Creative Work Hour: Finding Value in Community
Good afternoon, happy Sunday
Over the past few months, I have been creating content more than usual. I have also dedicated more time to HIVE and online communities in general. Away from the computer, I have slowly been getting involved in some hobbies, some of which have changed my lifestyle for the better. Fitness, reading, blogging, just to name a few. What changed?, how did it come about?, how did I do it?. Well, one big thing that has helped me not only with these but with networking, learning and socialising too is a wonderful community known as @creativeworkhour.
Image made by me using ChatGPT
This space was something I did not hear about in most of 2025, but around the Christmas period, @alessandrawhite introduced me to it after constantly bumping into each other on various PYPT sessions on Discord. I was hesitant at first; video calls are something I did not do. Microsoft Teams, Zoom Workspace, etc. These were things I never used; I only heard about them in pandemic times. After receiving an invitation and briefly talking in the Discord server, it was time to join my first session. I got Zoom Workspace set up quite easily, and I was actually excited to be joining my first session. It went perfectly, so well that, fast-forward many months, I attend very regularly. I won't explain what they do, I will recommend you check out @creativeworkhour to get the best description of what they are about, but in short, think of it as a small gathering of people looking to co-work, network and focus for 2 hours a day on things they want to pursue, whether big or small.
I find great value in these sessions. It ticks off my socialising box, something I feel I don't get enough of. It is a warm and welcoming space where, for 2 hours, I can just focus on what I am pursuing. Most of the time its spending those 2 hours writing or checking in on blogs, and the other times when my mind isn't as creative, I am reading or doing something productive, which is a big win for me because before I would have probably been scrolling endlessly on my phone or being lazy. The amazing hosts @alessandrawhite and @bitterirony are always available, as well as some of the regulars who help step in when any issue can arise.
The results speak for themselves.
Apologies for the shocking handwriting, which is a skill that has always evaded me. Most of the goals here, minus the financial one, travelling, and maybe the sports article writing, everything else is on track and going very well. To name the big ones at Christmas, I was 120KG, I am now 108KG. Walking 10k steps a day, on the odd day I may have missed a day, I have normally been in the gym or have forgotten to wear my watch. Networking, I have met wonderful people, including attending my first ever HIVE meetup, which was, of course, organised by @creativeworkhour. I will share some photos below on some personal highlights of my achievements so far this year.
9/30 books read I am on track, and with 3–4 books over 70% read, I am confident in this goal
My first ever hike, I am into walking, but I have never done something like this. I liked it so much, I am excited to do it again.
After so many years on Hive, I finally attended a Hive meetup, and it was great.
Speaking of @creativeworkhour, I am writing this whilst I am in session. The calm music, friendly atmosphere and lovely conversations all merge to create a flow, and this flow does not stop.
It is not even halfway through 2026, and I still have some financial troubles with a low-hour contract job, but I can honestly admit this year has really been a breath of fresh air. I have done so many new things, reconnected with old hobbies and interests and improved my lifestyle both physically and mentally. Long may it continue, and long may CWH see new faces come their way.
With that, I will wrap up the writing today. The CWH session is just about wrapping up, and my brain needs a warm cup of tea on this wet weather day. Thank you for reading.
Disclaimer: All photos are my own unless otherwise stated/sourced
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That was a really nice day when we all met up, a welcome distraction at the time too. I’ve only ever been on one CWH and once settled in with my new job, I’m planning to do some early starts, so that I can wrap up the day with a CWH session. Not sure she’d just yet but I’ll not be in the company office day in, day out, so a good chance I can hop on and say hello.
Yes, it was a great day. I am quite lucky that so far all my shifts are morning shifts, so I can easily get home in time for CWH.
Lovely progress Chris, you must be really pleased!
Very nice to see you in CWH when you're able to come 😍
Thank you and yes I am very pleased with myself this year.
They are a lovely bunch and very supportive. It's a nice opportunity to socialise if you don't get much of that otherwise. I just don't get to it as often as I like as it tends to clash with work.
!BEER
Hi ya, @steevc!
We are open Daily, including Saturday & Sundays!
We serve the Hive community 365 days a year!
1:45pm UTC Cuppa Joe (15-min. hangout)
2:00pm UTC Creative Work Hour (1st hour)
3:00pm UTC Practice Not Perfect (2nd hour)
https://creativeworkhour.com/discord
shouldn't that steering wheel be on the the right side of the keyboard after all your brits drive on the left side 😜
!PIMP
Haha, very funny.
