Note to Self

I've noticed recently that, after I come back from a big trip, like my book tour or Squam, I have this incredible energy for a few days and then it all comes crashing down on me as the banal reality of day-to-day sets in. I never went to summer camp but I imagine it to feel similar to the day that your parents pick you up and bring you back home.
Being on a book tour is all about "me, me me". Someone picks you up, tells you where to go and then you can just focus one one thing. That's why Squam is so beautiful too: you have all this time to create and no worries about shores, errands and making dinner. Let's face it, being an adult, having to squeeze in the "me time" in between responsibilities, kind of blows.
So this week, I'm going to take a good hard look at my calendar and my schedule. I'm going to cut out things that don't really make me happy in the long run (hello channel flipping with a glass of wine!) and replacing them with the thing I always say I don't have time to do (hello making art...maybe also with a glass of wine!). It's incredibly easy for me to talk myself into watching tv or going out to dinner after work, with an "I work so hard, I deserve this" but in fact I deserve so much more than that. We all do!

What have you done to re-arrange your life for more creative time?

Comments

[Maggie]

Okay, this is cornball but I went to a leadership conference last year where Marshall Goldmsith, a management consultant, spoke. He talked about asking yourself every day whether you were happy that day, engaged, productive, whatever it is you want. However, instead of asking yourself "was I happy today?" you say "Did I do my best to increase my own happiness today?" It is a simple reframing that really made me think about what I am doing. Is sitting on the couch flipping channels doing my best to make myself happy, or should I work on that poem instead? It really worked for awhile, but like you said I got all mired again in the day to day, so thanks for the reminder to keep asking myself the active questions that get me off my butt!

[Maggie]

P.S. Here's an interview with him that explains the idea a little better: http://www.fastcompany.com/1773885/marshall-goldsmith-what-got-you-here-wont-get-you-there

[this is loveforever]

thanks, that doesn't sound cornball at all! i'm going to give it a try!

[Deborah Gyug]

.....just what I needed to hear (read) this morning.....thanks
Deb

[this is loveforever]

Oh thanks Deborah! Yeah, it's tough to take care of yourself right? But in the end it feels so good!