Being More Productive
Sometimes I feel pressure to write something valuable to you. Getting my newsletter out makes me feel like I have done something “productive."
What does it mean to be productive?
I sometimes wonder if I’m not living up to other creators’ ideas of productivity. You hear stories of artists who spend days, weeks, months, even years solely consumed on one project.
I can’t fathom what it took Bo Burnham to write, shoot, & edit Inside. It’s a creative act that seems beyond my capacity.
Yet, when I look back at what I accomplished in the last five years; publishing a book, creating six meditation courses, a school mindfulness curriculum, and a motivational speech— All while building a thriving coaching practice and having complete autonomy over how I spend my time—I say wow, I’ve done a lot! It sounds like a dream come true! (And it is.)
Yet sometimes, I sit here, feeling like I’m not living up to some made-up standard. There still lies in me a sense of deficiency—an existential longing for something other than what I have.
I imagine having something else produced would fill the void—if I only publish another book, then I could rest. But arrival is a myth.
When I complete something, it feels good for a moment, but as Jay Z says, it’s On to the Next One.
Getting off the hampster wheel of productivity is where we need our meditation practice. We need tools that drop us into the fullness of the moment and remind us that what we need, we already possess.
Nothing external can fill the void.
Achievement may offer a temporary salve, but it’s not getting to the root of the matter.
Whenever we think we’re not being productive, we are missing something essential. At our core rests an ever-present field of wholeness.
The best creativity unfolds from a state of presence—from a cup that overfloweth.
This type of creativity carries a magnetic quality that infuses the work. The work becomes sufficient in the process. We are not using it as a means to the end. It's for its own sake.
When done for its own sake, productivity teaches us the art of living.
When I remember this truth, I shift to gratitude. I appreciate all that is come before and where I am now. I remind myself to be patient.
As the Maxim goes:
“We overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in a decade.”
I don’t need to be Bo Burnham.
My productivity is not a reflection of my self-worth.
I can just be and flow with what wants to come through.
Creativity Tips:
Don’t compare yourself to others.
Yup, it’s helpful in creativity too.
You don’t need to be James Cameron to be productive. Comparison takes away what is unique about your process. Bake your creativity into a balanced and whole life, and you might find a lot of joy in that.
It’s ok not to have a project going.
I think I always need to be working on some project, but that is like telling nature it always has to be summer.
Creative sparks move in seasons.
Taking time off from projects gives space for the new seed of an idea to sprout. Sometimes time can collapse on itself, and you find things get done without striving.
Creativity doesn’t have to mean productivity.
We can be creative and not end up producing much.
It’s helpful to take the time to create, even if things don’t see the light of day.
In 2018 I spent months working on a new book that never came to be. That doesn’t mean that time was wasted. Who knows where those seeds might end up or what might spring up from them?
As I think about how I’ve accomplished what I’ve accomplished, it’s simple—1-2 focused hours of creative work a day. That’s it.
That tends to mean writing, editing, crafting—whether it’s these words you’re reading now, a presentation, or a meditation—I am in my creative happy place working with black lines on a white screen.
When I am working on a project, 1-2 hours of focused work a day is all I can handle
I can beat myself up for not having a project that consumes all of my waking hours, or I can honor that I can master consistency so things get done and I don’t burn myself out.
What’s your creative life like?
How do you think about productivity?
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