I was sure a day off with my best friend would refill my creative well and help me get back to work. It definitely refilled my heart well. (Thank you again, Drewski!)
But when I woke up this morning, I quickly realized my creativity is still being a 100% that (stubborn) bitch.
So, I’m resorting to a tried-and-true tactic: dismantling my computer, reorganizing my desk, and generally making chaos until inspiration returns to the scene of the crime.
There’s something about physically moving things around that stirs my imagination. It’s a little “hack” a writer friend once shared with me. She’d been struggling to finish her novel for weeks, so she took a day off to remodel and reorganize her office—and her words started magically flowing again.
I’ve never written a novel, but that trick has served me well for at least two decades of creative blocks and professional setbacks.
It’s become a kind of creative routine/superstition, I guess.
When I move my desk, my thoughts move too. Suddenly, I want to make stuff again, instead of obsessing over the administrative tasks that have been clogging my to-do list for the past week or so—emails, invoices, scheduling, and all that thrilling stuff.
Sometimes, motion is the only muse I can count on.
So today, instead of forcing myself to work on montages, I’m letting muscle memory lead. And doing a little dusting. A little rearranging. A little fresh starting.
If the laws of physics are right—and they usually are—things in motion stay in motion. Here’s hoping that includes me… and my creativity.
Keep calm and rearrange on!
Clint 🌈✌️
P.S. What are some of your favorite “hacks”?
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FYC = FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
ON THIS DAY = OCTOBER 8
BIRTHDAYS
1881 = Esther Lape = American activist and journalist 🌈
1920 = Frank Herbert = American journalist, photographer, and author
1930 = Faith Ringgold = American painter and activist
1936 = Rona Barrett = American journalist and businesswoman
1939 = Paul Hogan = Australian actor, producer, and screenwriter
1941 = Jesse Jackson = American minister and activist
1943 = Chevy Chase = American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
1943 = R. L. Stine = American author, screenwriter, and producer
1949 = Sigourney Weaver = American actor and producer
1952 = Edward Zwick = American filmmaker
1956 = Stephanie Zimbalist = American actor
1958 = Urvashi Vaid = Indian-born American activist, lawyer, and writer 🌈
1959 = Nick Bakay = American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1960 = Reed Hastings = American businessman and Netflix co-founder
1961 = Kim Wayans = American actor and comedian
1961 = Simon Burke = Australian actor and producer
1964 = CeCe Winans = American singer-songwriter
1969 = Dylan Neal = Canadian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1970 = Matt Damon = American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1974 = Martin Henderson = New Zealand actor
1979 = Kristanna Loken = American model and actor 🌈
1980 = Nick Cannon = American actor, rapper, and producer
1985 = Bruno Mars = American singer-songwriter
1993 = Angus T. Jones = American actor
1997 = Bella Thorne = American actor
EVENTS
1927 = The Second Hundred Years, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, is released in theaters, the first film with them appearing as a team.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
LGBTQ History Month (October 1-31) 🌈🧐📚
National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15)
PORTRAIT + QUOTES OF THE DAY
“Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
Frank Herbert
“One of the best things to come out of the home computer revolution could be the general and widespread understanding of how severely limited logic really is.”
Frank Herbert
Movin' & Groovin' Man!!!
Smart move Clint. And even if it doesn't get the juices flowing again, you have made your work area look nicer and a little cleaner? Fondly, Michael
P.S. I predict "You will carry on carrying on!"