Last year I was in extreme production mode for a solo in May. This year, I have a solo in September, so I'm pacing. Therefore the first week of January has been more like casual Friday.
I work best on things that I am interested in and that engage me. In a nutshell, painting and observational writing. In lieu of the pleasure principle, I need a schedule, a structure of some sort, either self-imposed or directed by other people's deadlines.
For example:
Tuesday, I paid bills, worked on my syllabus, did some correspondence, both business and personal, and took care of tedious household tasks. It was hardly my dream day, but I felt a sense of accomplishment.
Wednesday was tightly structured. Coffee. Studio. Yoga class. Coffee. Studio. Dinner. Relax. I worked on 3 paintings. This was closer to my dream day. It even reads better.
Yesterday was some kind of free-for-all ADD mess. Since Wednesday was a studio day, I designated Thursday an office day, but didn't have a list. I wore regular clothes not studio clothes, lest there be any temptation to paint. (My office is in the corner of my studio).
The day started out great. I'm making good on my yoga promise and therefore am in one of those phases where I wake up and play good vibe yoga music while I'm having coffee. Of course this means I have to compile some trippy meditative music, which led me to downloading a Yoga Journal podcast, after which I needed to skim an article about juggling music libraries between an external hard drive and a laptop, which led me to figuring out how to make my Remote iPhone app work with iTunes. Add some snuggle-puff time and a walk with Fang, and a purchase of kick-ass lycra yoga pants so that I can toss out the ones with the Clorox stains, and it was already afternoon. I started freaking myself out thinking, crap, it's 1:15 PM already and I haven't done anything truly productive. I thought my 2 PM espresso would alter things, but it didn't. I continued to bounce from task to task getting more and more diverted with my efforts to streamline. Finally, I made myself finish one simple task- labeling jpegs, and honestly I didn't even finish that, but I made headway. It was enough to make me consider pharmaceuticals. I am so serious. I've left out the details of exactly how distracted I was yesterday, but it didn't stop until I went to bed. Unbelievably, I slept like a log, and was tired, but rested this morning.
I had a yoga class at 1pm today and am going to be diligent about keeping a regular practice this year. Slow and steady. I cannot extol the virtues of yoga enough, and yet, throughout my 9 years of practicing, I phase in and out. I still fantasize about buying a yearly pass to the yoga studio or taking a retreat. Meanwhile, I'm back to office work in the studio and organizing plans for some upcoming projects.
3 comments:
The list is fickle tool. When I'm not committed to a job site for the day, I always make one. Is it one's relationship to that list that makes for a productive day or not? Is it in the crafting of the list? I can't figure it out, but today's list is a very short and sweet and enviable: Post a package by noon, and paint. That's it.
Shit, it's 10:30 and I haven't showered. Must make it to post office!!
I keep meaning to scan a list project I did for an arts journal about 15 years ago. It's comforting to know some things never change.
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