Honestly it is such a pain to take off and set up again so I have just got used to sliding is as far along my desk as possible when I want to utilise my keyboard.
Great work on getting back into the swing of things on Hive, and your weight loss progress is great!! Hopefully the financial front will improve just as well this year
Thank you. Yes everything is going well if I can get some more hours/income that will be perfect.
Good to hear that you are on track with your 2026 goals! And regarding CWH, it's great that it "works for you"! I'm trying to get there as much as possible, as it works for me too, in the same way as you described... It keeps my focus, and I do a lot more than I would do without participating...
Hopefully, I will get well after a rough week and be able to join these days again...
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Thank you for the ourpick mention it means so much to me :)
I look forward to seeing you in the sessions sometime and I hope you feel better soon and have much better weeks ahead :)
@chris-uk and I at the #hivefriends-uk February 2026 @creativeworkhour | @buzzparty in Bedford, UK
Hi @chris-uk! WOW!! To date, is the BEST POST anyone has ever written on Hive about Creative Work Hour. I'm a softy, as you already know. So it may come as no surprise that I became rather leaky last night when I read it. @bitterirony and I are so grateful for your kind words of encouragement.
Because of the exquisite timing of your surprise gift 💝of an unsolicited testimonial, I decided that now is the time to merge our two Discord servers into one. Did you know that CWH is about to celebrate it's 5-year anniversary? I've only been on Hive for 4 years. This means, as I described in my first HiveFest talk in Rosarito, Mexico, that I onboarded @creativeworkhour to Hive, rather than the conventional way the communities are built on the chain.
As a result, our original Discord predates our Hive activity. Last year, when I was in hospital following my accident, thinking I wouldn't get to attend HiveFest in Kuala Lampur, much less speak at the event that we sponsored, I thought I'd try an experiment and start a CWH specific Discord for active Hive users. This server attracted Hive hot-shots like @shanibeer @sagarkothari88 @steevc @ph1102 @godfish @shadowspub @stresskiller and @roswelborges, to honour a few.
This server has been as experiment—a good one, at that! But I learned that my brain doesn't wanna handle two Discords that really serve the same purpose, which is to provide a community first, Hive forward, daily creative space where the crew feel like we genuinely care about the experience and outcome of their creative work. So,
Chris, thank you! You have inspired me to merge the two Discords (okay, I don't know how I'll do that just yet 😂) But if you or someone you know can help me with this merging of old & new Discords, that would be stellar! 🌟 I'd rather have one nicer car than two work cars. Ya know what I mean?
Kudos to you for so beautifully writing and illustrating in this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ post for the crew. We ❤️ ya for it, as it will help other Hivians find us and have more fun making stuff for themselves and for Hive.
That's it for now, but I bet I'll see you in a few hours in our live session. 😉
Much love! ❤️
Ps I'm sorry I missed seeing you yesterday. I was at Ambiente-Leeds at a Cava tasting of the sparkling & still wines of Vilarnau. I was thinking not only of #hodalicante and the amazing time we had there, but also looking forward to @hivefest 11 coming in September to Barcelona. I'm hoping there's a good chance you might join us in Catalonia. 🙏🏽
Your reply is upvoted by @topcomment; a manual curation service that rewards meaningful and engaging comments.
Thank you for finding and reading my comment to Chris. We've become good friends from tiny quiet conversations about how to get out of your own way and have more fun doing what feels important to do.
I've promoted in the @creativeworkhour live sessions the @topcomment project, as I strongly believe that one of the dimensions of community exists in that precious space below the Hive post, i.e., the replies and comments.
Well done, @friendlymoose on this vital initiative!
You're welcome! Social media isn't social without genuine engagement in the comment section. Thanks for promoting @topcomment!
Wow, you’re indeed the achiever, aren’t you? :)
As Alessandra mentioned, come to Barcelona. It’s gonna be huge!
I will add it on my calendar. Depending on if I can increase my income I would love to come.
Barcelona is an incredible city I visited around 2021 time it was an amazing experience would love to go again.
Excellent post. Hope you keep improving and making the best out of life. There are always opportunities in crypto and tech to find life changing moments and I'm glad you find your first one.