I totally agree that time constraint can help reduce procrastination or at least help us hone in on just generating/making “good enough”.
I also know that there’s a whole world of invisible artists with disabilities and poor workers etc for whom this may not be viable or simple.
Sometimes we need lots of rest and retreat. There’s so many variables, many of which are designed oppressions.
So its good to have options, especially mindset options for various situations.
Im directing my friends one woman show currently and they have to create a deadline where an audience shows up for them to get the energy to rearrange their life to make-the-thing.
Me, im lucky if i can create the time and artistic distance to make anything of my own thats not for survival demands, so i have a ton of devising techniques that take less than 5 minutes and dont require much in terms of supplies.
Absolutely! That’s what much of the end of this post is about - availability is not distributed equally, and it’s a privilege to have any at all. But it’s also not necessarily the magic solution it’s often cracked up to be.
Not to romanticize what you’re describing, but the fact that you’ve devised creative routines that explicitly take less time/fewer supplies suggests that in some cases, restriction can breed creativity, because it gives you a starting point of sorts.
I feel this pull to take on part time work. Something low stakes that gets me out of the house, away from my desk, and just being within close proximity to more people.
I think that last one is something I’ve unexpectedly enjoyed about this gig. I’ve had some surprisingly heartwarming conversations with guests, and I think it bolsters my feelings about humanity in general (which, these days, can get pretty low depending on the news cycle). Obviously, YMMV, but I think at a spa/gym, people are choosing to be there because it adds something nice to their lives, so they’re slightly more likely to be nice!
Yes! It really depends on where you are. I would never want to work part time at a bar, or the front desk of a medical office. But I would happily shelve books, or retrieve pastries from a tastefully arranged case for people. I think sitting behind the ticket desk at the art museum would be delightful.
Oh how the creative mind functions. I appreciate this article and your initial note, because at times I forget my mind refusing to be creative on the schedule I want for it is not an isolated experience. It's kind of funny, because that job I wasn't happy with and worked part-time at was at a spa. However, my dissatisfaction with that job was complex.
I totally agree that time constraint can help reduce procrastination or at least help us hone in on just generating/making “good enough”.
I also know that there’s a whole world of invisible artists with disabilities and poor workers etc for whom this may not be viable or simple.
Sometimes we need lots of rest and retreat. There’s so many variables, many of which are designed oppressions.
So its good to have options, especially mindset options for various situations.
Im directing my friends one woman show currently and they have to create a deadline where an audience shows up for them to get the energy to rearrange their life to make-the-thing.
Me, im lucky if i can create the time and artistic distance to make anything of my own thats not for survival demands, so i have a ton of devising techniques that take less than 5 minutes and dont require much in terms of supplies.
Absolutely! That’s what much of the end of this post is about - availability is not distributed equally, and it’s a privilege to have any at all. But it’s also not necessarily the magic solution it’s often cracked up to be.
Not to romanticize what you’re describing, but the fact that you’ve devised creative routines that explicitly take less time/fewer supplies suggests that in some cases, restriction can breed creativity, because it gives you a starting point of sorts.
I feel this pull to take on part time work. Something low stakes that gets me out of the house, away from my desk, and just being within close proximity to more people.
I think that last one is something I’ve unexpectedly enjoyed about this gig. I’ve had some surprisingly heartwarming conversations with guests, and I think it bolsters my feelings about humanity in general (which, these days, can get pretty low depending on the news cycle). Obviously, YMMV, but I think at a spa/gym, people are choosing to be there because it adds something nice to their lives, so they’re slightly more likely to be nice!
Yes! It really depends on where you are. I would never want to work part time at a bar, or the front desk of a medical office. But I would happily shelve books, or retrieve pastries from a tastefully arranged case for people. I think sitting behind the ticket desk at the art museum would be delightful.
That would be PERFECT. I desperately wanted to do the desk at our local science museum but they never called me back lol 😭
so true and well said. thank you for writing
I love this, your spa gig sounds so relaxing :')
Aw, thanks! It mostly is 😅
Oh how the creative mind functions. I appreciate this article and your initial note, because at times I forget my mind refusing to be creative on the schedule I want for it is not an isolated experience. It's kind of funny, because that job I wasn't happy with and worked part-time at was at a spa. However, my dissatisfaction with that job was complex.