Ha/bits

Wear them loosely

I’m an easy target for anyone with a secret to hacking the daily schedule. I read morning routine hacks like they’re porn. But!

I’m a creative. And that means I’m a writer, promoter, boss, star, PA, coach, comedian, visual artist, singer, producer etc etc. And what that means is that every day is very different. Some days I sit in my chair and write for twelve hours - and yes I do try to take a walk at some point. Or start those days with a yoga class. And some days I’m on the road doing a gig. Some days lots of clients. Some days a big melange. Hair, booking UnCabaret, figuring out who the assistant is going to be.

My life is flexible.
I like it that way.
My life is not rigid.
I like it that way.
I am an artist and my life is one of my works of art.

But the more complicated it gets the more I now I need to up my organization - I wrote about that here. And the more complex it gets - the more intimate I get with the 8 Habits of Infinitely Creative People.

Here’s the thing.

A habit is different than a routine.

A routine is: I write the first thing in the morning six days a week.

A habit is, I make writing a priority. I always work towards clarity on what to be writing, and look for the best window each day to do that work. I know for instance if I have a pressing production deadline I’m better off getting that off my plate than telling myself I’ll do it after I finish. Because I know myself. Knowing yourself is one of the habits that helps with creativity.

One of the things I heard in the rooms when I started working a program was: wear your sobriety lightly. Like a loose garment. I couldn’t understand that at all. It felt impossible. But twelve years later, I get it. And like most good direction, it applies to the practice at hand and life in general. Study anything to study everything. (Practice yoga off the mat is the short hand I use for that.) And being willing to change, that’s one of the 8 habits as well.

And the loose robe thing - wearing it lightly - that’s how I think of habits now. They seem most useful when they are there, surrounding you, protecting you. A kind of boundary. And boundaries do create freedom. The river flows because of the river banks.

Plus, the word habit - which I can’t help but see as ha/bit - laughing bits - something to take lightly - comes from a PIE word which means ‘to give or receive’. Which I so love. That one word means both. Give and receive. The flow of back and forth. The way shalom means both hello and goodbye. And peace. Maybe peace because when you know that hello and good bye are the same thing - peace is present. Connection, rather than separation.

So habits. When you give them attention, you receive the freedom that comes from boundaries.

I bring all this up today because I’m doing my free webinar 8 Habits of Infinitely Creative People tomorrow.

I continue to evolve and refine this system I developed by studying my own work - as a writer, performer, producer, actor - and the work of my collaborators and clients. The 8 Habits work in cases of being stuck, blocked, overwhelmed, uncertain and even over excited. All inevitable hurdles in the creative life. And I’d love to share them with you.

So, we zoom tomorrow - Wednesday May 31, at 5 PT. I’ll cover some about all of them, some about my Infinite Creator Program and I’ll answer some of your question.

Here’s the link. Even if you can’t make that time, register because we’ll be sending the watch later link from there.

Infinitely Yours,

x b