I wasn’t even going to write a blog post today. The task isn’t on my TeuxDeux list. There are plenty of other things on my list, but publishing a blog post isn’t one of them. Flipping through the latest issue of W Magazine wasn’t on the list either, but there I was, sitting and tearing out pages of inspiration to hang on my board or incorporate into my mixed media artwork.
Today is one of those days where I wish I could be my own Creativity Coach. I’m the Overwhelmed Creative. I have about a million different things I want to do. If I stopped thinking of ideas TODAY and just worked on the ones I already have floating around on various scraps of paper or electronic notes to self, I’d have enough to do for the rest of my life. Seriously. Silver lining: If I lose my memory I’ll have some crib sheets.
But my ideas don’t stop. EVER. Ask my friends. I develop their thoughts and observations too, and give them ideas that they absolutely must act upon right away. Just yesterday Drew said, “Why does this have to be a blog post? It’s just something I want to do! Don’t tell me to blog about it,” or something like that. Whatever dude, do my work. Guest post!
So. Why am I writing this? Side note: Just now I felt like Carrie in Sex and the City during the part in every episode where we see her typing with voiceover. Honestly, I’m feeling frustrated. And while I usually find it quite effortless to tell other people how to sort through their stuff and focus on what’s important to them, most of the time it’s extremely hard for me to do that for myself.
So, to all of you overwhelmed distracted creatives out there, I guess I just want you to know that:
I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL.
And now I’m going to attempt to be my own coach. As soon as I hit publish, I’m going to go upstairs and get some cereal and more coffee. Then I’m going to sit at my desk with some nice paper and a pen and I’m going to make a list of all of the projects I want to work on, analyze the emotional, financial, and professional benefits of each one, cross off the ones that no longer make sense, and create a brand new list of prioritized projects where I want to focus my creativity and attention.
If you’re feeling this way too, you can play along at home. Let me know how it goes for you. Here’s hoping to lifting that “blah” feeling that too many ideas can give you. xoxo