It took me a long time to figure this out, simple as it is, and maybe I never would have if a favorite philosopher hadn’t described the phenomenon in words that I could not find on my own. Lately, I am boiling over with creativity. There are so many things I want to do and I want to do them all right now! But, the kicker is that I have so little time. I know I know I know we always seem to find time for the things we want to do, but I don’t even find enough time for sleep and I love sleep.
Of course it’s no coincidence that now that I don’t have adequate time to pursue them, I am full of interests and giddy about them all. In fact, it’s because I don’t have endless hours free that scenes for the next novel are taunting me and there are so many blog posts to be written and wouldn’t it be fun to take up design as a hobby?
It’s called contrast.
When I don’t have time to blog, but I sneak it in between other priorities, that’s when I enjoy it most. It’s a break, a release. It’s simply different. Not that I want to make this point too strongly, but it’s the contrast of different things that makes them exciting to me. It’s the urgency, the never having all the time I need.
I think this is true for everyone, but I see it particularly in the way I work. I need structure and places to be and things I have to do in order to develop my creative life which stands in contrast to so many of these things. I don’t live for one and not the other, but together they make up a productive and enriched life.
Much as I love to write, the idea of that being the only thing I need to do in a day removes all the creativity and motivation I have. I don’t think that would be a happy life for me. It’s not what I want.
And in a more practical sense, when I’m out living in the world, spending my time here or there, that’s when I experience the things that make up the content of my creative life. That’s when I get inspired.
It’s frustrating to always be working with limited time, but I have never been busier and I have never been more excited about all the opportunities open to me.
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Sometimes the anticipation of getting something done is so much nicer than actually getting it done. The dreaming about it part is one of the the best parts of it all.
Totally with you. I was talking to a friend recently about how she may soon decide to stop working, and have all the time in the world to pursue things like making crafts, writing, and photography. At first I was uber jealous – things I love that I don’t really have time for, but this post has made me realise that if I didn’t have a job to go to, didn’t have to be out and about running errands, then where would my source of inspiration be? Having such limited time in which to squeeze our creativity forces us to savour it that much more – thanks for helping me realise this :)
Whenever I am out living my life and finding things to blog about, I never have the time to actually blog. And whenever I am stuck with nothing to do but blog – I can’t seem to find the inspiration.
I understand you here, more than you know….I have soooo many ideas that I am having a hard time putting to paper, because of time…Seems like there is never enough time in the world to do all I need muchless what I want…
This post really resonated with me for a few reasons. First, I find it so much easier to be creative, to get things done, etc. when I am busy. I need structure and a schedule. This makes teaching a challenge, because all of that time off can be hard. Secondly, I’ve toyed with the idea of writing professionally, but like you, I don’t know if that would give me the sort of joy writing does now. It’s a no-pressure release at this point, and I fear I’d lose my love for it if I got too serious.
I agree, having a plan to your day and filling it with different things is what keeps you creative. If I want to write I’ll write but then once I’ve finished I won’t try and carry on unless the words are flowing continuously in my thoughts, I’ll go and study or do some chores, it keeps your thoughts more active for some reason, even if it’s a dull task. And yes, it’s always when you can’t blog that you have a myriad of ideas, and when you haven’t got time to so much as jot them down you have even more.
I completely agree with you! I love to write, but when I think about doing it as a full-time job, I cringe. That would take all the fun out of it! You need experience and a full-time non-writing job and nights out with friends and fun activities and mistakes made to write. You need fodder for the page. I completely agree with you. Great post!
This completely makes sense to me–on the extreme, it is like wanting what you can’t have just yet. That’s usually worth working for! I love writing, but when I was freelancing and that’s all I was doing, I began to resent it.
I am with you on that. At work, I do my best work when I am busy and a little under pressure – unfortunately. And the same goes for blogging. My favorite posts come out at 1:00am, when I should be sleeping from a day of work and probably an event that kept me out at night.
I always do my best work when I should be doing something else. My creativity isnt something that I can turn off and on, its something that I need to act on when it comes. If I dont, it can’t be forced later.
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