Wiggly Consistency

Creating habits, releasing rigidity

Photograph by Nirav Patel 

As much as we can resist, or resent it, consistency is always central to any creative pursuit. 

Whether it’s a morning writing routine, like Haruki Murakami and Ingmar Bergman, or a midnight ritual, like Tom Wolfe and Ann Beattie – the creative act demands time and repetition.

According to Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Outliers,’ it takes 10,000 hours to master a craft. But it took James Joyce 20,000 hours alone to write ‘Ulysses.’ Those numbers can seem daunting, so we go seeking for a short-cut. We want to crack the code of creativity, hoping the answer won’t entail work. 

This might explain our current obsession with Artificial Intelligence: we want the result, without the effort. But when we side-step the process, we lose the opportunity for self-transformation. The most significant changes in my life can all be attributed to consistency. Whether it’s meditating, writing, swimming, cooking – the positive effects of these activities spring from their regularity. 

Beyond health and success, consistency also offers us a feeling of safety. When events occur with regular frequency, they give us a sense of predictability. We all engage in daily rituals, whether conscious or not, such as drinking the same coffee every morning, or reading before bed. Author

Lisa Olivera

recently wrote how she cooks the same rotation of meals, and re-orders the same pair of shoes once they’re worn out. These small consistencies create safety markers, soothing motions, and comfort caves. 

Perhaps it’s a result of getting older and closing up to new experiences – or maybe it’s living long enough to discover and embrace our preferences. It often entails much trial and error to develop habits that suits us. For years, I started my day in a rushed frenzy, until I established a morning routine of journaling and meditating. The day tends to go smoother when I choose the latter, but I had to learn from experience. 

Establishing a routine can also eliminate the “tyranny of choice”: the overwhelm when presented with countless choices. So much of our energy is wasted thinking about what to do, rather than doing it. Once a routine is in place, our minds are less tempted to second-guess and contemplate the myriad of options available to us. 

Legendary dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp woke up at 5:30am every day, hailed a cab and headed to the gym every morning. In her book ‘The Creative Habit’, she explained: “It’s a simple act, but doing it the same way each morning habitualizes it – makes it repeatable, easy to do. It reduces the chance that I would skip it or do it differently. It is one more item in my arsenal of routines, and one less thing to think about.” 

When forming a new habit, many of us tend to jump to the extreme. But an over-zealous start can have a boomerang effect, leading to a quick crash-and-burn. I’ve often taken that route to building consistent habits: I’ll go all-in and then all-out. 

Author James Clear, recommends starting small. In his book ‘Atomic Habits,’, he suggests adopting the “Two-Minute Rule” – scaling down any new habit to two minutes. He writes: “People often think it’s weird to get hyped about reading one page or meditating for one minute or making one sales call. But the point is not to do one thing. The point is to master the habit of showing up.”

The more we show up, the easier it becomes to do so. Our creative doubts decrease with proof of concept. Our self-esteem also increases every time we fulfill our own commitments.

But consistency doesn’t come without risks – it can quickly morph into rigidity. Until recently, I never allowed myself to skip my meditation practice, fearing that the whole foundation would crumble if I did. While consistency offers us freedom through disciple, rigidity can constrain us with its tight grip of control.

It’s easy to also confuse consistency with having a strict schedule. But I’ve been challenging that notion, ever since listening to a conversation writer

Suleika Jaouad

had with her partner Jon Batiste, a multi-Grammy and Oscar winning musician. When asked about his creative routine, Jon Batiste emphasized that for him it’s not about having a schedule, but “working with consistency.” His statement alluded to a flexible discipline – a direction I’ve been exploring. 

I continue writing my morning pages and meditating almost daily, but I can more comfortably sway away for a few days, knowing I won’t abandon the practice altogether. It’s there to return to, neither as a punishment nor as a reward, but a choice. 

This month’s Seven Senses highlights the consistent practices of various artists, along with 7 sensory explorations: SEE, HEAR, SMELL. TASTE, TOUCH, BALANCE, and ENVISION. 

In Joy,

Sabrina

UPCOMING WORKING SERIES:

I’ll be teaching a workshop series ‘The Harmony of Opposites’ with Anna Brones of Creative Fuel on February 11th and February 18th. This is an offering for paid subscribers of either Seven Senses or Creative Fuel.

- Session 1 | Light & Shadow: Sunday, February 11, 2024, 10am-11:30am PT

- Session 2 | Movement & Stillness: Sunday, February 18, 2024, 10am-11:30am PT

These workshops will be hosted live on Zoom. If you can’t attend in person, they will be recorded, and everyone who registers will have access to the recordings after.

For more details, visit our workshop page and register HERE.

SEE

Daily Rituals: How Artists Work | book by Mason Currey

Available at bookstores and online

Most of the creative habits mentioned above I learned from

Mason Currey

‘s fascinating book ‘Daily Rituals.’ Highlighting the routines of 161 writers, painters, musicians, and filmmakers, the process behind our favorite masterpieces are revealed.

