X, and prefer Bluesky or Toyhouse?) Sometimes using something else, can help you think outside the box and use a tool differently than it was intended: "Anything is a hammer if you want it to be." Type philosophy.

If "Admin" work is maybe not your thing, consider hiring a friend, or a trusted person to help you out. Granted this only really works if your digital life is your full-time job. You don't need to be a furry artist to have help in this area. You could be a streamer, or blogger. Whatever it may be, this still applies. You don't need to do it all alone if you can reach out.

Note: This work requires you to fully trust whoever you employ, as they will have access to all your accounts, passwords, etc. Please do choose carefully. Do not use the same passwords across your social media, or accounts, ever. Practice good internet safety!

Consider having your own website. Even if you don't know how to code, or don't have any initial plans to use it. (Consider Hugo?) Most public instances of Git all have a way for you to host your own websites. Otherwise you can fallback on Neocities and Nekoweb! The web is vast, you can always spend a few minutes searching up "how to" and likely come across a way to do whatever it is you want to do. Ask around if you need help, look up a video tutorial, there's plenty of information out there but-- please remember most things do take time. Some of this cannot be done in less than 10m unless you know what you're doing. If you rush into this thinking it can be done fast, you might crash and burn and not want to continue. Practice good patience. Slow down. Take your time and have fun! If you're not having fun, what's the point?

Signed, TV

This journal entry is written to display part of my workflow, and show off exactly how my time is distributed.

90% of what I do is writing. The rest is fixing things, taking orders, and networking. All of what I do is entirely for free. See all those posts, and the alt-text? The descriptions, the cross-linking? Tags? All of that is sort of my bread and butter. I don't rely on or trust automation tools, like Postybirb (although I understand how it could be helpful) it's just not for me. I personally prefer to be upset at myself than a tool if something goes wrong. This way I can correct by hand, in the same way everything else is written and done. I build all my own templates, and keep everything organized both digitally and physically to help me stay on top of everything I manage and coordinate.

I have written up the primary index and guides for caffeinatedcultist and manage the Carrd, website, all platforms, you name it- It's something I am proud of. Being able to be in multiple places all at once is pretty exhausting, but I am very proud of what I do. Sometimes I burn out and need to take a day or two off, because on average I push 12-16hr shifts of total active work time. Not many would dare do what I do for this long, and keep it together. I also don't encourage it!

For now I want to focus on my commissioning breakdown, and different types of ways I take on an order. Please use this guide as a reference point. I have FA Notes turned off, but you can always reach out to me on Telegram.

If the original instructions are followed, this should only take about ~15-25m max.

In some cases, if we need to discuss more details, or come up with an idea together, then approximately ~1h. This is not a problem if we discuss this up-front and I understand we need to take more time to talk about your commission. I only ask that you remain respectful of course, and please try to schedule something with me.

Extreme cases, require me to spend over 1h, and sometimes even days to weeks to not only take the order, but process it beyond my control. This is due to several factors; Redirecting to the TOS, answering questions, repeating commissioning instructions, offering quotes, providing other information regarding rendering, canvas size, or even TAT and total estimated time for the commission.

I am more than happy to help when there is confusion, but when it comes to direct hand-holding, and spoon-feeding, this is where I start to draw the line. This is where I will begin to charge for my time, which is only fair. Art takes time to make, and sometimes so does the order itself. It's up to you to decide how long you'd like to spend ordering. The faster I can get you processed, the faster I can add you into the queue, and get art going. Once that's all done, post-processing occurs.

This is why I have (and use), Buy Me A Coffee!! I lock my pledge tiers at $1, but this wont prevent you from tipping me manually as you see fit. Upon extreme cases, I will not invoice you for your commission, until you've paid me for my time, which will be discussed before finalizing your order. In pure kindness cases, if you do believe I do a good job, and you like what I do, or simply want to throw me some coin, I always welcome it!

"Thank you to those of you who do read my little posts. I am thankful there are a handful of you who do see me and all of what I do. I apologize for the times some of you have seen me falling apart and virtually killing myself for this work, and slaving away for others who realistically don't matter. I am slowly working on building up my own self-worth and trying to better myself and practice self-care more frequently. Learning how to say "no" is one of my bigger challenges, but thanks to you (you know who you are) your help is truly taking root in me and I think with time things will be better."