I use an app called Todoist that, once, ordered my working life and its varied demands. It now has a series of categories, some of which do remain reminders of what needs to get done so that my scattered brain will remember to do them - appointments, connections, and, yes, chores - but most of which are pleasures I get to choose from each day, the list reminding me of the things I love, the people I want to stay in touch with, the places I still love to meander, the creative processes that set my heart in a calm and steady rhythm. It's a delight to make that list each morning and wander in and out of its offerings throughout the day, at the end of which it matters not at all if I have completed it.
I do have to-do lists for my moving parts, and it does make me feel guilty when I don’t get things done, but I have so many loose ends that I need to tie up, because I’m in the building stages of art for selling. It makes me feel even worse when I procrastinate. But if I don’t have the lists, I’m lost.
I may be retired from working the 40-hour week for money, but not from the business of selling art.
You’re building something. Moving parts require structure.
But here’s the question that matters:
Is the list serving you… or are you serving the list?
Guilt is the tell.
If the list turns into a moral scoreboard, you’ll start associating your art with pressure instead of power. That’s when procrastination creeps in. Not because you’re lazy. Because your nervous system is bracing.
Try this shift:
Keep the list. Remove the judgment.
Instead of “I didn’t get enough done,” ask, “What actually moved the needle today?”
And remember, you are not retired from earning. But you are retired from proving.
Build the art business. Just don’t let it build a cage around your creativity.
I use an app called Todoist that, once, ordered my working life and its varied demands. It now has a series of categories, some of which do remain reminders of what needs to get done so that my scattered brain will remember to do them - appointments, connections, and, yes, chores - but most of which are pleasures I get to choose from each day, the list reminding me of the things I love, the people I want to stay in touch with, the places I still love to meander, the creative processes that set my heart in a calm and steady rhythm. It's a delight to make that list each morning and wander in and out of its offerings throughout the day, at the end of which it matters not at all if I have completed it.
Thought about this again. It's my Get To Do list! How wonderful!
oh yes ! ‘“GET TO DO” Thats the real power!
I do have to-do lists for my moving parts, and it does make me feel guilty when I don’t get things done, but I have so many loose ends that I need to tie up, because I’m in the building stages of art for selling. It makes me feel even worse when I procrastinate. But if I don’t have the lists, I’m lost.
I may be retired from working the 40-hour week for money, but not from the business of selling art.
Any thoughts on this?
You’re not wrong for having lists.
You’re building something. Moving parts require structure.
But here’s the question that matters:
Is the list serving you… or are you serving the list?
Guilt is the tell.
If the list turns into a moral scoreboard, you’ll start associating your art with pressure instead of power. That’s when procrastination creeps in. Not because you’re lazy. Because your nervous system is bracing.
Try this shift:
Keep the list. Remove the judgment.
Instead of “I didn’t get enough done,” ask, “What actually moved the needle today?”
And remember, you are not retired from earning. But you are retired from proving.
Build the art business. Just don’t let it build a cage around your creativity.
Thank you, that is helpful!