In praise of slow

In praise of slow
Some folk like to set off into the New Year with a sense of drive and purpose. And some, go at a more gentle pace. Personally, I treat January as a "good to go slow" time and I don't buy into the New Year, New Me culture of having to change and push and drive myself forward to being The Best Version of myself.

And how does this play out in the studio?

Well, I didn't set foot in it until January 3rd and I certainly didn't go in with any wild goals or mayor plans to achieve. In fact, this year I had signed up to a course starting on that day and offering me a gentle supportive structure in which to limber up my creative muscles.

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With new material delivered to my inbox each week, I could pace myself and rest back into the plan that someone else had made.

When I am in the swing of things in the studio I manage to plan my own time well and each week I have both a creative and a business/administrative focus. 

Planning and list-making suits me, and not to give me ridiculous targets, in fact, quite the opposite. It keeps my tendency to over work in check!

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How is it for you? Do you pace yourself, or race ahead and run out of steam?

Studio time at the moment is based on play, experimenting and reflecting. It is the taking time to look back at what I have done that is reaping rewards. I'm wanting to understand my processes more so I can use what works well, and avoid familiar dead ends and leg traps. And only by watching and listening can I see what these strengths and unhelpful habits are.

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I can also sing the praises of pacing and not pushing in another important area of my life - training as a triathlete. 

I had a place in a half marathon at the weekend - the timing of the race coming just two weeks into January meaning I had to keep training through December and all that Christmas brought.

Keeping to the plan,  a plan that would pay off.

​And it worked. On the day I stuck to the pace I had trained at, keep a cool head and didn't over push in way that would injure me or derail the planned outcome. I left gas in the tank for a strong  smiley finish.

The result? I ENJOYED the race. And that is more important than the statistics of time, seconds and age category placing! Because of the planning I was able to enjoy it. That's the point.

​ In praise of slow, in praise of going at a comfortable and sustainable pace.

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