The creative idiosyncrasies range from the practical to the comically absurd. From Hemingway’s habit of writing “standing up, facing a chest-high bookshelf with a typewriter on top, and on top of that a wooden reading board;” to the way Gertrude Stein sought inspiration by staring at cows. Every artist has their own unique solutions to the creative conundrum. 

Rrick Rubin, photographed by by Bryan Sheffield

HEAR

Magic, Everyday Mystery, and Getting Creative | Rick Rubin interview On Being

Listen online

Following the release of his first book ‘The Creative Act: A Way of Being’, music producer Rick Rubin discusses his creative process with Krista Tippett. As a “creative midwife” who has worked with leading musicians for over 40 years, Rubin shares his insights on the creative process, including consistency. 

According to Rubin, the foundation for living a creative life is the “practice of staying tuned in” and “good work habits.” He defines the creative process into four stages: first comes the seeding phase; then the experimentation phase, followed by the crafting phase, and finally, the editing (completion) phase.

As someone who had a natural inclination for being a “player but not a good finisher,” Rubin often got stuck at the experimentation phase, wanting to try out all possibilities. He emphasizes the importance of “open play” in the first two phases, but to then move onto a schedule for the two last stages. For him, it’s about “getting on schedule at the right time of the process.”

SMELL

Forest Man |  short documentary

Watch online

The Indian river island of Majuli has been in continuous threat of disappearing, due to erosion. In 1979, when Jadav Payenghe was 16 years old, he decided to work towards a solution by planting trees. Since then, he’s planted seeds everyday, using basic tools like wooden sticks. The deserted area has turned into a 550 hectares forest (larger than Central Park). A new ecosystem is thriving, attracting rhinoceros, deers and even tigers. A horde of 115 wild elephants now visit annually.  “I will continue to plant until my last breath,” Jadav said.

TASTE

Repetitive Meals

When asked in an interview what her biggest challenges are, Aretha Franklin answers “trying to figure out what to cook for dinner.”

Some artists have solved that food puzzle simply by eating the same meal everyday. In

Mason Currey

’s book ‘Daily Rituals,’ I learned that Patricia Highsmith “only ever ate American bacon, fried eggs and cereal, all at odd times of the day.” And Ingmar Bergman had a daily lunch of “some kind of whipped sour milk, very fat, and strawberry jam, very sweet –– a strange kind of baby food he eats with cornflakes.” 

In an interview, David Lynch shared that when he’s writing, he has the same meal every single day. For lunch, it’s “tomatoes, tuna fish, feta cheese, and olive oil” and for dinner, he’ll eat “little pieces of chicken, broccoli and a little soy sauce.” He emphasizes the importance of “habit in a daily routine.” He explains: “when there’s some sort of order there, then you’re free to mentally go off any place. You have a safe foundation and something to spring off from.” 

Even food and cultural writers have used similar tactics:

Alicia Kennedy

recently wrote how her oatmeal breakfast routine helped her finish her first book. 

Having a meal routine, especially in the midst of a creative project, can eliminate that tyranny of choice. When our creative work demands so many continuous micro-choices, having one less decision to make can be liberating.

Erik Satie in his signature velvet suit and bowler hat

TOUCH

Daily Uniforms

Steve Jobs was instantly recognizable by his singular attire: a black turtleneck, blue jeans, and New Balance sneakers. He wore the same outfit everyday – one of his tactics to reduce “decision fatigue.” 

Anne Kadet

, a Brooklyn journalist who publishes the delightful ‘Café Anne’ recently shared a piece about her daily outfit too. She has an attire for summer and one for winter, which consists of a black button down shirt, a black pencil skirt, and a pair of black boots. She made the switch to a daily uniform after realizing that “every morning, I wasted what felt like an excessive amount of time trying on different outfits, never feeling like anything was quite right.”

Not all daily-wear has to entail black turtlenecks or black pencil skirts. According to ‘Daily Rituals,’ when composer Erik Satie received a small inheritance, he used it to “purchase a dozen identical chestnut-colored velvet suits, with the same number of matching bowler hats. Locals who saw him pass by each day soon began calling him the Velvet Gentleman.”

To listen to the meditation, play audio above

BALANCE

Audio Guided Meditation: 1 minute awareness

If I had to choose one consistent practice that’s made the biggest difference in my life, it would be meditation. It’s helped calm my mind, regulate my nervous system, and nourishes my creativity. To feel its effects, meditation doesn’t require a lot of time, but it does demand consistency. Starting with a minute a day is enough. I’ve included a short audio guided meditation, to help you build a practice of awareness. 

If you’re interested in more guided meditations, I share a new one every weekend for paid subscribers. You can access past meditations here: Present Sense.

my upside down giraffe (following a prompt by Wendy Mac)

ENVISION

Habits of Joy

We often think of consistency when it comes to things we don’t want to do. But it can also be a practice of delight – cultivating habits of joy. It can be a small pleasure we don’t typically make time for. Lately for me, it’s been drawing everyday for 10 minutes, following prompts by

Wendy MacNaughton

. A consistent habit doesn’t need to be a daily one. It can be weekly, monthly, or even following nature’s rhythm’s – like this newsletter, which comes out every full moon.