To
the Prospective Artist: Lessons from an Unknown Actor
CREATIVITY
DAY-PLANNER
One of the biggest hurdles for an
actors and artists is creating a daily structure that leaves you feeling proud
of the hours you put towards shaping a meaningful day of creativity. The
outline below is the culmination of several years of tweaking, improving, and
learning from the greats of the high performance world.
I. Develop a Morning Routine
-
Begin
the day by writing down, or verbalizing 5 things you are grateful for. Our view
of the world is constructed by what we focus on.
-
Read
something positive for 30 minutes.
-
Carve
out anywhere between 1 – 10 minutes to sit in silence and focus on your
breathing. You don’t need to be a Zen master to take a few minutes of personal
inventory each day.
-
Eat
something healthy. The benefits are twofold: you’ll feel energized, while also
doing something good for your body, mind, and capacity to focus.
AVOID
AT ALL COSTS
-
Starting your day with toxic
headlines.
Beginning your day with news means your stepping out into the world with scenes
of car chases, robberies, natural disasters, and political gridlock dancing in
your head. Give yourself a chance to take on the first few hours of the day
with a sense of aspiration and a little bounce in your step.
-
Checking email, texts, or social
media when you first wake up.
Yeah, I said it. Research shows by starting your day answering the priorities
of other people instead of your own, your productivity for the week plummets
more than 30 %. If possible, try to refrain from these distractions until noon.
(gasp!) If that’s a challenge, try 10:00 am and work your way up.
*Tip –
Try placing your laptop and phone in a different room from where you sleep.
It’s easier to avoid distractions than to resist them.
II. Jot Down Your 3 Most Important
Priorities for the Day
If
possible, plan these the night before. It’ll be one less thing to worry about
when you begin your day freeing up time to develop and deepen the quality of
your morning rituals.
-
You
should have 3 M.I.P’s at most. Learn the art of prioritization practiced by the
likes of Warren Buffett and Jim Collins who once said, “If you have more than 3
priorities than you have none.”
-
Below
each goal list the 5 steps you must take before the day is over. Just below
that, list the people you need to reach out to in order to see your tasks all
the way through. Check out the example below:
1. Begin trying to get your
manuscript published.
A. Buy an updated book of literary
agents.
B. Begin targeting agents who
specialize in my book’s genre.
C. Research what makes a good query
letter.
D. Begin drafting a query letter.
E. Once the letter is complete, get
feedback from at least two people.
Who I Need to Reach out to Today:
Phone my editor and ask if she has any pointers, or knows some good resources
on publishing.
-
Work
in blocks of 50-minutes, uninterrupted. Phone goes off or on airplane mode,
browsers are out of view, email and instant messenger are kept at bay.
-
After
each designated block, take 10 minutes to stretch, do breathing exercises, run
to the rest room, or grab a snack.
III. “Cashing Out”
-
The
quality with which you end your days will play a role in how you begin the
next. Close out the day by committing to NO screens 50 minutes before bed. It
just takes practice.
-
Journal.
Jot down 3 things you’re grateful for and any discoveries/insights you gained
throughout the day.
-
Hit
the hay. Rinse and repeat.
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