Friday, March 28, 2008

Multi-tasking Creativity

I've been tagged by Guylaine who was herself tagged by Marie-Chantale.

Here's the question to answer:

"How can you, as a creative person, find the right balance in doing many projects simultaneously? How do you manage to complete many projects while keeping a healthy body and mind?"

Wow, the million dollar question...
I think I am some kind of Miss Organization. It sometimes hinders creativity but it also has advantages. I always handle many projects at the same time. Some are professional, others are more personal. I have many notebooks for many different projects, one for my collages, one for my daily writing, another for drawing, one for my creative lists, another I use when I mix drawing and writing (my creative journal). Enough. But I have more, really! Maybe it's due to my passion for notebooks. Or just because, as I wrote earlier, I'm Miss Organization.

I'm into sewing? Well I have an armoire for my fabrics, my threads are in a special container, my accessories in another one. I can put away and take back all my stuff quickly. That way I don't feel overwhelmed by all the stuff laid out everywhere in my «room». The great thing now is that when I'm in the middle of a long-term project I deal much better with a messy room than I was 2-3 years ago. As a child I always had to put away ALL my stuff when I stopped doing something even if it was not finished and wanted to continue later on. My tolerance level is now quite high with my daughters and their «in progress» work. Of course, that means their bedrooms are messy, that you have to be very creative to find a spot to sit down in the basement, but hey, living with two very creative teenagers is so wonderful...

I am also very lucky to have low-maintenance children (I know, this doesn't sound very mommy-like, but you'd be surprised...), which means I don't run too much. The fact that my husband is also a very creative man in his own areas (technologies, woodwork) is also a plus. He understands that I have my girly stuff to do. My man also cooks our meals. All of them... I have a lot of time on my hands, lucky me.

Guylaine mentioned she enjoyed process more than product. For many of my projects, I feel the same. Just the fact of doing something creative, I feel so good. It can take me hours to do a little tiny weeny something, I don't mind because the time spent doing it was so great.

For me, having many creative projects to deal with at the same time means that I'm never bored. That's the way it goes with my work. I have many dossiers to deal with (which are creative in a way since I have to produce, elaborate...) and I can go from one to another depending on my mood or my agenda. I love working like that, it's far from a daily routine.

So, according to the instructions, I shall tag 5 people...
What about Andrea, Ani, Emily, Pénélope and Yannick?

2 comments:

andrea said...

oh, this is so fascinating. and such an important thing to discuss. how do people do it? so many different approaches. you know, I'm relieved to discover I'm not the only one who keeps so many different notebooks. sometimes it all goes into one, sometimes it gets separated into many. and supportive spouses are an absolute must. looks like we're both blessed in that department. :)

hope to write a bit more about this on the blog... still turning ideas and thoughts over in my mind... thanks so much for tagging me!

xo

Susan said...

I agree. This is a cool take on the typical memes. Love the questions.