Well, I did it! I stopped watching all the gear videos and got on with making.
And this week, I just published the first video on the brand new ConnectCurateCreate YouTube channel!!
You see! I can do it when I put my mind to it; but I don’t always go about it in the most effective way. And that’s why I watch heaps of productivity videos too!!
All jest aside, I have a pretty sound approach to creative work. I do loads of research (hence, all the YouTube), I ruminate on ideas, and then I get to work. I then either click ‘submit’ or hit the self-destruct button! That’s how I produce this blog every week; it’s how I make a zine every few months.
However, I’m now also making a podcast, videos, and I’d love to get back to my darkroom …ooh, and I want to try woodblock printing, and, and…!
And there’s my problem. I can’t seem to just focus on one thing. As soon as I’ve got a grasp on one creative process, I move on to learning the next. I can’t sit still!!
So, I need to find a way to, not to focus, but make time and space for all of those things I want to try my hand at. But where do I begin…?
Where would you begin?
Here’s what’s in the full post this week:
Our most precious commodity (free to all)
My set up (for paid subscribers)
My action plan for creativity (for the 20%)
Our most precious commodity
Time.
Is it me, or does time really fly when you’re feeling free?
These past few weeks, I’ve found just as I’m finding a good working cadence in my day, 5pm comes around all of a sudden.
5pm isn’t necessarily when I clock out; it’s when Bjarni nudges me to remind me that he’s been waiting all day to play with me — his favourite being ‘I’ve got the ball and if you want it, you’ll have to catch me!’ He always wins.
After playtime, it’s time to fire up the woodburner again and think about making dinner. And then, depending on how I feel, I’ll either do some research (on YouTube, on the telly, while lounging on the couch), do some work on the iPad, or I’ll get on with some chores.
Part of my problem is of course that in Winter, I struggle to get up before sunrise. Fortunately, now Spring is nearly here, first light is at an hour far more conducive to a more productive day. But generally, at this time of year, my working days are no shorter than the rest of the year, they’re just, let’s say, offset. But that’s means I’m slightly out of kilter.
I’ve finally admitted to myself this Winter that the colder months are not and have never been my most productive time. I had all sorts of plans to be down the workshop and in the darkroom this Winter, but by the time the weekends would come around, I didn’t really feel like it.
There’s definitely something about seasonality that affects my daily and weekly rhythms — something about when I’m ready to begin my day and end my week — something to do with sunlight and my energy levels (even though I take my vitamin D supplements — it’s a Tassie thing, apparently).
So, rather than struggle through this Winter, I just let go of the idea that I’d get stuff done that wasn’t on the ConnectCurateCreate to do list. That’s still coming together nicely, but my other creative interests feel a bit neglected, a bit scattered and disjointed.
And so maybe it’s not so much about the time of year, but more about what I’m taking on that’s affecting my cadence. While I still have daily rhythms despite the lack of daylight hours, I’ve completely changed the work I do, why I do it, and how!
I’m reluctant to use the word ‘transform’ here because, while I feel like I’ve shifted my intentions, my actions are yet to catch up. Naively, I unplugged from the old work and connected into the new projects, expecting to just find a good cadence. I was wrong.
Starting over takes time. Before we get up to speed and find a steady pace, we need to work through the gears. So, I’m trying not to be too hard on myself.
I do think I picked the right time of year to start over though. Being in the lower gears through Winter, my expectations of myself haven’t been that high. But as Spring arrives, I do want to pick up the pace and crack on with things.
And this leads me to my next dilemma…
My set up
This week, Van Neistat reminded me of one of David Lynch’s finest pieces of advice:
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Generation Create to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.