When I exhibit my work people often ask me how often I go out and take photos and I’m always reminded of those memes that were really popular a while back which showed what other people think you do, as compared to what you really do.
The people I speak to are often shocked when I tell them that I don’t actually spend very much time at all taking photos, and how I really wish I could spend more time doing just that. Being a one-person business means that there are many hats to wear and many tasks fighting for your attention at any given moment and it can be difficult to do the things you want to do.
But this is only half the story. All of these tasks do have to be completed. Orders must be shipped, emails must be answered, websites must be built and marketing must be done. If you can’t afford to pay someone to complete these tasks for you, you must do them yourself.
But are they more important than the business of creating?
Of course not.
So, why then, do they so often take precedence?
Why does it become absolutely vital that your website is updated, just as you’re trying to create a new piece of work?
It’s definitely not productivity. I’ve been making big improvements to my productivity this year with tools such as Kashflow, Evernote and Text Expander.
So what is it?
If you know the writings of Steven Pressfield, then you already know the answer.
Resistance.
The nasty beast that rears its ugly head every time it is time to create something. The voice that says, if I can just get these few things out of the way then I can get on with my real work.
There’s only one way to crush resistance and that’s just to shine a light on it. This past weekend, as I was talking about how I didn’t get enough time to take photos, I found myself wondering who on earth was deciding that there wasn’t enough time? And surely there would never be enough time anyway so why not just decide to get on with it?
So, I have decided to take advantage of the fact that I am my own boss and take my time into my own hands for the next six weeks. The online store will still be open, orders will still be shipped and emails will still be responded to. I just won’t be spending any time tweaking my website, updating my online store or posting on social media (although there will still be some automated posts on Facebook)
I’ll be back in the middle of August with the release of my 2015 calendar and, hopefully, a new collection of images. I hope that you all get to spend some time this summer doing what you really love to do too and I will see you then.