Tracking Your Creative Flow

Words by Kemila

All humans, seasons, general laws of the universe follow cycles. Some of us change with the moon, some with planets, some with bills.

Sounds like a bunch of crap, but I challenge you to put a calendar in a strategic place in your home, office, car, or bathroom and mark the days when everything seems to “flow,” i.e., you got the big contract you were working on, home improvement ideas suddenly popped into your head, or you just felt plain happy. Notice if you find a pattern. Perhaps in the beginning of the month you are more creative and at the end of the month you feel tired and worn out. Once you learn your cycle, you will be able to adapt your work, family, play schedules so that you’re ALWAYS flowing. Is it possible? I think so. Will you ever be perfect, no. But if there are tools that can help us navigate through life a little more smoothly, why not take advantage?

I realized there might be a better, more 21st century way of tracking this cycle. Got a Blackberry? Pocket PC? Treo? Sidekick? Smartphone? This is so cool – check it out – in addition to giving myself reminders for deadlines, meetings and to-do items, I started scheduling inspirational reminders like:

“Today is the best day of your life,” and
“Stop whining! You’re not the only one who is underpaid and overworked,” and
“Your creativity is low today, so just relax – the next creative wave will come again soon.”

It’s exactly what I needed because no matter how good I get at Downward Facing Dog, I still forget to chill the f**k out at work when my boss is micro-managing me.