Clean Laundry

I had the most amazing thing happen a week ago Sunday. I caught up on all of our laundry. Seriously, everything was washed, dried, folded, ironed, hung up or put in a drawer. I had nothing to dry clean with the little sheets in the dryer. My mending basket was empty. This wonderful occurrence comes along maybe once every eight or nine years. it's a wonderful feeling. I even suggested to my dear hubby that perhaps this was the moment for us to become nudists. Oh, you should have seen the look I got! But no, and a few hours later, there were more items in the dirty clothes basket. Sigh. 

So, what does my dirty laundry have to do with your creativity? Simply, this: there will always be dirty laundry in the way of your creative efforts. Maybe it wont' be laundry. Maybe it will be that brief you must prepare for the judge or that soccer game practice your ten year old needs to attend. Perhaps it will be the dogs that need to be fed and walked or the your doctor's appointment or ... or... or...

"Oh, but Kris", you want to tell me, "when I am a famous artist, or writer or sports figure or _______________." Fill in the blank.  "I will have someone to do my laundry, a nanny for my kid, a dog walker for my dog." Good for you. Then you will have time for  meetings with your broker, agent, publicist, gallery owner, personal assistant, CPA, intellectual property lawyer, buyer. In other words, there will always be dirty laundry. There will always be something in the way of your creativity. So what do you do about it? 

• Keep a time log. What are your time stealers? What can you do about them?
• Look at your work space. How can you make it serve you better? 
• Clear time for yourself. Tell people that you are not available on Tuesdays or Fridays or whenever works for you. Stick to it.
• Share with another creative friend. You do her errands one day and she'll do yours another so you both win with a few uninterrupted hours.    

So how do you handle the dirty laundry that stands in the way of your creativity?



Have a great week, Everyone!