Part 1. From beyond happy to the hamster wheel
After I graduated from college I went to San Francisco to work for an architecture firm as an interior designer.
I was beyond happy to start earning a salary after waitressing throughout college. I liked my job and loved living in San Francisco. Everything was fine and dandy. Until it wasn't.
The day my office started me on AutoCAD was the beginning of the end for me.
My job changed to drawing up plans on the computer, printing them out on a plotter, handing them over to someone else, getting them back with corrections, making the changes on the computer, printing them out on a plotter, handing them over to someone else, getting them back with corrections, making the changes on the computer, printing... well, you get the idea. I. Hated. It.
It sucked all the happy right out of me.
It was so bad that I would cry in the mornings because I didn't wanna go.
Part 2. Following my joy
In the meantime, I had a roommate, Yannis, who would put together these really cool dance performances. He'd always drag me into helping him. And I loved going to the dance studio or the theater to watch rehearsals. I don’t know how but I always figured out how to make stuff Yannis wanted for his dancers to use.
Lo and behold at one of those theater rehearsals, a stagehand very kindly explained to me that the stuff I was making for my roommate's performances actually had a name.
It turns out I was making props for Yannis. I had no clue. But what really blew my mind is that I was told I could get a job doing that. People got paid for making theater props. And these magical people were called properties artisans.
I can get paid for making weird stuff?! Oh hell yes!
Fast forward a couple of weeks and I ditched my well-paying corporate career to be a properties artisan.
Well, first I spent a year as a props apprentice. And since that doesn't pay a whole lot, I also ended up waitressing on the side. No lie.
Who knew that following my joy by making stuff for my roommate would lead me to quitting my design job. And eventually, I’d end up finding my first gallery to sell my art.
Part 3. The time scarcity myth.
All this to say, that I made an exciting discovery about time way back when.
And this is what I want you to walk away with:
When I worked 40 hours a week in front of a computer, I was completely drained when I got home.
I had no time for anything that mattered to me. Zero.
But when I worked 40 hours a week as a props apprentice, I had time to waitress on the side. AND I also had time to create new paintings. I was working 2 jobs AND making my art. Whoa.
So this is what I learned first-hand:
Having more time is not the answer we think it is.
Waaaaaaayyyyyy more important than having more time is having more energy.
Making stuff in a workshop as a props apprentice was exciting to me. It boosted my energy. And because it gave me more energy, it gave me more time.
Time is always relative to how much energy you have to do something with it.
And if your energy is being drained by your work, your activities, your phone, your TV, your home, your habits, your whatever, then for you to get your time back, you're gonna have to figure out those energy leaks.
The next time you find yourself saying this:
If I only had more time, I'd finally do _____________ (fill in the blank) .
Remember:
It’s not about having more time. So stop saying you’re short on time.
You don’t have a time problem.
What you think is a time management problem is actually an energy management problem.
The way you do energy is the way you do time.
When you figure out your energy leaks, you get back all the time you need.
And if you’re curious about getting your time back, click this link to find out how:
How To Find More Time To Be Creative: 6 Sneaky Energy Leaks That Steal Your Time