I Do Declare: The clock is a fierce opponent

I get up every morning, don my battle gear, and go to war … with the clock.

The battles I fight, the struggles I face, and the campaigns I map out are all about choosing the best time of day to get things done.

My high energy time is in the morning. That being the case, logic would dictate that I should be doing the most creative things at that time.

But some days logic takes a sharp right turn, and the to-do list elbows its way to the forefront. I tell myself I’ll just get these couple of things out of the way so I can focus the rest of the day on my passion projects.

You know how that ends.

The tasks take up a chunk of time – or worse, they deplete what energy I had, and I’m left running on empty when I do get to the passion projects.

The thing is, those times when I do start the day with one of my passion projects, I don’t want to stop. I get in the middle of it, become mesmerized and focused and just want to be there all day.

That’s no surprise: It’s my passion, it’s a creative endeavor, it feeds me and it gives me more energy. Who doesn’t want to dwell in that place?

And yet, there’s something in the back of my mind that worries that if I get too involved with a creative project right away, it’ll be hard to get to the tasks I have to get done (the routine, the gig assignments, the do-it-or-else tasks, you know what I’m talking about) – or worse, I’ll neglect them or be late completing them, then I’ll have to scramble to catch up.

It’s not just a what-comes-first issue. I battle with squeezing in creative work on the checklist, in between other must-do work. My experience has been that piecemealing creativity is not optimal.

And yet, what if piecemeal is the only way I’ll get everything done?

This war I wage over the clock is ongoing, and moments when I can “stand down” are rare.

Are there any creativity warriors out there who can share their battle stories? I’d like to hear about some campaigns that were won or weaponry that helped turn the tide.