Not dessert, but the main course

Wanting to be somewhere else is not a great recipe for success. (Image by Angga Ilham)

In all of the years I wanted to write or practice music consistently but didn’t, I don’t think it was a lack of self-discipline.

After all, I wanted to do these things. And I did many other difficult things that I hadn’t wanted to do.

So what was the problem?

Prioritization. I spent all my time doing those other things.

I was treating the creative work like a special reward that I could enjoy once I did the other stuff. And, just like the chores Cinderella’s evil stepmother stacked up at the last minute to prevent her from going to the ball, I was never going to get to the end of the other stuff (at least, not without a fairy godmother).

I’ve had to learn to start my day with the creative work that matters to me. It’s not a dessert to enjoy once I’ve dutifully eaten my vegetables, but the main course.

I try to challenge myself to do non-client work (especially the creative, fun work) right at 9 AM on weekdays so that I am honoring and respecting my commitment to myself, not just my clients.

For several months at the start of 2022, I showed up at 9 AM to lead the morning meeting at The Little Middle School because that was my priority. Those students were my priority.

And now, I find myself editing TikTok videos at 9 AM on a Monday morning. It’s strange, like I’m getting away with something. But if TikTok is my best marketing channel (and it is), it would be foolish not to do this.

There is a layer of irony here because for years, I told myself that I didn’t have time for making videos, writing, and other creative pursuits because I needed to focus on doing things that brought in money. However, if I had only stuck with the the podcast I started in 2006, the blog I began in 2007, or the YouTube channel I dabbled with in 2009, I might have actually found a way to make an income with those things, whether directly or indirectly.

Well, I could sit around being sad and regretful of the missed opportunity, or I could learn from the experience and focus on what I want to create now. I choose the latter.

Of course, I wasn’t just wasting my time all those years. I was teaching lots of music lessons, starting businesses, and figuring stuff out. I prioritized what I thought to be the right thing at the time, and here we are. Maybe this space I have on my schedule for content creation means all the more because I waited so long to honor it.

Not everyone has the freedom to do what they want at the start of the workday. It took me years to make that pivot, and I was working for myself all along. But I think it’s worth asking ourselves what we would do if we did have the freedom to do anything with that time. We might find that we have more choices than we think.

If we’ve been doing the same kind of work for twenty years or more, we can get locked into routines that we no longer question. As a partner in a venture, we might feel beholden to the other partners, mirroring their commitments and priorities whether or not they match ours.

And the moments when I’ve felt a little guilty working at my laptop while an employee tidies up and takes out the trash — I’ve had to consciously remind myself that I’m doing my job, even it doesn’t look like much.

Even when we have a boss, we are still largely responsible for how we choose to allocate our resources of time and attention. We’re definitely the person responsible for whatever job we chose. And when we acknowledge that, we might see more possibilities emerge.

Bizarrely, there’s nothing more important that I could be doing than writing in this moment. That’s just my opinion, but no one else’s opinion matters. I’m willing to face the consequences of putting creative work front and center in my day, and I’m eager to receive the benefits. It’s time.

Do you start your workday with what’s most important to you? What would you do first thing, if you could do what you wanted? What could change in your life as a result?