A newfound awareness of where I’m really living.
photo credit: I’m going to miss my tiny… via photopin (license)
With all the book publication and now marketing I’ve been knee deep in lately, it feels that my acting self has been a wee bit neglected. After a 3 week hiatus (because the teacher has been shooting a film), my acting class will meet for the last time this term in two days. Have I memorized the lines for my scene, even though I’ve had several weeks do it? Um, not exactly.
Best get to work, girlfriend!
A few days ago, I heard from the director of the film I’ve been cast in. He’s sent a revised version of the script over and said that instead of shooting in April as originally planned, we’ll be rehearsing and then shooting in May.
Might be a good idea to look at that script!
Today I got an email from the director of the play I’ve been cast in. We start rehearsals in two weeks. Luckily, we’ll get the script the day we begin. Phew!
Even though (depending on the worship leader) I might get the song list up to a week in advance of a Sunday I’m singing, it’s very possible I won’t start going through the songs until the night before. (It just so happens that the worship leader I’m singing with tomorrow doesn’t usually pick the songs until we all arrive for practice before the service, so I’m safe there!)
The same weekend that play rehearsals start, I’m speaking at a Camp about creativity. About the Biblical basis for it, as well as being a good steward of our creative gifts. Glad I have notes from previous talks I’ve given!
The thing is, I love all these things before me. But my name is Melissa and I’m a procrastinator (recovering, hopefully). Some people work better under stress. Under looming deadlines. I’ve often found that if I’m trying to write, the inspiration doesn’t even come unless I’m up against it.
My personality is definitely of the “play first, then work,” variety. Which is funny because I don’t feel like there’s been a whole lot of play happening (see aforementioned book publication and marketing).
Priorities. That’s what it boils down to. My book NEEDED to get out. It felt overdue. So I pushed really hard to the exclusion of all else and made that happen. To some extent, I’m still pushing, but now other looming things are vying for my attention.
I have this internal gauge that tells me (usually by that churning heart palpitation sensation in my chest area) when it’s time to get a move on. I can describe it with such accuracy because it’s happening right about now. I know better than to ignore that feeling – it only leads to grouchy, emotional unpleasantness. But if I pay attention and start working on lines that need to be memorized in two days, for example, that anxiety immediately goes away.
It’s like magic!
Steven Covey talks about the principles of Urgent vs Important in his book, First Things First. There are four different quadrants as you see in the diagram below:
From David Anderson’s Finding Your Soul blog
It’s been really eye-opening as I take seriously this journey of being a professional artist. A girl who earns a living from her creative pursuits and passions. How do I prioritize? How do I plan my day so that I’m not weeping in frustration at the end of it?
At the moment, I seem to live in Quadrant I with several dips into Quadrant IV. And I’m having serious doubts about that being the most effective, productive or even enjoyable way to manage my time and energy.
Awareness is the first step, right? The next step’ll be to figure out how to buy some real estate in Quadrant II. My instincts tell me that’s my happy place.
Looking at the Quadrants diagram above, where do you normally live? Is that your happy place?
