The other day, I got the second dose of the vaccine. I didn’t know what kind of side effects I would get, so I blocked two whole days off just to be safe. I got only fever, so I worked during the day. As a programmer, I can write code even when I’m in bed. But when I was done with work for the day, I felt lost. I didn’t know what to do with my evening calendar being completely blank. No meetings? No workshops? What should I do?
The more keys you have, the more complicated your life can be.
The statement was meant for keys…literally, but I think we can apply the statement to our lives in general. In the past few years, I’ve gotten more keys to different doors — storytelling shows, workshops, writing groups, Toastmasters events, and more. Everything was just fun in the beginning, but then I started getting more keys than I could even hold. Sometimes I have three meetings after work…back to back, which is not good because I don’t have time to digest and absorb what I saw, heard, and learned. Now, I can’t even remember my schedule anymore.
After lying down and staring at the blank calendar for two hours, my brain started spinning again. Then, new ideas started flowing in. Ideas for the stories I’ve been working on, the upcoming workshops, and storytelling shows. They kept coming. It made me realize how busy I had been. Holding too many keys has been blocking my creativity and sapping the quality of my products.
Feeling your creativity is on halt? When you do, hit the break! Sometimes, a little break will speed things up.