This month's prompt asks us to share our daily creative rituals.
As was the case when my kids were growing up, the only real thing I was consistent with was my inconsistency.
The same is essentially true of consistency when it comes to daily rituals of any kind.
However, I am learning the importance of creating a flexible schedule that I stick to ... more or less.
I start most days with a brief exercise routine. If I don't do it in the morning, it's not going to happen. This gets the endorphins flowing, gives me a sense of accomplishment, and helps me shake the sleepiness from my mind and body.
I'd like to say I then eat a nutritious breakfast, but, hey, we're taught from a young age that it's wrong to lie.
My aim is to read the Bible and pray before I get down to work, but that doesn't always happen. Ideally, I would commit each task to the Lord before I began (whether it be writing; editing; or home-tending, as one of my FB friends calls it). That hasn't become a habit as of yet, but it's still my aim.
I put the pro in PROcrastination. So, I aim to cross at least one thing of my Procrastination List before noon each day. It gives me the same satisfaction as crossing multiple things from my Daily To-Do List.
Although I suffer from Oo, Shiny! Syndrome and the call of "just one more" YouTube video, I find sitting down at my computer and focusing on a single project until it's done allows me to "go deep," especially if I don't allow myself to move onto something else when I hit a roadblock in what I'm doing.
For physical and mental health reasons, it's important to schedule several breaks. But there's a vast difference between scheduled breaks and flitting from project to project like a wayward dragonfly.
Like most people, I have several different projects on the go at any one time. While I love doing those I find easiest and can be accomplished in a short amount of time first thing after I sit down at my computer, it's better to save them for a time when I don't need as much discipline or creativity to get them down. That's why I've recently placed them on my afternoon schedule.
While I am an early bird, if I return to my computer in the evening after the rest of my household has gone to bed, I can accomplish a fair amount then as well. However, I try not to leave things in the Yes! column until the evening. I never know if I'm going to have the ambition to get anything done.
What is this Yes! column of which I speak?
By dividing my tasks into three columns, it helps me prioritize my endeavours. The Yes! column is things that are, essentially, non-negotiable. The Maybe column is those things that rank second in terms of my priorities. And the third column, Would Be Nice, is where I tuck those things that have to get done someday.
Do I always complete the items in the Yes! column before moving on? Absolutely not! But it does give me a starting place.
I make To-Do Lists on my phone, but I transfer them to paper. Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying goes. Plus, I love crossing things off the list. It gives me such a sense of satisfaction even if those things are in the Would Be Nice column.
I admire people who have rituals that keep them grounded and help them alert their brain that it's time to get the creative juices flowing. Sitting down at the computer at the same time every day. Lighting a candle. Hanging a Do Not Disturb sign on their door and shutting it. Turning off their email and social media notifications. And getting down to work for a set amount of time.
However, that is not me.
When it comes to my rituals, it can be summed up by two statements:
1. Prioritize my To-Do List.
2. As much as possible, focus on a single project until it is accomplished.
How about you? Are you of the Strict Schedule Crowd or the Take Things as They Come Group?
