The Artist's Recreation

When you are in the middle of a creative project, pay attention to what sort of rest and recreation is good for helping you finish a piece of writing, a painting, a music track, a design.

Maybe it’s sitting on a park bench, walking on a gravel road with your dog, or hiking a ridge. Maybe it’s driving to a nearby city to sit in a cafe for an afternoon and taking the long way, or biking on the back roads. It could be just doing the dishes, or knitting. Maybe it’s mowing the lawn or tending your garden.

Author Dorothea Brande, whom we’ve talked about before, called these “wordless occupations.”

Some activities, on the other hand, can obliterate your creative headspace, and you should pay attention to how they affect you. Sometimes just reading a book if you’re in the middle of a writing project, or listening to music when you’re producing a track, can alter the thread of your creative thought and set you back.

The internet and social media are especially to be avoided. Social media apps are designed to hijack your brain, and are very good at it. It’s a form of creative blackout—you look up from your phone and have no idea how you got there or where the last 15 minutes went.

Don’t sacrifice an important big thing for a shiny small one.

Instead, when you rest, look for a wordless occupation. Look for an activity that you can do without having to say anything. Keep the time free from the influence of others as well.

Turn the audiobooks and podcasts off. Don’t have YouTube running. Seek solitude, and allow your brain to work out an ​unconscious solution​ as you rest.