I have been listening to podcasts and yt vids lately about procrastination, inspiration, commitment, and goals. I’m trying to mine that vein of productivity that runs between consistency and regimentation, or perhaps authenticity and performance.
Yet, every day, without fail, I get up and walk Keely. I walk her three to five times a day, depending on our mutual moods and the weather. As much as I might whine about it at times, I do it. For me, it is also easy to do it without a schedule. I don’t walk her at 6 am every morning, I just walk her every morning.
It is easy, after all, to do things for others. To be needed.
I wonder a lot if it is easy to do things for myself, too, and I simply encumber that instinct with expectations, perfectionism, and history.
This morning we got out the door by 7 am, but we were hustling to beat the incoming rainstorm so did not linger as we usually would on a weekend walk. It was atmospheric and melancholy, though:
Keely does not appreciate being rushed but she also does not appreciate being rained on, so it was quite the quandary for her when the sky started spitting on us!
But that’s life, I think, and why tight schedules are anathema to me — sometimes it’s raining and you need to hustle, and sometimes it’s pretty out and you need to enjoy it.
The lesson that is getting hammered into me by my research on creative work is that nothing matters but consistency — not quality, not quantity, not inspiration, not goals. Do the work, show up, do the work, and do it again.
Walk the dog every day.