valuing time off

Oh. My. July was a beast of a month.  But it's August now and my kid is back in school and i'm scrambling to pick up the pieces of stuff strewn back through the summer that I had hoped to have wrapped up by now but aren't quite yet.

And so these three recent posts really got me thinking.

 Being Okay With Where You Are. by Wendy N. Wagner:

"A few weeks ago, the very wonderful John Anealio wrote a great blog post about getting out of the success grind. What he said made a lot of sense. Sometimes your ego makes the artistic experience painful and miserable, and it’s stupid to turn the joy of our lives into torment. Sometimes you have to change your relationship with your ego to make good art.... Sometimes I absolutely loathe myself for writing so slowly–after all, if I was a “real writer,” I’d be cranking out the words.... But only sometimes. Mostly I remember that holding a Hugo award in my hand can’t possibly feel as good as that moment when I’m lost in a story and there’s no time or space except the stuff I’m unfolding in my head."  ~read more

Taking Time Off From Social Media. by Amy Sundberg: 

"I hadn’t unplugged myself so thoroughly for quite some time, and I found quite a lot of value in it. Space to just be. Time to think about whatever I wanted to think about. Permission to be in my own present moment, whatever that happened to look like. And perhaps most refreshing, a break from most external stress.... When we hate a thing or secretly resent it, we aren’t going to be doing our best work. A grudging connection has a different quality to it than one that is celebrated." ~read more

(For a totally different angle, but related,) Periodization Traning. By Sandra Wickham:

"Periodization is a principle used in may sports. It involves planning your workout year into smaller segments to avoid overtraining while consistently making improvements.... A week of active rest will gives your body time to recover, and helps you refresh mentally. Take it easy that week. If you’re lifting weights, lift at about 50% of what you normally do. If you’re swimming six days a week, back it off for two or three easy swims that week. Whatever your activity, you can apply the 50% per cent rule to give your body a rest, or take the entire week off."  ~read more

All that stuff I'm trying to pick up, the pieces of projects left trailing behind me? It's the stuff I'm thinking about. And my family. And my friends. And my active life. And my private creative life. 

Anyhooo, in other news, That Amanda Palmer tarot deck that I created the 10 of Swords for several years ago... it is FINALLY BECOMING A REALITY! Go check it out!