I have talked before about having all the time in the world, but the emphasis in that post was about not giving away our time just because we no longer have a day job. I pointed out that we still have a finite number of hours in the day, and if we start giving away that time we can quickly lose all those hours.
At the same time, we have to change how we look at our time management. If we want to feed our creative selves we need to give ourselves permission to take those hours for our own pursuits, to put our own time needs above the demands of others.
In a recent Q&A on YouTube Adam Savage described some of these issues as being the "scarcity model" of time management, which crystalised the subject for me.
Thinking of time as inherently limited - which we had to do when we had day jobs and small children and non-negotiable outside demands - forces us to view that time as doubly precious, and intensifies the pressure to make the best possible use of the hours we do have.
In order to leave that scarcity zone we need to examine our attitudes about not only our time, but also about what constitutes the best possible use.
My dad was a child of the Great Depression, as was my mother. Neither one believed in "wasting time." I reached young-adulthood with a deeply ingrained mindset that I had to be productive, to be doing something useful at all times. (Fortunately for me, they both saw reading as a Good Thing.)
Even creative hobbies needed to have value. Reading was learning, even when it was popular fiction, because you were practicing a necessary skill. Sewing produced clothing, cooking fed your family. I don't think my dad ever understood my writing, though he eventually caught on to the fact that I was getting paid for it, so that made it acceptable.
Dad was, I believe, a morning person by nature. As he aged, he rose earlier and earlier, often having his coffee and newspaper (after showering and getting dressed) as early as 5 am - a time I would characterize as a late bedtime. I still feel guilty when I stay up 'til the wee hours and sleep until noon, even though that's what my body says works for me. I should be up early, making those hours productive.
The scarcity model, for me, is tied up in this attitude. The hours I spend on my creative life need to be productive, focused on output, on results, and because there are so few hours I need to be intensely focused on the product, not the process.
Another part of the scarcity model is the way we have all had to shoehorn our creative time into an already-packed schedule.
We got up an hour early, or stayed up an hour later, sacrificing sleep to get a quiet hour to create.
We learned to multi-task. This week I heard one of the most hardcore multi-task stories ever. A young single mother on a limited budget wanted to write, but had an active toddler and few resources. She joined an inexpensive gym with childcare included, taught herself to write on her phone, put her daughter in childcare while she exercised, and wrote several books on the treadmill and stationary bike. She did this because she was in scarcity mode; it was the only way she had time.
I am still trying to figure out my balance point. I want to be able to noodle in a story, decide I don't like the way it's going, and abandon it for something else. I may come back to it later, but I don't have to. I can create for the sheer enjoyment of putting words on paper. I want to start knitting and rip it all out an hour later because I'm not happy with what I am creating.
I want the freedom to enjoy the process without worrying about the product, and not feel that the time was "wasted" because I didn't produce something.
Scarcity says I can't do that because I have to make the most of my few hours of creative time. But I am trying to kick the scarcity model to the curb.
Would I like to be creating a lot of books and stories, and have them generate lots of money? Of course! But I no longer want to be controlled and distracted by the scarcity model.
How about you?