"Every blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, "Grow, grow..." -- The Talmud

In equal parts, I love and hate the feeling of having too many projects going on at once.

On one hand: "Great! The ideas are churning!"

On the other: "Ohmystarspleasehelpme, I need a nap."

Because it takes time (of the rare, uninterrupted variety) and mental effort to get the ideas "out there", to give them shape. But if we're lucky, we get a lightning strike of a revelation. An "A-ha!" moment, as Oprah is so fond of saying.

I am a big list-maker of the "to-do" variety, and I've realized a few key things about myself. It's a sort of checklist for me to have a good, Creative day:

• Funnily enough for a person who used to be a marketing director (among other things), I cannot stand marketing myself. Although it comes with the territory in this internet age, telling people about my courses, my social media pages, my blog...ugh, the whole thing feels icky and "toot-your-own-horn-ish." Thankfully, I have the most supportive photography students a teacher could ask for, who spread the word for me on their own blogs and social media pages (such as this one, that one, and this one). Most of my students have some connection to a previous student, and I am so incredibly grateful for that. (It's like "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon", figuring out how students are connected.) SO: the less self-marketing I need to do, the more creative my day will be.
  

• If I've gone a couple of days without picking up my camera, I get very, verrrrrrrry crabby. Especially if I've had to do "marketing-myself" things instead.

• In the morning, it helps to read some poetry--any poetry. Or fiction of the poetic variety (see: Donna Tartt).
  

• Many times I need silence, but when I don't, 8tracks.com is great for background music. In the search box where it reads "what kind of songs do you want to hear?", I type in "study" plus "instrumental" plus "cello" and it comes up with the perfect soundtracks for working, without the music jockeying for my attention.
  

• I also require frequent cuddling breaks with Delilah. Listening to her rhythmic breathing, soft and measured...
  

• If I'm really stuck, taking a walk does wonders. There's something about watching a lone hawk gliding overhead, or the mist of melting snow rising off the pavement, or a dog on a jaunty jog with its owner. I guess it's a kind of visual poetry.
  

• If the real "meat" of the creative work isn't done by 1:00 pm, it's likely not going to happen that day, and it's best to move on to doing the laundry (woohoo!) or similar mundane tasks. (Strange how a former night owl has become such an early bird, at least creatively speaking.)

• To take a big weight off of myself, I realized I am not "a blogger who teaches photography courses", but instead I am "a photography instructor who happens to have a blog." You wouldn't believe the amount of pressure that self-realization took off my shoulders! Refocusing my daily efforts has made all the difference for me.
  

Today is a good, creative day because I'm finishing this post at 12:43 pm (just in the nick of time) and I'm prepping to introduce a new photography course. If you're all signed up at my new monthly e-newsletter, "Writing with Light", do look out for the details and discounts. (If you're not signed up yet, you can still do it, in the right-hand column. If you're receiving this post by email subscription, click on the title of the post to get to the main blog and the "Writing with Light" sign-up.) Sorry, some self-marketing was necessary right there!

And now, Laundry Mountain awaits...

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What are your ingredients for a good, creative day? I'd love to know!

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