How do you balance creative work and rest? How do you know when to push yourself into creative work, and when to rest and wait for inspiration?
I really subscribe to Seth Godin’s idea of professionals vs. amateurs. Professionals show up. Amateurs wait for inspiration. So I work when the time is available for me to work. (When my kids were young, my only writing time was 4:30am. So that’s when I wrote.) I don’t always create good work when I sit down to work; but I always create, and eventually the good comes out.
That said, creative work takes the time it takes. Sometimes a project needs to percolate. Because of that, I like having lots of creative projects going at once – so I can let one project breathe and evolve while I’m not looking directly at it. When I turn from Project A to Project B, A gets to evolve without my attention, and B is generally ready to take its next steps with me.