Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Protecting Our Creative Time

Keeping the time open to do creative work can be as difficult as protecting pristine wilderness. The urge to take on too much--and make other people happy in the moment--can be overwhelming.

Today a column for teenagers by Lacia Johnson in The Jamaica Observer offers a checklist of questions to consider when somebody else has an interesting plan for a piece of our time.

Do I have the time (without delaying my own work)?
Will I feel pressured to get it done?
Will I be upset with myself?
Will I feel resentful of the other person?
Will I feel duped, had or swindled?
What do I have to give up to do this?

In my experience, the easiest way to make the right decision is to say: let me think about that and call you tomorrow.