Yesterday was the third time I saw the first day of a New Month in 2024. Sixty-One days are done already, but somehow, I still prefer to call the year, New. I don’t know if that’s right, but the idea that it is still new gives me a psychological boost to forge ahead. Without introspection, it is easy to let other days of the year go without much fruit. At the beginning of 2024, we were simmering with enthusiasm and promises of things we like to achieve in this year. For me, it was:
· I’ll write, draw and design daily,
· I’ll put myself out there as never before,
· I’ll explore options and trends I’ve never tried before,
· I’ll meet new people, start new things, strike up fresh contacts….
It was a list filled with details of things I value, things I will like to have incorporated into my life. It was a list of actions which I intend to become my identity in the long run. Was I able to achieve them?
By the second day of January, I still pranced around this optimism. I did the things I listed out there and felt happy about doing them. The third day was like the second. But by the fourth day of January, everything began to regress back to the way they were in the previous year. They didn’t regress suddenly. It began with a little laziness and soon the laziness was a routine. With time, I felt stuck once again.
I discussed this bleak condition with a friend. As I spoke, I noticed the intense attention in her face. The problems I complained about were not really glaring to her. In her mind, I was making progress: I made posts and designs, I attended gatherings and outings, so what was I talking about? But I knew what I was saying. While I spoke, my mind filtered my words and a couple of things began to make sense to me. I figured out certain things which clogged my progress and productivity:
1. I like to get things all figured out:
I came across a quote by Julia Cameron that said, “most often we confuse courage with comfort. We want to wait until something feels comfortable before we try it….”
It’s not just about figuring things out. The problem is where I want them all figured out – in my head. This should sound insane. Art begins with desire and ends on a piece – a canvas, a book, a screen. Imaginations are fleshed out in the process of creation. To get things figured out, you ought to be in the venue. You have to be in the minefield to spot the mines. I don’t need to know everything I want to write about before I begin to write. I don’t need to have the whole design done in my head before I set out to work. It’s ok to begin with a vague idea. Creativity is a journey. It’s uncomfortable but interesting. To expect a perfect idea before working is mentally stressful and unproductive.
2. Consistency is a daily stamp not a one-time seal
So, I made the New Year resolution and enjoyed the fleeting vibes of a few days. But one resolution, no matter how loudly we shout it, is not enough. It is important to keep reaffirming it daily. Each day is actually the same. What creates the illusion of difference are the names we use to mark days and seasons, and the events we identify for each of these times. There is nothing special about the first day of 2024. We only think the first day is special because we want the year to be special. And the year cannot be special because of a day alone. If it has to be a special year for us, each day of the year ought to share this specialness. Consistency is a stamp we put on each day, daily.
3. My Productivity Delusion: using minor creative things to escape major creative endeavors:
This one is innocuous and that’s the worst part of it. There are tiny things we do during our lazy periods that aren’t so problematic until they become routines. For example, incessantly binging on YouTube professional Tutorials and Expert Advice and reading Guru books, can feel like productive things to do. They are. But that is until they become substitutes for actual performances and real-life executions. If learning is all about learning, and doesn’t lead to execution, it is self-contradictory. Learning has to translate to action, to transformation. When it doesn’t, it creates a productivity delusion that may stay long due to its harmlessness.
4. Not all failures are intolerable
It is better to fail while doing the task you mapped out for yourself, than to fail to try. Failure to try is intolerable. It is the cowardly thing to do and sometimes the safest and commonest. In a bid to get it right the first time, I usually wait until the right time. At the end of each day, I discover that the right time had eluded me while I was fantasizing about it. If you fail while doing the things you want to do - the things you ought to do - you don’t really fail. There is still a feeling of accomplishment that comes with having started. Till the end, these tiny feelings of accomplishment are the things that really matter.
Now I know where to look, I’ll make sure I keep watch over these traits that clog my progress and productivity. Freedom begins when we know the nature of our chains. I hope this is helpful to you. See you soon.