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How to Be in the Flow and Still Keep Living
I’ve always prided myself on being one of those people who never drops the ball, no matter how many I’m juggling. People ask how I stay so organized and on top of things. Oddly, I don’t think of myself as organized (you should see my desk), but I do take my responsibilities seriously.
But lately, I’ve been doing some deep thinking and exploration that requires a certain type of focus. Suddenly, this past week I got my times mixed up for two different appointments and there were a couple of other small balls I dropped. It was a goal of mine this year to regain “deep focus” in my work, but I’m discovering the more deeply you are focused, the less notice you pay to the little things.
Maybe my concern over all of this goes back to one of the many myths we maintain about artists: that artists are flighty, head-in-the-clouds, overgrown children who don’t notice when their shoes don’t match, much less when they’ve forgotten to pay a tax bill. I’ve spent my entire career trying to debunk that and so many other myths about artists.
Then again, there is some truth to the distraction of being “in the zone.” When the creative juices are flowing, it’s hard to stop and address other things, no matter how important. It’s very possible, even probable, you will lose that great work if you end it too early, but I don’t think this a…