I set a time for one hour. I try to make some art

 

Austin Kleon writes about building the discipline to make stuff, when "there's always a bunch of 'admin work' to do.

Here’s what I’ve been doing — I call it the one-hour studio.

At some point in the day, I go into the studio. I don’t touch my computer. I set a timer for one hour. I try to make some art. When the timer goes off, I either stop or keep going, depending on what’s on my calendar.

That’s it! If I do this enough days in a row, a body of work shows up.

Sounds so simple, right? Simple, but not easy.

The hardest part, I’ve found, is giving myself that one hour to spend. I have the enormous privilege of being my own boss and setting my own schedule, but there’s always a bunch of “admin” work to do. In fact, like many people, I could spend all day, every day, “jumping on a call” or answering freaking email.

I make the majority of my living writing books and writing this newsletter — but I wouldn’t have anything to write about if I didn’t, you know, actually make stuff! It makes it a little easier to budget playtime in the studio if I think of it as “research and development.”

I also try not to look at social media or the news before I go into the studio. This is probably more difficult than blocking off the time, honestly. What I’m trying to do is set up what Joseph Campbell called a “bliss station.”