Mixing It Up

Don’tcha love it when your life is in order?…well, when most some things are in order, like when dinner’s prepared ahead, laundry’s folded and put away (clean!), taxes in order, bills paid. Mmmm! Fresh, I love that smell. What is even better, is when that creative side of your affairs is in order! Because those sort of things fall outside the boring, drab, blah confines of to-do lists and mandatory deadlines.

I can understand those who insist on keeping their creativity free from all constraints and to-do lists, but those of you who know me, know my born-free creative interest just keeps rebirthing itself until soon I’m juggling a gazillion and one projects.

Colorful, bouncing projects multiple and play wistfully in the back of my mind needling me until I surrender and hand over my mind, body and soul. Head bowed, I send the girls to their nanny’s house, declare kitchen (and elsewhere) closed to my DH and throw myself into a dark hole only to emerge 2 or 3 6 or 8 hours later.

BUT in the last month, I thoughtfully and methodically applied my friend Barbara’s rotation system in place. And you know what? It works!

No longer am I riddled with guilt for spending too much time on one project. You see, the ‘old’ me would work a project to death or completion, preferably the latter, but occasionally, in a not-so-proud moment, the former. The important part being the continual non-stop-til-it’s-done mode. Feelings of disloyalty emerge if I begin another project whilst the first remains unfinished.

Or worse still, I would stall, mid project or not, my time and attention paralyzed and lost with no beginning and no end in sight.

Now I share my love. I flit from one project to the next. I share my time and my attention and I feel better for it. I probably fuss less, my mind gets time to breathe and refresh, my creativity is treated to change and diversity…and most importantly the projects get finished!