I decided to do an experiment. For two weeks, I didn’t check my email until the afternoon. I didn’t take work calls, or talk about work, or even think about work until after lunch. Read, walk the dog, stretch, work out, write a song, hell, watch TV—just no work, and no to-do lists to start the day.
Why? Apparently, I was structuring my day wrong and, in the process, paralyzing my creativity. I heard this on a podcast one night on tour, as I was falling asleep in my bunk. A couple of science-y types were waxing on about why it was so bad for your brain to wake up and do email. According to them, it put you into a triage state of mind and kneecapped your creativity. Half-asleep, I heard them describing me: a person who rushes through work emails, calls, Zooms, and a to-do list first thing every day in hopes of freeing up time after to get to the creative part of my life. Was this what was choking my creative self? Was this why I hadn’t written a song in years? Had I been hurling myself toward the wrong work every day?
I got off tour and committed myself to two weeks of no email or work before lunch. And it worked. Immediately. The first day I wrote a song. I even started a second. The next day I finished the second song, returned to the first, and started a third. Every day I made more music. And the work emails and calls still happened. The to-do list still got done. However, at the end of the day, I was less anxious and less tired, and I had more to show for myself than I had in a long time. And, after dinner, I found myself headed back to the studio! Plus, I slept deeper. I felt lighter, happier, less stressed, and anxious. Is this a forever thing? Probably not.
And I also want to note that I know this isn’t for everybody. It’s not possible for most. But it is my job to make things. And if the work makes it impossible to make something, well, then, am I really even doing my job?
Tegan
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