Rules for Creatives Caught up in a Pandemic Quarantine

There are more rules for me, because it has been hard to access my creativity, or the energy to create being at home for so long. So many ideas cross my head during the day, and I end up having no impetus to follow through with them. Then I find myself still up at 12, 1, or even 2 a.m. (my wife has been studying for finals), almost going crazy because of poem ideas, music ideas, or story ideas that just won't shut up and let me wind down. It's crazy. In some ways, being home has stifled my creativity, which is no negative shade thrown at my family. When I'm home, I'm about taking care of my wife and children. I want my wife to have the environment that she need to succeed in school. I want to make sure that kids are getting digital learning done and other things like taking dance classes and practicing trombone that I just put my own needs on the back burner. In thinking about that today, I decided that I needed to stop that. And so I've come up with these rules to abide by to make sure that I am spending time everyday being creative, or engaging in pursuits that might lead to creating later.

And for my friends who have convinced yourselves that you aren't creative, try some of these and just see what comes out of you (insert evil laugh here)!

Rule #1: It's Okay to Be (a little) Selfish

Even in a world where everything has ground to a halt and everyone is sequestered together 24/7, it is okay to tell the kids to go upstairs and have quiet time. It is okay to go into the garage and sit in the van for a few minutes to enjoy some mental and spiritual quiet time. We take care of ourselves so that we can take care of others. Especially with creatives, it is important that this alone time is a sacred, nonnegotiable part of life now, because there will always be a lunch to make, a second lunch to make, or a dinner to consider (what? only my kids are eating like the Viking Horde these days?)

Rule #2: Jot EVERYTHING Down

Here is my downfall. I have a great idea for a song lyric and I just roll it over in my head. I have a great idea for a story, I mull it over. I don't stop what I'm doing and write it down. So, fellow creatives, use the notepad in your phone or carry a mini journal around with you. It should be as integral a piece of clothing as socks, or a t-shirt. The reason for this lies in Rule #3.

Rule #3- Don't Worry About Final Form

Your notebook might end up being a single line, or an 8 count for dancers, or a chord progression. Whatever it is, the form doesn't matter. What you think you want to use it for doesn't matter. The idea is that we have to clear our metal space for whatever comes into it next. At some point we clog up the works and good ideas are flushed with everything else that leaves our mind on a daily basis. When you don't worry about the final worm that the idea will take, it frees you to explore every possible form and not put yourself, or your idea, into a concrete box.

Rule #4- Resist the Mindless Urge

That's right. Netflix and Quarantine go together like peanut butter and jelly. It is easy to consume media and movies until we find ourselves little more than some sludge on a couch Hit the power button on the television and fight off the morose feelings of malaise and lackadaisical languishing. You have to resist the mindless urge to zombify yourself and force yourself to engage in something everyday that is yours and yours alone. For a creative, falling prey to mindlessness is akin to death. So I charge you, engage, engage, ENGAGE!!!

Rule #5- Show Yourself Copious Amounts of Grace

You won't follow all of these rules everyday. I get it. I've made myself a deal to try and blog everyday, but I know that I won't have something to day every single day. My goal with this promises is just engagement. I need to flex my mind and allow creativity to flow through my atrophied bones again. Just as physcial movement is needed for physical health, creative movements are good for our souls, and for creatives, that soul is the lifeblood. It is important to show yourself grace, not get caught in the self accusations that plague us, and just enjoy the process. There is great stuff inside of you. Let it go!