The older I get, the faster life seems to go. There's less and less time to do all the things on my lists! I wanted to do selfies and more gel printing and cooking and knitting and seeing friends and... The list goes on! I'm working on being more intentional, saying "yes" to the things that matter most.
Author Oliver Burkeman turned people on to the fact that there’s only so much time, and that getting everything we want to do or even have to do in is a big fat myth of epic proportions. We have to get very choosy and super-selective, or we keep thinking that some day, we’ll figure out how to do it all—and waste the days we’re in thinking about it. I’ve become very picky about how I spend my time, and while the challenge was fun, I did have to let it go toward the end so I could get something done that I *ahem* wanted to do more. All the things you want to do are worthy and you’re really good at them, but I remember when our friend Alyssa either said or quoted someone saying, “You can do anything you want, but you can’t do everything you want.”
That quote is so helpful--maybe I should use it as a header for my art display boards! I am getting faster at hitting the delete button and less likely to follow links to shiny things. My best work happens when I take time to immerse myself into the work--a week or so on one project is better than an hour or two a day! Managing a mountain of emails is still a challenge, but using my calendar and task lists helps. Miss you, my friend.
Just this morning, a friend told me, "Experts are saying that a few hours of focused work actually yields results. DUH." So many shiny new things out there distract us too easily! It's wonderful to be able to make the time to focus on a project and explore it. (Have you read Rick Rubin's The Creative Act: A Way of Being? That book is so about exploring where the work can take you--meaning, if you give it the time and attention.) Miss you too, my friend, and so glad you're here! xo!
That book is a beautiful slow burn. I didn’t read it in one sitting; I use it for inspiration and encouragement when I need it, and also because I don’t want it to end. I plan to re-read it when I come to the end, because I know I’ll need his rich, sensitive, spiritual words again.
I wish I had completed more. I posted one image, and was done. Once I realized I had to accomplish different looks—it all seemed too complicated. Hopefully next year with some college under my belt I will be able to create more self-portraits during Selfie-tember (if you have it again). Thank you for having the challenge. It was fun seeing all the different aspects of people’s faces.
Jenn, one is better than none! Also, Selfietember can be anything you want it to be—you don’t have to follow my prompts. And you don’t have to wait until next year; have you heard of Me-vember? 😻
For some reason it’s really difficult for me to commit to projects. I start and stop. It kind of gets me down, because I don’t know when I’ll mentally bug-out of a project (no matter the medium). I usually think that events like yours will solve the problem, but it doesn’t seem to help.
I kind of made up Me-vember on the spot, but it could be a thing! 😹
You know what though? I think we like the idea of challenges because we perceive them as mini-test drives for showing up for more important stuff in life. Like, hey, if I can do a month of self-portraits, I’ll be able to be there for people, and for work, and for myself! The thing is, we WILL be there for the important stuff by letting go of the things that, while fun, don’t truly matter. That important stuff includes being there for ourselves. After all, even I didn’t complete the challenge, and I was the one who threw down the challenge in the first place! 😐😑😹
I’ve bugged out of many a project, but when I look back, it was usually because I had something going on or I was needed elsewhere. Or, the simplest reason, maybe that just wasn’t what I really wanted to do. Grace! 🙌 Let’s embrace ourselves and keep our drawing FUN. I’m just glad you’re here, Jenn. 💖
The older I get, the faster life seems to go. There's less and less time to do all the things on my lists! I wanted to do selfies and more gel printing and cooking and knitting and seeing friends and... The list goes on! I'm working on being more intentional, saying "yes" to the things that matter most.
Author Oliver Burkeman turned people on to the fact that there’s only so much time, and that getting everything we want to do or even have to do in is a big fat myth of epic proportions. We have to get very choosy and super-selective, or we keep thinking that some day, we’ll figure out how to do it all—and waste the days we’re in thinking about it. I’ve become very picky about how I spend my time, and while the challenge was fun, I did have to let it go toward the end so I could get something done that I *ahem* wanted to do more. All the things you want to do are worthy and you’re really good at them, but I remember when our friend Alyssa either said or quoted someone saying, “You can do anything you want, but you can’t do everything you want.”
That quote is so helpful--maybe I should use it as a header for my art display boards! I am getting faster at hitting the delete button and less likely to follow links to shiny things. My best work happens when I take time to immerse myself into the work--a week or so on one project is better than an hour or two a day! Managing a mountain of emails is still a challenge, but using my calendar and task lists helps. Miss you, my friend.
Just this morning, a friend told me, "Experts are saying that a few hours of focused work actually yields results. DUH." So many shiny new things out there distract us too easily! It's wonderful to be able to make the time to focus on a project and explore it. (Have you read Rick Rubin's The Creative Act: A Way of Being? That book is so about exploring where the work can take you--meaning, if you give it the time and attention.) Miss you too, my friend, and so glad you're here! xo!
I got about halfway through Rubin's book and got distracted!!! Thanks for the reminder!
That book is a beautiful slow burn. I didn’t read it in one sitting; I use it for inspiration and encouragement when I need it, and also because I don’t want it to end. I plan to re-read it when I come to the end, because I know I’ll need his rich, sensitive, spiritual words again.
I wish I had completed more. I posted one image, and was done. Once I realized I had to accomplish different looks—it all seemed too complicated. Hopefully next year with some college under my belt I will be able to create more self-portraits during Selfie-tember (if you have it again). Thank you for having the challenge. It was fun seeing all the different aspects of people’s faces.
Jenn, one is better than none! Also, Selfietember can be anything you want it to be—you don’t have to follow my prompts. And you don’t have to wait until next year; have you heard of Me-vember? 😻
Thank you so much for your words.
You’re right.
I hadn’t heard of Me-vember.
For some reason it’s really difficult for me to commit to projects. I start and stop. It kind of gets me down, because I don’t know when I’ll mentally bug-out of a project (no matter the medium). I usually think that events like yours will solve the problem, but it doesn’t seem to help.
I kind of made up Me-vember on the spot, but it could be a thing! 😹
You know what though? I think we like the idea of challenges because we perceive them as mini-test drives for showing up for more important stuff in life. Like, hey, if I can do a month of self-portraits, I’ll be able to be there for people, and for work, and for myself! The thing is, we WILL be there for the important stuff by letting go of the things that, while fun, don’t truly matter. That important stuff includes being there for ourselves. After all, even I didn’t complete the challenge, and I was the one who threw down the challenge in the first place! 😐😑😹
I’ve bugged out of many a project, but when I look back, it was usually because I had something going on or I was needed elsewhere. Or, the simplest reason, maybe that just wasn’t what I really wanted to do. Grace! 🙌 Let’s embrace ourselves and keep our drawing FUN. I’m just glad you’re here, Jenn. 💖
Month long challenges are so great. I’m not in a position to do one at the moment but damn they are fun
It’s all fun and games until somebody loses a mind! 😹