Knowing Yourself

Knowing Yourself

Taking on a personal challenge or beginning a new habit can exciting. Just think of the possibilities! The change! And then, old habits show up. One thing that can help with learning that new skill or practicing the new habit is to be aware of what you already do. Be willing to have some stumbling on the learning path.

I've had more free time recently because I finished up my Amsterdam Dailies. One thing I've been wanting to do is to pare down my collection of chocolate bar wrappers. I collect them so I can draw them. The pile is a bit out of control though. I like to be fairly tidy, so I came up with a mini art and house-cleaning challenge for myself.

For one week, I will work on one wrapper a day, limit my time to about 30 minutes and see if I could get the essence of the wrapper design down on the page. One session per wrapper and the end of it, the wrapper goes out.

At the end of this mini-challenge week I wanted to have seven drawings done and have the pile of my wrappers be seven less. Repeat the week challenge as necessary over time.

Last night was my fifth drawing and my fifth wrapper. So far so good. Except that I went on auto-pilot. I enjoyed my drawing. I loved the wonky lettering. The colors were wonderful. The shapes not very complicated. And when the timer went off, I was not done.

Figuring out how to draw and color a complete picture in a short period of time is a skill. What a challenge!

If time is not an issue, I’m good at paying attention to details and rendering fairly accurately. For my mini challenge though, I have to experiment and try new things. I need to mix things up. Maybe I use fewer colors, use only pen, skip some details, work on a smaller piece or only a part, try mostly paint and little ink or pencil, use pencil instead of paint, or something else entirely.

Sharing this story is not to say that you can’t or shouldn’t continue to do the things that you enjoy and are good at, or that you need to beat yourself up if the new skill isn't smooth from the start (please don't). Rather, it’s being aware of how you usually approach things and figure out what parts of what you usually do will work and what new strategies to try out. Keep at it and be gentle with yourself.

What’s a challenge or habit you’ve taken on recently? What are you learning?

Planning to Have No Plans

I’ve been thinking about time recently: deep thinking time and creating time.

In our busy, busy productivity society, there seems to be a a bias towards getting things done and marking things off of check lists. It seems sometimes the only way we can prove that we have been productive, is by listing off all the things we’ve gotten done in that day, week, month or year.

There’s a lot to be said for to-do lists and getting things done. Things get done. I like that. That’s positive! But all the to-do’s can become a lot of chattering noise which is distracting and makes it hard to focus. I’m finding that having periods of time without a predetermined goal and without interruptions is what I am looking for and wanting. I want the calm and the peace to let my mind drift where it wants to and make the connections between ideas that it does. It’s in these periods when I have a-ha moments, figure out a next part of my life puzzle, or just enjoy the freedom from to-do’s.

I find that the busy-ness of to-do lists also inhibits creative play and exploration. Trying something new requires a certain amount of psychic energy. Things take longer because it’s new and I’m not sure what I’m doing. It’s hard to get fully engaged if there’s only a fifteen minute window or an hour before the next meeting. If I’m doing something I’m familiar with, I can squeeze it it. If it’s new, I won’t try it then.

Ironically, sometimes it’s important to plan to have no plan and put that down on my list or calendar to allow time for deeper thinking and creative play.

How do you create best?