by Deirdra Eden
The first step to controlling time is to realize that the concept of time, as we have been taught, is only a mortal construct. It is the attempt by humans to exert a measure of control over the natural world and calculate the intangible flow of cycles and seasons.
However, this method painfully disconnects creators from natural energy cycles in order to conform to the eight-hour work shifts and deadlines of corporate and industrial productivity. Creative people don’t always work within finite mathematical boundaries.
Just like the earth, creativity also goes through seasons. Spring has fertile newness with exciting potential. Summer is the height of growth. Autumn is harvest time. And winter allows you to rest and gain strength again.
Spring
Creative cycles can be born through weeks of preparation or instantly when an idea strikes or you wake up from an inspiring dream.
This young creative idea is fresh, new, and exciting. Even though the creative project is in the fragile beginning stages, the creator feels a drive to enhance it and help it blossom into a full-grown creation that will produce beauty and/or bounty.
Summer
During this peak time, creators do their best work. You do not feel the panic or doubt of developing a newborn idea. You are often absorbed in the work and can experience adrenaline rushes and extra energy that will drive you to stay up late, get up early, skip meals, and take time off from other activities to work on the project. Sometimes you will have euphoric thoughts about the project and its success.
Autumn
A creator in the autumn phase of their cycle will often refine work and take time to critique it while at the same time admiring it. This is the best time to refine the work because creators can step back from the work and look at it with a critical eye without interrupting the creative flow. Then creators reap their own harvest and rewards by publishing the creation, displaying it, sharing it, selling it, or gifting it.
Winter
A natural end to a creative period is normal, yet sometimes creators will feel guilty for not working on a project or they may miss the excitement of a new project. Sometimes creativity is dormant, especially during times of stress, depression, fatigue, or illness. Sometimes creativity evolves.
Some people call this writer’s block or artist’s slum, but it is part of the natural cycle of creativity and should be embraced.
For creative people this is the time to prepare for the next project. Generally, the better the preparation, the longer the next creative lifecycle will last.
The Natural Cycle
We enter these same seasons and cycles in different phases and contexts throughout our lives and our creative journeys. Asking the question, “What season am I/is this in?” can bring a reassuring clarity to a convoluted situation.
In every phase it is important to remember that this is just a season of your life, and not your whole entire life. Give yourself grace and permission to slow down or pick up the pace depending on what is happening in your world right now and the season of your personal and creative life.
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Deirdra Eden is a social and behavioral scientist and the author of Time Management for Creative People, in which she explores the seasons, cycles, and how to be in the right mind for right-brain creators.
Creative cycles can be born through weeks of preparation or instantly when an idea strikes or you wake up from an inspiring dream.
This young creative idea is fresh, new, and exciting. Even though the creative project is in the fragile beginning stages, the creator feels a drive to enhance it and help it blossom into a full-grown creation that will produce beauty and/or bounty.
Summer
During this peak time, creators do their best work. You do not feel the panic or doubt of developing a newborn idea. You are often absorbed in the work and can experience adrenaline rushes and extra energy that will drive you to stay up late, get up early, skip meals, and take time off from other activities to work on the project. Sometimes you will have euphoric thoughts about the project and its success.
Autumn
A creator in the autumn phase of their cycle will often refine work and take time to critique it while at the same time admiring it. This is the best time to refine the work because creators can step back from the work and look at it with a critical eye without interrupting the creative flow. Then creators reap their own harvest and rewards by publishing the creation, displaying it, sharing it, selling it, or gifting it.
Winter
A natural end to a creative period is normal, yet sometimes creators will feel guilty for not working on a project or they may miss the excitement of a new project. Sometimes creativity is dormant, especially during times of stress, depression, fatigue, or illness. Sometimes creativity evolves.
Some people call this writer’s block or artist’s slum, but it is part of the natural cycle of creativity and should be embraced.
For creative people this is the time to prepare for the next project. Generally, the better the preparation, the longer the next creative lifecycle will last.
The Natural Cycle
We enter these same seasons and cycles in different phases and contexts throughout our lives and our creative journeys. Asking the question, “What season am I/is this in?” can bring a reassuring clarity to a convoluted situation.
In every phase it is important to remember that this is just a season of your life, and not your whole entire life. Give yourself grace and permission to slow down or pick up the pace depending on what is happening in your world right now and the season of your personal and creative life.
* * *
Website: www.DeirdraEden.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeirdraEdenWatchers/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deirdraeden/
Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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4 comments:
I love this post. And a new way to look at time...if you start a movement, I will join right up! :) Thanks for your post.
This was a great post Deirdra, one that will no doubt help me tune more keenly into the seasons of my creative life.
Thank you so much, Margo. I just might do that. In the mean time, please feel free to follow me on social media. http://www.astorybookworld.com/
Thank you for the lovely comment, Jeanine. I hope that this new perspective will validate that your creative movements are wonderful and beautiful in every season.
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