Meet Lucas Swinden | Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lucas Swinden and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lucas, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Work life balance: how has your balance changed over time? How do you think about the balance?

I’ve been working for myself ever since I graduated university. When I was in school I never really knew what I wanted to do so I never considered the possibility of starting my own business – which means I never took any business courses in school. Once I finished university and was out in the real world, working for myself felt like a natural next step for me. So, I had to figure it out and I had a lot to learn. I spent every day, absorbing as much information as I could for as long as possible. I was learning everything from incorporating a business to designing a website. After a few years of working for myself and navigating the world of entrepreneurship, eventually, I landed my dream job working as a video editor for a YouTuber. Soon, video editing became my life. I remember thinking that I would never get sick of shooting and editing photos and videos but as time went on, it became tiring. That’s when I first learned about “burnout”. I caught myself feeling uninspired even though the work I was doing was a ton of fun. It left me feeling defeated and confused. I worried that I had fallen out of love with my passion and started thinking I would have to change career paths. Luckily, after a lot of reflection and research, I learned that it is perfectly normal to feel “burnt out” especially in a world of “hustle culture”. It’s easy to forget how important a work/life balance is and loose yourself to your work. I assessed my working habits and noticed unsustainable (maybe even toxic) patterns and I established boundaries for myself. I started to build systems that would help me work more efficiently so I could speed up my workflow. I’m still experimenting with what works best for me but re-structuring the way I organize my day is something that’s been working really well lately. Some days I’ll work in 2-3 hour time blocks, giving myself a break to run errands, go to the gym or simply go for a walk in between. Other days I’ll work straight through the day. I’ve given myself the flexibility and freedom to work when it makes the most sense for me. In addition to that, I recently started working 4 days a week instead of 5, in hopes of furthering that work/life balance. I’ve only just started this new schedule, but I’m hoping it’ll afford me the space and time I need to explore and nurture other creative outlets. After battling with my own work/life balance, I’ve grown to learn that nothing is more important than my own peace and happiness. I’ve allowed work to impact that in the past and it’s not sustainable. Ultimately up to me to build the life I want to live, so that’s exactly what I’m trying to do.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
It took me a long time to discover what I wanted to do. I thought I wanted to be an art teacher so I went to art school and teachers college. Turns out, I didn’t want to be an art teacher. So I dropped out and went to study media for a year to see if I liked it. Turns out, I loved it. So I applied to Ryerson University’s Media Production program and got my Bachelor of Arts. After 4 years of studying media production, and over 5 years of working in the industry, I can confidently say that I learned everything I need to know on YouTube. Funny enough, YouTube is where it all began. I had been obsessed with YouTube since 2007 when it first appeared. Since then, I have consumed, created, mimicked and studied so much content on the platform. So much so, that I’ve made it my full-time job. Through the connections I made in university, I was able to land a job as a video editor for one of my favourite local YouTubers, Chris Hau. I’ve been working with Chris for the last 3 years. Together, we’ve created hundreds of videos, traveled to some of the coolest places and experienced some of the wildest things. What I hope everyone can take away from this is never to settle. If you’re chasing something that doesn’t get you excited to wake up everyday, change it. It’s never too late to change your mind.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Being from Toronto, there are tons of awesome places to explore, both in and outside of the city. I’d definitely take them downtown for the standard tourist-y “CN Tower Pictures” but I wouldn’t want to waste too much time there. Depending on the time of year, I’d take them down to the waterfront where we’d get beavertails, iced caps or bubble tea and walk along the boardwalk. We’d rent city bikes and bike to Trinity Bellwoods park. Before we settle for a picnic, we’d walk up and down Queen St West checking out the little shops and restaurants. We’d pick up food and drinks to eat in the park. We’d spend the afternoon eating, drinking, smoking and hanging out. In the evening we’d go up to Koreatown for KBBQ and maybe some Karaoke. We’d end the night in the Village on Church & Wellesley and just see where the night takes us.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I wouldn’t have learned nearly as much about the world of entrepreneurship, content creation, burn out or marketing without the help of my boss man: Chris Hau and my best friend Andrea Salva.

Website: kaythanksproductions@gmail.com

Instagram: @kthnx.lucas

Twitter: @kthnxlucas

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/kaythanksproductions