It’s taken me far longer than necessary to realise that I need a ‘work’ routine too, now that I’m not working full time. As my wife has remarked many a time, I ‘fizz’ if I don’t have a schedule, and that (understandably!) puts her on edge. I don’t need to have the whole day planned, just enough to make me feel I’m doing something productive and fulfilling.
I know exactly what you mean. I thrive on ritual and routine, and it took quite some time for me to realize that, even longer to admit, to be ok with it, to accept it, and to lean into it. I won’t lie, my day job is soul-sucking, but I appreciate the [patterns of stability and daily consistency that it affords me. Thanks so much for reading!
I couldn’t agree more! I shitter to think how much of my life I’ve spent trying to climb a ladder I didn’t even want to be on, to get to a place I don’t even want to go. I think in many ways the question of success boils down to whether or not you’re happy with the ways you spend your days.
That's a great point about rituals and routines. For me they keep the monkey/ego mind at bay for awhile. That ego mind though is always ready to jump and spend my focus and attention in shiny new things. I've found over the decades the pursuit of success and life on the cubicle farm has been a great training program though. Sort of showing me what I do not want. Funny how that works!
I hadn't heard of Noah Kalina before and will check out their channel. Thanks for sharing.
I think you’re absolutely right, Neil! I find that for me it also helps keep my depression from derailing the rhythm of living. No matter how I’m feeling, no what my mental state, I know that I have a sure structure to hold on to see me through the day.
Noah Kalina’s photographic work is fantastic, so atmospheric, and his podcast is such a joy! Hope you enjoy them! Thanks again!!
That was a beautiful reflective post. We sometimes get caught up with the things that we don‘t like in our lives that we oversee the good parts that are already there. I myself love rituals and routine too, even though they sometimes feel like a burden they -on bad days- help me to maneuver me through my day.
Thanks Susanne! I’m so unbelievably guilty of fixating on the negative aspects of my life. Chuck Palahniuk says that its hard to forget pain and it’s even harder to remember sweetness. Joy doesn’t leave a scare. Happiness has no entrance or exit wounds, and so it’s easy forget it was ever there at all. But when you look close enough to see it, you start to see everything differently.
I totally agree with you on routines. There can be a level of drudgery to them sometimes, but on good days it’s like being carried by a current. There’s a degree of effortlessness that can be helpful to lean in to.
A lot of what you say here really rings true for me, Duane. I thought that after I pursued poetry as much as I did… well, maybe it wouldn’t lead to an American consumer’s version of success, but that the effort would make itself make sense externally somehow. It’d lead to something, y’know?
While poetry has helped me with my day job in countless ways, well, there’s still that day job, isn’t there? And it’s the same kind of crap I’ve nearly always been doing.
For me, daily balance has been a huge help. Not exactly a routine, but a handful of daily habits I make time for as each daily schedule allows: spending time with family, hanging out with my rabbit, getting outside to the extent that I can. Reading, learning. All of these seem to make the work better in ways that just focusing on the work never seems to.
Great thoughts here, James! So much of it resonates with me too. Annie Dillard says that "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing." If that's the case, as I believe that it is, then finding and creating a successful life is simply the practice and process of cultivating "a handful of daily habits" that help us spend our lives in the best ways that they can be. Thanks for sharing!
Besides my volunteer jobs I do spend long days in my home studio, stopping for lunch and tea. But I get that feeling sometimes that I’ve finished my work for the and it’s only 1pm.
Great post Duane. Finishing just after midday is something Ihave done between september and november, prepraring for a exhibition. And mostly everyday after 1PM I was like, well I am happy with what I did today. Let’s stop here and keep that positive energy for tomorrow.
You talk about Austin Kleon, a fantastic imspiration to me, and he did write an essay not long time ago where he talks about that exact thing. To keep motivated on a project it is important to stop working when you feel you have accomplished something. It kills procrastination for the next day and make you want to do more.
Thanks so much for reading, for commenting, and for subscribing! That means a lot to me! So glad I came across your Substack, I love your work!
I'm definitely a fan of Kleon's work. During teh week I took off from my day job I made it a point to reread Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, and Keep Going. I'm sure those rereadings played a part not only in this piece, but in the underlying perspective shift as well.
I've also heard him talk about giving yourself a quota, and I've found that to be really helpful in keeping myself organized and motivated in my studio time. I have a certain number of collages I want to complete daily in my studio, and having that target provides a sense of focus and determination.
“I discovered that a few hours was all the time I really needed to create the things I wanted to. I usually finished up not much after midday, feeling contented and accomplished.”
To inhabit every ordinary Tuesday with deep contentment—that’s The Ultimate Goal!
It really shines through in your work right now, Duane.
It’s taken me far longer than necessary to realise that I need a ‘work’ routine too, now that I’m not working full time. As my wife has remarked many a time, I ‘fizz’ if I don’t have a schedule, and that (understandably!) puts her on edge. I don’t need to have the whole day planned, just enough to make me feel I’m doing something productive and fulfilling.
I know exactly what you mean. I thrive on ritual and routine, and it took quite some time for me to realize that, even longer to admit, to be ok with it, to accept it, and to lean into it. I won’t lie, my day job is soul-sucking, but I appreciate the [patterns of stability and daily consistency that it affords me. Thanks so much for reading!
