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The Power and the Fury of Routines for Creativity
Creativity makes our lives better but don’t lose sight of what matters.
This past week I never updated my to do list or tracked my daily output. Without a specific list of what needed to be done I did my work and came pretty close to getting done what needed to be done. This week, at least, I didn’t need the list.
That’s not how I want things to go. I have a vision — possibly delusional but a vision nonetheless — of me accomplishing lots of creative things, some of them amazing, some of them profitable. I have a list of those things and by adding them to a todo list, the theory goes, I’ll get them done sooner.
The todo list was shoved aside and I worked by instinct.
I still recommend using a list. What got me through the week is recurring work, such as this newsletter, my author newsletter, and a class I’m taking. The past four weeks have been nearly identical for my creative work.
It’s worth reviewing your list to verify it’s there to help you complete projects rather than just part of a mega-routine that dominates your life.
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