the creative habit learn it and use it for life

Find a working environment where the prospect of wrestling with your muse doesn't scare you, doesn't shut you down. As Tharp says, 'The only criterion is this: Make it easy on yourself.

So if you're like me and need a little something extra to get you going, try establishing a ritual that makes your space feel good, and most importantly, makes you want to get to work, whether it be on the story you can't bring yourself to start or the editing project gathering dust on your desk. It's also a friendly reminder that I'm doing the right thing. Tharp says, 'Turning something into a ritual eliminates the question, Why am I doing this? By the time I give the taxi driver directions, it's too late to wonder why I'm going to the gym and not snoozing under the warm covers of my bed.The ritual erases the question of whether or not I like it. By the time I take my first sip, I am already sitting at my desk, planning out my projects for the day. The moment I hear the dripping hiss of the coffeemaker waking up, a switch turns on inside my brain that tells me it's time to get to work. For me, this means rolling out of bed in the morning, walking into the kitchen and making a pot of coffee. The point is in the ritual itself: one act that signals in our minds that the working day, whether it be creative or professional, has begun. The moment I tell the driver where to go, I have completed the ritual.'ĭon't get me wrong: I am not saying we editors and writers need to get up at the crack of dawn to get the most out of our day. The ritual is not the stretching and weight training I put my body through each morning at the gym the ritual is the cab. I walk outside my Manhattan home, hail a taxi, and tell the driver to take me to the Pumping Iron gym at 91st Street and First Avenue, where I work out for two hours. She says, 'I begin each day of my life with a ritual: I wake up at 5:30 a.m., put on my workout clothes, my leg warmers, my sweatshirts, and my hat. World-renowned choreographer Twyla Tharp, in her book, The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life, talks about the importance of ritual in beginning her day. Luckily, I have found a way to make my time count. Part of this is habit, but the other part is not always having an anchor in my day that tells my brain it is time to get to work already, no more excuses, no more fear.

I confess that I am a notorious procrastinator, both in my creative and professional life. Being both an editor and a writer, one of the most difficult things for me is actually getting my day going.

The creative habit learn it and use it for life