I love reading about the blossoming of insights and the release of negative internal limitations. This post was just right!
Thank you Kim! It’s amazing how one small moment of understanding, one small shift in perspective can change everything.
And surprising how often we get in and out of our own way!
Absolutely!
We need to redefine success in this society.
I think what you described about routine and being satisfied with what you created is definitely success.
Beautiful post and some inspiring thoughts! I needed to read this today.
I couldn’t agree more! I shitter to think how much of my life I’ve spent trying to climb a ladder I didn’t even want to be on, to get to a place I don’t even want to go. I think in many ways the question of success boils down to whether or not you’re happy with the ways you spend your days.
That's a great point about rituals and routines. For me they keep the monkey/ego mind at bay for awhile. That ego mind though is always ready to jump and spend my focus and attention in shiny new things. I've found over the decades the pursuit of success and life on the cubicle farm has been a great training program though. Sort of showing me what I do not want. Funny how that works!
I hadn't heard of Noah Kalina before and will check out their channel. Thanks for sharing.
I think you’re absolutely right, Neil! I find that for me it also helps keep my depression from derailing the rhythm of living. No matter how I’m feeling, no what my mental state, I know that I have a sure structure to hold on to see me through the day.
Noah Kalina’s photographic work is fantastic, so atmospheric, and his podcast is such a joy! Hope you enjoy them! Thanks again!!
That was a beautiful reflective post. We sometimes get caught up with the things that we don‘t like in our lives that we oversee the good parts that are already there. I myself love rituals and routine too, even though they sometimes feel like a burden they -on bad days- help me to maneuver me through my day.
Thank you for sharing your reflection with us.
Thanks Susanne! I’m so unbelievably guilty of fixating on the negative aspects of my life. Chuck Palahniuk says that its hard to forget pain and it’s even harder to remember sweetness. Joy doesn’t leave a scare. Happiness has no entrance or exit wounds, and so it’s easy forget it was ever there at all. But when you look close enough to see it, you start to see everything differently.
I totally agree with you on routines. There can be a level of drudgery to them sometimes, but on good days it’s like being carried by a current. There’s a degree of effortlessness that can be helpful to lean in to.
A lot of what you say here really rings true for me, Duane. I thought that after I pursued poetry as much as I did… well, maybe it wouldn’t lead to an American consumer’s version of success, but that the effort would make itself make sense externally somehow. It’d lead to something, y’know?
While poetry has helped me with my day job in countless ways, well, there’s still that day job, isn’t there? And it’s the same kind of crap I’ve nearly always been doing.
For me, daily balance has been a huge help. Not exactly a routine, but a handful of daily habits I make time for as each daily schedule allows: spending time with family, hanging out with my rabbit, getting outside to the extent that I can. Reading, learning. All of these seem to make the work better in ways that just focusing on the work never seems to.
Great thoughts here, James! So much of it resonates with me too. Annie Dillard says that "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing." If that's the case, as I believe that it is, then finding and creating a successful life is simply the practice and process of cultivating "a handful of daily habits" that help us spend our lives in the best ways that they can be. Thanks for sharing!
Besides my volunteer jobs I do spend long days in my home studio, stopping for lunch and tea. But I get that feeling sometimes that I’ve finished my work for the and it’s only 1pm.
Its a pretty great feeling. Thanks so much for reading!
Success may simply be realizing that it is actually something much simpler than we often imagine. Good reflection.
The realization of simplicity - love that! Thanks so much!
Powerful post! Well said.
Thanks so much Benjamin! I appreciate it!
Great post Duane. Finishing just after midday is something Ihave done between september and november, prepraring for a exhibition. And mostly everyday after 1PM I was like, well I am happy with what I did today. Let’s stop here and keep that positive energy for tomorrow.
You talk about Austin Kleon, a fantastic imspiration to me, and he did write an essay not long time ago where he talks about that exact thing. To keep motivated on a project it is important to stop working when you feel you have accomplished something. It kills procrastination for the next day and make you want to do more.
Oh and you have a new subscriber :)
Thanks so much for reading, for commenting, and for subscribing! That means a lot to me! So glad I came across your Substack, I love your work!
I'm definitely a fan of Kleon's work. During teh week I took off from my day job I made it a point to reread Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, and Keep Going. I'm sure those rereadings played a part not only in this piece, but in the underlying perspective shift as well.
I've also heard him talk about giving yourself a quota, and I've found that to be really helpful in keeping myself organized and motivated in my studio time. I have a certain number of collages I want to complete daily in my studio, and having that target provides a sense of focus and determination.
Thanks again!
Great, thought-provoking read. Thanks.
Thanks Marty! I’m really glad you enjoyed it!
We need 'just enough' time. The invisible line of that. That's the line to walk.
Yes! It’s the subtle discovery of ‘enoughness’ that has the most profound effect on the way we see and experience things.
“I discovered that a few hours was all the time I really needed to create the things I wanted to. I usually finished up not much after midday, feeling contented and accomplished.”
To inhabit every ordinary Tuesday with deep contentment—that’s The Ultimate Goal!
It really shines through in your work right now, Duane.
Who could ask for more?
Thanks Ann! Beautifully stated!
I’d still love to be able to devote myself to my creative pursuits fulltime, but I’m still feeling pretty successful at the moment. Thanks again!