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Chase Jarvis Chase Jarvis
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Clean Your Room and Do the Dishes

Is it just me, or are we all a bit more creative when we have some distance between ourselves and our chaos?

Living life – be it adventure, struggle, conflict or resolution – gives us the bedrock of artistic inspiration. But if you’re anything like me, actualizing that inspiration requires moments of calm.

Case in point: Just sitting here working my ass off in the studio, 10pm on a Friday night…the last few weeks have been a doozie. Crazy schedule, travel, media, Best Camera, assignments, work, deluge, family, not enough hours. Needing. Inspiration. Struggling. To come up with. Some creative inspiration for an upcoming project. Kept indulging, pushing. Longer hours. Nothing. Creatively parched.

So I went to my old college habit. The grown-up version of cleaning your room during finals before you begin to study…[click ‘continue reading’ link below] —

I temporarily dug outta my life’s clutter. I cleaned out my inbox, cleared off my desktop, returned some voicemails, I made lists. It gave me a moment. A breath. I went for a walk in the rain, carefree for the first time in weeks. And sipped a glass of wine.

And it happened. 2 hours of calm is all it took, and whammo. Best ideas I’ve had in weeks.

It’s often hard to see the forest through the trees, but the next time you’re struggling creatively, go clean your room and do the dishes. Pay your bills and then take a walk. Get some distance from your mayhem, even if it’s for an hour. I’ll bet you 10 bucks you’ll be better off–and more creative–because of it.

Have a great weekend. I know I will.
—

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36 replies on:
Clean Your Room and Do the Dishes

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  1. Zasiedzenie nieruchomosci wniosek Warszawa says:
    November 23, 2011 at 9:14 am

    Thank you a lot for giving everyone such a terrific chance to discover important secrets from this web site. It is often so terrific and stuffed with a great time for me personally and my office co-workers to visit your site on the least thrice per week to see the new stuff you have. And lastly, I’m just certainly motivated concerning the perfect concepts you serve. Selected 3 areas in this posting are easily the most efficient we have all ever had.

  2. Ray says:
    May 20, 2011 at 3:20 pm

    Sound advice never gets old. I need a reminder like this every month otherwise I get “stuck” too. For me, getting out for a walk at the beach for 30-40 minutes refreshes my batteries.

  3. lizsong says:
    October 21, 2009 at 8:47 am

    completely agreed. wrote a recent post on that. http://thebarnloft.tumblr.com/

  4. Amy says:
    October 17, 2009 at 12:26 am

    Well said.

  5. Kate says:
    October 16, 2009 at 11:32 pm

    So true, like spring cleaning, clear out the attic and see what happens. 🙂

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