Story of my life. I failed to find my place in the 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. cooperate world. When I quit formal employment, my first order of business was to do away with routines and schedules, to roll with the flow of my feelings and events around me.
Sleep when I want to. Eat when I want to. Chill when I want to. Follow my every whim. I didn’t know that I was setting myself a trap. Eventually, I woke up to a life that was void of purpose, a life that was empty because no one tells you the effort it takes to create a meaningful life from such a lifestyle.
I lost sight of what mattered and binging on sleep (LOL), movies and novels became my way of life. There’s a reason why we have to work for six days and rest for one day. Working not only takes care of our lifestyles but it also gives us a livelihood.
Having entered the gigs and freelancing economy as a freestyler, I had to figure out which lifestyle would add meaning to my life and though to took me long to accept it, I now agree that routines and schedules aren’t so bad after all (LOL again). If I am doing what I’m passionate about and pay attention to my spirit, body and soul for warning signs, it’s easy for me to tell when to take a sabbatical from my imposed routines and schedules (I still have a love-hate relationship with routines and schedules after all).
Believe it or not, here is a list of some of my of game changers
When I take long without nourishing my spirit in prayer, the word, fellowship and all that, the alarm bell sounds. I fall back to my old habits. Begin to grumble, become anxious, disorganized and slothful. That’s my queue to trace my footsteps back to everything that grows my spirit man.
Having binged on entertainment to the point of exhaustion, I now clearly understand the importance of regular workouts. I resolved early to take care of body (30 years later, LOL). It doesn’t help that my lifestyle is extremely sedentary. So, I jog, Stretch and take walks. The best tip I got from one of my mental health classes is to exercise in a comfortable way. I don’t jog to prove a point to anyone. I don’t have to stretch my body into discomfort. But I have found comfort in jogging at a snail pace. I delight myself in stretching my body in a relaxing way. Who said everything has to be hard?
To the onlooker, it’s like I’m doing nothing, yet my jogging tracker says otherwise. It’s shows that I have effortlessly burnt some calories and covered more than half a kilometer. That’s enough to make merry for the rest of my morning. And the good news is I’m not a slave to my routines anymore. Some weeks I jog for only one day, others for 2, 3 or 4 days and I’m okay. Winnie the Perfectionist was buried two years ago.
On the days when I’m working from home which is 70% of the time, I rise up, shower and sit at my comfortable work table instead of working under my bed covers, which I used to do. That poor posture would leave me with an aching tired body. While working, I pay attention to my body and stretch at intervals because it’s very possible to sit in one place for the whole day. That’s why I take time to have my meals and stay dehydrated (lucky me who loves water, dehydrating is not a task at all). But who says that I can’t cover myself in bed and work from there every now and then?
To stop myself from turning into a recluse, I have scheduled calls with my different circles of friends, I visit people and show up at church for fellowships. I enjoy my own company alot and I have to intentionally connect with my family members because I have found out that after all, I do enjoy their company.
Lastly, whether by hook or crook, I now have to finish what I start or do what I dreamt myself into starting. I have been down easy street and I know it very well. Although it looked inviting in the beginning, it left me with a heep of unfinished business.
Advise to creatives
We are the masters of our crafts and schedules, and we need to pay attention to our spirits, bodies and souls.
We need to take time to refill ourselves. To live. To emerse ourselves in our environments because that’s where the creativity flows from. We should listen to the relaxing birds songs. Delight in the contagious laughter of children. Live with reckless abandon. And count the countless stars.
Creativity is in loving deeply, travelling and exploring. Creativity is in daring to try new things. And engaging in every little thing that makes us come alive.
Fruitful Vine 
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