This is a felted wool rug that I have been making. It forms a part of my downtime. In my world, there is such a thing as productive procrastination. Prevarication is a sign of things not being quite lined up right – yet!
Being brought up in a culture that constantly rewards doing leads to scattering energy in all sorts of random directions or going the wrong way. So I am a huge fan of productive procrastination.
I’ve been crocheting and working with textiles for what seems like a zillion years. I don’t need to think about it or even look at what I am doing – other than an occasional check in to make sure that I am not creating a monster or going wildly wrong.
It frees my brain to think. It gives the very necessary brain space to solve problems, plan and come up with new ideas. It’s good for writing blogs too.
As I work the different coloured yarns together, I trust the creative flow. The serendipitous combinations of colours often generate unexpected optical illusions that inspire other ideas and artistic creations.
For example, when weaving a deep bright jade green together with a soft lilac, the ultimate effect is not a combination of these colours sitting side by side. A rich sapphire blue appears in between them. It creates an unexpected optical illusion I would not have seen otherwise.
There is so much busyness in the world. People have no time to stand and stare or just breathe. Would they even know that there are these things to observe?
Productive procrastination is a gift. It is not just a way to enjoy the luxury of time. It creates space in which to align to our best version of ourselves. It’s important to do something that doesn’t require brain power though.
At the end of it, I have not only worked out a plan for what I want to do next but I have created something beautiful. This is gratifying and very satisfying. If I am lucky, the very process of creating offers inspiration for new pieces of art. I often feel energised for having had the break too.
I’m interested to know whether you do this too. What do you do that gives you space to think?