Staying creative by accepting unpredictability

I often feel that when I get up in the morning I throw a set of dice to find how much useful energy I’m going to have for the day.

Yes, there are things I can do to look after myself and give myself the best chance of keeping my energy levels up, but there is also a large amount of unpredictability in how well I feel and how much I’m going to be able to do. This makes planning and having a regular creative routine difficult.

Inconsistency doesn’t need to mean the end of creative productivity

Over the years I’ve had to learn to accept this unpredictability and work with and around it. I’ve also come to realise that many, many people, not just those with poor health, struggle to work consistently on their creative work, and that their “failure” to maintain a consistent routine can often lead to giving up altogether. The truth is none of us need to follow someone else’s model of a consistent creative routine. If we manage to stitch together something that works for us we are much more likely to stay creatively productive over the long term.

Nine ideas to help embrace unpredictability and stay creative

Last week I received an email from a fellow ME/CFS sufferer who’s just read my new book asking me how I stay productive when my health is so unpredictable. I’ve been thinking a lot about her question over the weekend and have come up with nine ways that help me stay productive and creative despite life’s unpredictability. I thought I’d share them here:

<ol>

Be in charge of your own routine as much as possible

<li><a href="http://www.sustainablycreative.net/work-from-anywhere/">Distill your work down to its simplest core</a> (both in terms of what you do and how you do it) so you can easily do a little work when you are able.</li>

<li>Wherever possible make your money retrospectively, by which I mean find ways to earn money from things you have already done, rather than being paid to produce something, or for offering a service/skill to someone for a fee or salary (the Internet makes this so much easier; creative souls can write and sell books, software and applications, art work, etc and organise the selling and distribution themselves with little effort and at low cost).</li>

<li>Stop trying to appear "reliable." Accept that pushing yourself to fit in with other people's schedules and plans will only lead to you being less able to do what is important to you. </li>

<li>Throw away your calendar (or if you do make appointments think of them as options rather than obligations).</li>

<li>Think of your routine (if like me you feel the need to think you have one at all!) as a flexible thing.</li>

<li>Keep a list of what you have done, that way when you (or someone in your life) feel your lack of structure means you're not getting anything done, you can look at it and prove yourself (or other them!) wrong.</li>

<li>Try not to compare yourself to others. Revel in the uniqueness of how you put your life together. Be inspired by other people, but don't try and emulate them. Make your own (flexible) path.</li>

<li>Practice being in the present as much as possible. Work with how you feel now, listen to your body. If you're able to work then do, if not don't push yourself. Trust that a better time will come along eventually.</li>

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