Rethinking the To Do list
I’m returning to this space after a bit of a break. I’m not entirely sure I feel ready, but I think it’s right to come back and start again when there are new buds on the trees and flowers starting to bloom in gardens. Writing regularly, and sharing my ideas on creativity with a wider audience, is important to me and I’ve missed it during the winter months. But, adding something back into my schedule feels like hard work. I’ve gotten used to having the extra time each week for other things (and there are so many other things!) that trying to earmark a short space for this has me questioning whether it’s time I can afford. This activity needs to move from the category ‘things I rarely do’ to ‘things I always do’ – a space that is much easier to deal with.
The issue seems to be how I view the work I currently need to do. I’m at the beginning of a long project that will last until the end of June. It’s challenging work and I feel like I am always on the verge of being overwhelmed, there are so many things to hold in my head. I’ve been keeping a reflective journal of the process, to learn as I go, and I’ve already realised that managing a project – that involves six other artists, two venues, five partner organisations, an ambitious events programme and is publicly funded – by one’s self may not have been such a sensible plan. It’s all do-able, but it would be lovely to have someone to share things with, an extra pair of eyes on the details and the overview. When I start to struggle it’s all on me. I’m sure you know exactly how I feel. Most creative work, for freelancers or self-employed artists/makers/designers, lives in the mind of only one person, and no one else has the full picture. Sharing that, explaining that, not feeling guilty by it is often hard to do.
So right now I’m interested in ways to manage my work load and time so that I don’t have too many days of feeling twisty in my tummy or evenings spent feeling like I should be doing more
Working at your Creative Habit
November is NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month – and people all over the world will be making the commitment to themselves, and their writing, to sit down each day and write. The aim is to write around 1600 words a day, every day, and to end the month with the first draft of a novel. Ta da!
Well, it will probably be a pretty ropey first draft, but that’s not the point. The point is to do it. To get started, to show up, to build a habit and to launch yourself towards something you’ve always dreamed of doing. It’s a cliché that so many people want to write books, but how many people actually do? There’s even a term for it – the ‘someday’ writer – as in ‘someday I’ll write that book…’. I think the person who started NaNoWriMo realised something crucial about creativity: that it’s something we need to work on every day if we’re ever going to achieve the things we want for it.
This November I’ve decided to play along with NaNoWriMo, but as I am contrary I’m not aiming for the first draft of a novel, I’m using the structure to get myself into the writing habit. For too long I’ve been saying I’m going to give some proper attention to my creative practice, but it always ends up being sporadic and a bit fair weather. Not anymore. Next month I am going to show up and write whether I feel in the mood or not, whether I am inspired or not. Because, lately I have begun to realise that it is the act of showing up that is the most important element of our creative practices. It’s not the finished work, it’s not the moment of inspiration, it is doing the work you need to do come rain or shine.
3 elements of your Creative Practice: artistic work
This month on the blog I’m talking about a structure for thinking about your creative practice which I have borrowed from the DIY MFA writing programme and made applicable for most creative practices:
Output (Creative Work) + Input (Nourish Creativity & Skills) + Community Building = Creative Practice
In last week’s post I looked at Input – the things you do as a creative person to feed your creative well, to nourish your creativity. This week I’m looking at Output – your artistic work, the things you create and produce, both the tangible and the intangible results of your creative endeavour.
What makes up your Creative Practice?
While I was taking a break from the blog I found myself taking more time to listen to various podcasts – especially when I was on the train travelling around the country. I find it inspiring to hear how other people see the world, and how they navigate their own creative careers. One episode – on the 21st Century Creative – was so relevant and helpful that I got out my notebook and made notes right there on the tube. It was an interview with Gabriela Pereira, writer and founder of DIY MFA, an alternative to traditional post-graduate degrees for writers who don’t have the time or the money to enrol in a formal degree programme. She talked passionately about creative people taking their own education into their own hands, taking responsibility for and control of your learning and development.
In the interview Gabriela outlined the 3 elements of a writing practice that they use to structure the DIY MFA. It struck me that these elements apply to all creative disciplines and that if we just tweak the wording a little, then there are lots of helpful insights that we can learn from this approach.
Holiday desk
I am on holiday. But as any self-employed/freelancer knows, that doesn’t really mean that I’m not working. It just means that instead of my desk looking out over suburban London gardens, this week my desk has a view of a giant agave and if I look to my left, the sea. In fact I’ve done […]
Books to inspire: get on top of your creative routine
So, it’s October already. Not sure how that happened, or if I’m ready for it, but I am trying to be more accepting of time passing so let’s say it’s fine. Something I have noticed about the way I work is that I often don’t get the hang of a season until it’s completely over. Which is, of course, too late. I get into a routine that works and then I have to figure out a new way of managing my time. I’m not sure that I really noticed this so much when I worked full-time in a ‘regular’ job, where the rhythm of your days is often out of your control, but now that I’m freelance/self-employed, I am very aware of how important a routine is. It is something I struggle with constantly and am always looking out for new ideas or tips.