Productivity and the systems, a lot of people love it. And on the other side, we have a lot of people who don’t like it all. Some people, especially those on the artistic side have a tendency to lean towards chaos.
Me being ambidextrous (equally using left and right hand, hence equally using both parts of the brain) tend to switch between these two modes. Systems are really appealing to my left side, but my right side screams in the need of chaos and unpredictability.
I am going through rituals and all other things that productivity gurus are preaching, but on the other hand I never follow any of the advice blindly. My productivity flows naturally.
Artistic people will find this approach balanced. Having right hemisphere of your brain dominating your thought pattern, will often leave you completely unorganized, sometimes even unmotivated and paralyzed. Incorporing systems a little bit, might help your work immenesly.
Now for the left brained crowed, you really need to loosen up a little bit. Nurturing the freedom of mind will set your ideas free and into the wild. While systems can do a lot of work for us, they can certainly kill our creativity.
Creativity is the fuel that runs your workflow. It makes your job fun and keeps your motivation going. Nurturing your creativity also expands your character. If you recognize yourself in one of these two types, or you are simply leaning towards one of the two. Than this is something that you should consider doing.
How Leonardo Da Vinci did it?
Greatest example of well balanced individual is Leonardo Da Vinci. He has his artistic side meshed up with scientific. He has structured thought pattern, that knows when to escape the predictability and dives into imagination and pull out the immense potential of the right brain, while fully utilizes the capacity of the left side.
He was known for his juggling skills that helped him develop both of his hands equally. He took advantage of that, so he used both of his hands for drawing pictures. Once you start using your non dominant hand for writing or drawing, your brain starts to resist, because it’s forced to think in non patterned way.
What will you do to nurture your balance? Achieving this balance requires a lot of determination and hard work. Being productive creative worker, requires from you to have a systematic approach, but still without boundaries.
If you are interested into Leonardo Da Vinci, pay some closer attention to mind mapping techniques and what are the ways he naturally applied those.
How Do I Do it?
My approach keeps me approaching to that balanced way of thinking. I love habits that keep me in check, but I tend to let my mind run lose once those habits are finished. I achieve that in next way.
There is a daily routine, where I go through the regular stuff: wake up, do my morning ritual, get ready for the day ahead, go to work… After that I have no idea what is going to happen. I let my emotions drive me.
If I feel like creating, I go straight home and get to some extra work on my blog, or perhaps I just go out and grab a coffee and socialize. For any kind of success, there is a need for consistency. So all the habits that I have, I am done with them by the time my work time is finished.
Even when I was unemployed, and when my primary and only work was this blog, I tended to have the same approach. Wake up, get myself ready and start writing. After that the day was mine…
Whole day ahead of you, or at least the other half of it, for you and your creative potential. No restrains, no plans, just you and your emotions to move you in directions that feel most pleasant to you.
Your day might look differently, but not entire of your day has to be mapped out. And if you are really leaning to that left brain orientation, solve it with your calendar, and just type down: “UNPLANNED”. If you can’t resist your urge to map everything out.
This is especially important for weekends. In case you are not working, you should reserve at least 2 days a week for this kind of time. Where you have no clue what you are going to do next.
Sometimes it’s best to just let it go!
Just let it go. Do as you feel. If you are working, you had those 8+ hours that you had being mapped out for you. Your discipline times are over. Don’t assume that planned out lifestyle to go slip into your freedom.
Now for those artistic types that lean towards ADHD, you might start establishing habits and bring something systematic in your life. Preferably making a habit of a task that might bring you the most out of your financial side, that many of you are struggling with.
Starting your day with eating the biggest frog, and following that ritual daily will yield some nice dividends in the long run, while maintaining those times when you are doing what you want.
Stay free!
