I’m going to talk today about my antidote to boredom, and my secret weapon against gremlins. But first, I’m going to talk about my art.
Trust me, it will all make sense eventually.
A lot of the art I’ve been creating in the past year or so tends toward the minimal.
Despite an earlier tendency towards intricate maximalism, it turns out I love lots of white space, and since the start of 2016 I’ve been enjoying making black and white (coloring-book-bound!*) doodles like this (one of my favorites):
And this one:
And this one:
(Yes, I seem to be drawn to tree- and plant-like forms.)
But I’m not always a minimalist. In fact, I have a few different abstract black-and-whites that are of the “fill the entire page” variety.
Such as this work in progress:
The problem is, these larger doodles take me several days to complete, and once I move from, “Hmm… I wonder where this is going?” to knowing pretty much what comes next, I get bored.
This is where it becomes useful to have more than one work in progress!
Tired of drawing topographic maps? No problem — turn back a few pages and add some new critters to a critter explosion!
Today’s #20minutesinthemorning addition:
And the full work in progress as it appears today:
As long as I can somehow get myself into a “What would happen if..?” mindset, I’m happy.
This girl loves improvisation!
Execution on an existing idea? Not so much…
I did more than enough of that for my lifetime in my career as a hired pen. I’d rather be on edge a little, in a state of constant discovery.
Once the curiosity and sense of discovery dissipate, it starts to feel more like work, less like play.
And for me, play is essential.
Otherwise the perfectionist gremlins start to sneak in and take over. And that leads to paralysis and misery.
Gremlins cannot deal with play, though! It confuses them, so they head off to grab a latte and get a pedicure.
And that is exactly where I want them: otherwise occupied, so I can get down to creating!
But playing seems to be so hard for so many of us.
More on that in a moment — including a paradigm shift that changed my life… and might just change yours.
First, let’s talk about this problem of boredom. I know I’m not the only one with this problem.
“As soon as something seems routine,” someone emailed me recently, “I seem to get stuck.”
If you’re wired the same way, it makes practicing your art a b*tch.
The 2 Phases of the Creative Process
Not everyone is wired like me, though. Some people love the routine and predictable.
I guess they find it relaxing and meditative, but I wouldn’t actually know, because that is absolutely not how I’m wired!
See, whether you’re creating a painting, an online course, a podcast episode, or a new business, the creative process can be broken down into two phases, both of which are required to bring anything into existence.
As Jonathan Fields writes in his book, Uncertainty (aff link), there’s the Insight phase, where we’re connecting dots and making discoveries, followed by the REP phase, which stands for Refinement, Expansion, and Production.
Here’s the thing: you need both of these phases to bring an idea to fruition, but creators tend to be fueled by one, and drained by the other.
Clearly I’m an insight gal.
I love following my curiosity, asking, “What would happen if..?” and being in a state of constant discovery.
Ask me to execute an idea that’s already fully fleshed out in my head, though, and it can quickly turn into a slog.
Not surprisingly, this can be highly problematic.
It’s why I call on every tool in my toolkit to keep me moving forward when I’m in the REP phase. I need all the help I can get to keep me on task, because I’m bored out of my skull!
Ugh, ugh, ugh!
(This is where my 6 Keys to Eliminate Procrastination and Unlock Kickass Productivity come into play. I’m offering this FREE webinar again tomorrow, if you missed it last time! Click here to sign up for both LIVE access AND the replay.)
It’s also why I’m so drawn to improvisational art forms.
Big surprise (not!) that I fell in love with:
Social dances like salsa and Argentine tango (which are fully improvised dance forms, each with its own vocabulary of movement)…
And singing jazz (a musical genre which includes a vast array of sub-genres that range all over the map, stylistically, but all include improvisation)…
And performing improv…
The fact that I’m strongly wired to get nourishment from the Insight phase of the creative process is also why I usually draw and paint improvisationally as well.
The more I can incorporate improvisation into my work, the more I can conflate the two phases of the creative process, so that I’m executing and producing at the exact same time that I’m in the moment of discovery.
For me, this is play.
It might be really different for you. If you’re wired to be nourished by REP, it’s likely that the Insight phase gives you the heebie-jeebies. So I would guess that improv would feel like work, whereas the idea of executing a fully-fleshed idea probably sounds delicious.
The important thing is to figure out what works for YOU.
Then the next step is to give yourself permission to play.
Permission to Play: There’s the Rub
I hear from people all the time (All. The. Time.) who tell me that their art is important to them… but whose actions seem to say the opposite. In other words, they never do their art that they claim to love so much.
It’s so confusing!
You feel that your art / writing / music / whatever is important, so why aren’t you doing it? Don’t actions speak louder than words?
Does the fact that you’re not creating mean that you really don’t want it as much as you think you do?
Friends and relatives, who are trying to be helpful, may have even asked you, “Wouldn’t you be happier just letting it go and getting on with your life, without constantly torturing and berating yourself for not doing the thing you say you want?”
Um, no. This misses the point by a mile.
The reason you’re not doing your art is not because you don’t really want it, but precisely because you want it so very badly.
Yes, it’s counter-intuitive, but the truth is, the more important something is to you, the more resistance you are likely to feel. (Click to tweet!)
And resistance always comes down to one thing: fear.
And fear is powerful gremlin food.
And remember what I wrote above about gremlins?
Gremlins cannot deal with play! It confuses them, so they head off to grab a latte and get a pedicure.
Leaving you free to create to your heart’s content.
The Power of the Sandbox
This is the secret power of my Creative Sandbox metaphor and manifesto: when you really embody the mindspace of a 4-year-old and allow yourself to play — unconcerned with the outcome, purely for the joy of the process — your gremlins don’t have a chance.
Of course, this is easier said than done.
Like so many worthy practices, it’s a practice.
It’s a practice of noticing (self-awareness), and of allowing yourself to be human and treating yourself kindly, lovingly and gently when you stumble (self-compassion).
Add those two practices together, and you get my Golden Formula:
Self-Awareness + Self-Compassion = the Key to Everything Good. (Click to tweet!)
I developed the 10 rules of my Creative Sandbox Manifesto as a way to get myself to let go of perfectionism, and finally get back to the creative play that I longed for.
And play (when I really let myself inhabit that 4-year-old Creative Sandbox mindspace) is my secret weapon against gremlins.
I practice my Golden Formula (self-awareness + self-compassion) as a way to keep refining and tweaking the practices that work for me.
And that leads to a greater amount of my time spent playing, and that is my antidote to boredom.
Stir well, season to taste.
Let me know how it goes!
Quotes from this Episode
The more important something is to you, the more resistance you are likely to feel. (Click to tweet!)
Self-Awareness + Self-Compassion = the Key to Everything Good. (Click to tweet!)
Resources from this Episode
A ketubah from my intricate maximalism days, a decade ago
Uncertainty, by Jonathan Fields (that’s an Amazon affiliate link, btw)
Listen to my entire Creative Sandbox Manifesto explained in Episode 005, My Top 10 Tips to Get Past Any Creative Block: Creative Sandbox Rules, and performed LIVE (with ukulele!) in Episode 041.
* Did I mention that two of my black-and-white doodles are included in this Adult Coloring Book Treasury? It’s a collaborative effort from 55 coloring book artists from around the globe, which we’re selling at cost (about $6) right here on Amazon. (And yes, those are Amazon Associate affiliate links, so if you make a purchase I may actually make a couple of quarters!)
Thanks for Listening!
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Now go get creating!
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