an example of purple space

Working at home with no one to report to but myself is prompting me to search for optimum - heck I'll settle for sustainable - work patterns that aren't forced on me by a 9-5 work day.

About two weeks ago I gave myself a mental health day: I put my to-do list aside and let my intuition guide my actions for an entire day. I liked it so much I decided to try it for a full week.

What I discovered is the importance of obligation-free time, or white space.

Designers and visual artists know that deliberate white space can make or break a piece. Lo & behold, deliberate white space in one's schedule can make or break productivity too.

In the frenzy and panic around creating revenue I forgot to allow myself time to just be, time to synthesize all I'd taken in and done over the past two months and let it gel.

Last week's deliberate increase in white space allowed time for insights and words to crop up. It generated plans, paintings in progress and service descriptions in the form of journal entries. It created flexibility and flow.

This week my intuition tells me it's time to take action. It's time to take the plans, the works in progress and the journal entries and firm them up into something tangible and complete. I feel rested and ready to do so. Reducing white space in my schedule is as much a deliberate choice as increasing it.

'Tis a fine and tricky line sometimes this quest for optimal sustainable productivity. Luckily if I'm not sure what to do, a gut check is usually all it takes to set me in the right direction.

~~~

How do you create more white space in your schedule? How do you know when it's time to reduce it?

#3 - Kelly's Beach, Kouchibouguac National Park, NB (about 20min from Mom & Dad's)

I spent two glorious afternoons sitting on this beach listening to the waves roll in

With two weeks left before I turn 39 it's time to check in on my list of 38 things I wanted to do before the B-Day. So if you'll let me self-indulge a little more than usual, here goes:

take voice lessons 1/2 hour a week for six weeks during May and June 2011
hike a new-to-me trail Little Bluff Conservation Area, Prince Edward Country, Ontario - it was a short trail, but beautiful!
sit by the ocean during my solo trip to NB, August 2011 (see pic above), though technically it's the Northumberland Strait and not the ocean I'm giving myself full points - it smelled salty
take a plane somewhere
create an e-book
lose 10 pounds I lost five, but I might have gained some too sooo, no points here unfortunately
create and give art workshops centered around intuitive art-making and creative play
write and submit an article (or a query) to a magazine - hopefully get it published 1/4 points here, I took a workshop on pitching articles and created a very rough draft of a query letter
find the user manual for Matilda, my trusty point & shoot, and learn how to use her manual settings full points with a note that it's a work in practice
host a painting or tea party
see a Cirque du Soleil performance a birthday gift from D., it was amazing!
take a solo trip - it doesn't have to be far solo road trip to visit Mom & Dad in NB, August 2011
try a new recipe a ground beef/pasta/cheese bake thingy, yummy winter fare!
clean out my filing cabinet
paint on a big canvas again - at least 30x30, maybe even bigger I painted on two 20x40 canvases, close enough
take an art workshop, or two one textile sculpture workshop taken in June 2011, and two painting-related workshops at Squam Art Workshops in September
show my artwork in a local venue
find a pair of stylish, dressy, warm winter boots lambswool-lined ankle boots that I can wear with dressy pants, jeans or a wool skirt, works for me!
find or create an occasion to wear the party dress my sister gave me for my birthday (I feel so beautiful when I'm wearing it!) I have tickets to see the Bolshoi Ballet this coming May, I plan to to wear the dress
find a pair of party shoes to wear with my party dress
do my morning pages at least five days a week, every week though I haven't checked, I think I've managed to average this thanks to my working from home since November
host a few dinners, potlucks or game nights with D. yup!
see live music performances, maybe a few Bluesfest concerts took in Jazzfest AND Bluesfest concerts + a show the Black Sheep Inn
go to a movie theatre saw The Artist and the Pearl Jam documentary
visit the National Gallery of Canada (here in Ottawa, no excuse!) saw Made in America photography exhibit with D. + a bit of the Canadian gallery
go to NYC
make peach preserves chose to let go of this one in the fall due to time constraints
visit my parents and family in New Brunswick August 2011
hike a second new-to-me trail
send cards and notes via snail mail - target one a month Yup. I might've even averaged one a month.
print photos from our wedding to fill our wedding photo box
print favourite photos from last year (trip to Gaspé, '70s housewarming party, art vernissage) and create a souvenir album I can flip through
throw a belated birthday party
go dancing D. & I got our groove on at Le Piano Rouge in Montreal during a weekend getaway
put $5000 aside in Savings YAY! This was so I could take a leave of absence from work, it served its purpose.
do something with my series of Mandala line art created in 2005-2006
get my hair and makeup done professionally
continue posting here at least twice a week, even if it's just a photo or a quote According to the monthly archives numbers I averaged at least twice a week. My tightest month was July 2011 with 8 posts.

Twenty-one out of the 38 things are crossed off with a few more weeks to go, not too shabby!

And there might still be time to knock a few little ones off the list; I'll see what I can muster up between now and then...