“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.”
Gustave Flaubert
Whenever I travel or experience any “violent” changes in routine… my creative work suffers.
…Simply because the time blocked for creative work shrinks in proportion to the amount of time exploring, problem solving, or engaging in unique experiences—expands.
And the days when creative work is the hardest is when I’m doing it at the end of my day, right before bed, when I’m exhausted, and as a last minute obligation because it’s a commitment I want to honor.
…But you know what?
I have yet to regret a post I’ve published.
Even one of the posts I’ve written at 3am after a long night out.
…And you know what’s more?
I have yet to regret an adventure I’ve taken.
If anything, it’s the adventures that have lead to some of my best creative work.
…But you know what most people miss?
It’s the time blocked after the adventures, where I’m able to unpack it all and do some creative work, where the vibrance and meaning of the adventures come to full fruition.
See, it isn’t the “regular and orderly life” that exclusively leads to the “violent and original work” just like it isn’t an adventurous and spontaneous life that would only lead to “regular” work.
It’s the harmony of both elements that we need in our lives: the adventure and the ordinary; the violent and the regular; the spontaneous and the routine.
This is where (and how) our best work lives.
P.s. ICYMI you can read the best of what I posted to MoveMe Quotes last week, here.