Twelve-week creativity workshop!

I'm sorry I don't have a task for today; I've unfortunately been swamped by work. Posting will resume tomorrow. Instead, please enjoy this dance troupe led by a baby.



I hope you've all done your morning pages anyway!

This one is kind of complicated. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Draw a circle on a piece of paper (it doesn't have to be perfect). Divide it into six slices, like a pie.

Each slice represents one of six important areas of your life. Camerons's categories are Spirituality, Exercise, Romance/Adventure, Friends, Work, Play. Use your own labels to make the pie accurate to yourself.

For me, the biggest benefit of this task was in figuring out what to put in the slices and what to call them -- since I don't have a spiritual life, I made writing its own category; "exercise" doesn't loom large enough in my life to merit a whole slice, so I made one for “recreation” instead, and so on. I did several pies before I got one that seemed accurate. Don't feel like you have to put a lot of time into it, though, unless you want to. The pie doesn't have to be exclusive – use the categories that come to mind.

Now make a dot in each slice to show the degree to which you are currently "fulfilled" in that area, however you want to define that. If you don't like fulfilled you can think in terms of general satisfaction or living up to your potential -- whatever appeals to you and feels accurate. Place a dot on the outer rim for areas where you're doing great, further inside for less great, right in the middle where the segments meet for "totally lacking." Connect the dots to see where you're lopsided or shrunken.

If there are areas in your life that feel impoverished, pick one and resolve to give it a little extra attention in the next few hours and days. If you have a “spirituality” slice that looks bashed-in, Cameron suggests listening to drum music or visiting a greenhouse. If “reading” is a neglected slice, take ten minutes to read a couple short poems, an essay, or a short story.

List a few small things you could do for each sunken slice. Even a tiny amount of attention can help replenish the pie.

Did you do your morning pages today?

Today's task, if you're up to it (and as always, no need to say what you've done or even whether you've done it), is to list where your time goes.

What were your five major activities this past week, and how much time did you spend on each one? How many were things that you 'want to do' and how many were 'should do'?

Did you do your morning pages today? Don't forget about the affirmations!

If you've spent a whole week recovering your creative self, it's normal to find yourself attacked by stronger doubt and self-doubt. Like ideas and bacteria, our creative blocks adapt. Some common attacks include worries about doing morning pages the wrong way, anxiety about being selfish or self-indulgent, or the need to start a big new project right away. Cameron encourages us to keep doing affirmations, and to make new affirmations out of any new attacks. It's also important not to show your morning pages to anyone, even yourself.

This week, we'll work on separating ourselves from the attackers.

( Cameron's common attacks )

This week, try using physical cues to help give yourself the space you need. Give yourself an hour every day of protected time. Turn off the phone, turn off the computer (or use Zenwriter, TextRoom, or another simplifier), and don't respond to messages during that time. Put on music, change the lighting, or burn incense if those things are effective for you. If you can spare a whole hour at once, then do it. If you can only manage fifteen-minute blocks of time, use those instead.

Please feel free to use these weekly posts as an open thread for thoughts, issues, and observations regarding last week, plans for this one, or anything else you want to talk about that hasn't been addressed.

Don't forget to do your morning pages, and to schedule a date with your artist sometime this week.