Just read an interesting article on why “Creative People Say No” by Kevin Ashton. Excellent article about creativity and the time toll it takes on creatives.
Time is the raw material of creation. Wipe away the magic and myth of creating and all that remains is work: the work of becoming expert through study and practice, the work of finding solutions to problems and problems with those solutions, the work of trial and error, the work of thinking and perfecting, the work of creating. Creating consumes. It is all day, every day. It knows neither weekends nor vacations. It is not when we feel like it. It is habit, compulsion, obsession, vocation. The common thread that links creators is how they spend their time. No matter what you read, no matter what they claim, nearly all creators spend nearly all their time on the work of creation. There are few overnight successes and many up-all-night successes.
As I’ve grown older I have realized that the time I give is worth more than I gave value to when I was younger. Saying “no” has become more important in my daily life.
