In Praise of Days

Pearls from Robert Genn

Yesterday, Nancy Hall of Sandy Hook, Manitoba wrote: "As an
artist, mother, farmhand, two-dog owner and a writer, I would
sure welcome some organizational tips! I'm curious how you pack
all you do into your life."

Thanks, Nancy. Early one morning when I was a very small kid, I
was standing on some rocks at the beach below where we lived.
The water was flat calm and grey to the horizon. I remember
thinking what a remarkable thing a day is. I wasn't thinking
about a "special" day, I was thinking about an ordinary day--a
day you could do things in. As I grew older I came to realize
that days are golden units by which our lives are measured. As
a self-anointed self-manager I realized that if I were going to
get anywhere, I needed to bring good habits, joy and a certain
amount of sacrifice to my days. By the time I was in my teens,
I had figured out that habits were holy--I saw in habits the
key to an independent creative life:

Work doggedly, one thing after the other.
Begin work early, finish many things each day.
Work on what comes to hand, what demands attention.
Have rough plans--work them daily.
Rest from the work--look at the water.

Regarding joy, Winston Churchill said, "It is no use doing what
you like; you have got to like what you do." I observed that
all kinds of people worked at jobs that were distasteful to
them. I didn't want to be like that. Besides, I was struck with
a peculiar disorder--I couldn't concentrate on dull jobs. I was
really lousy at everything except those things I wanted to do.
I needed to have work that was some sort of automatic or
semi-automatic joy. I wanted to be most often in "the joy
mode." I figured my work habits would take me there. By my
mid-twenties I had discovered that work is not work when the
work is loved. I had fallen in love with art.

Regarding sacrifice, early on I found that my days were not
long enough. I had to be more efficient in my use of the time
allotted, and I was prepared to make sacrifices. It was okay to
cut back on the time taken socializing, commuting and eating.
One must not, I thought, sacrifice sleep, exercise,
contemplation, love, family or dog activity.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let
me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow."
(Mary Jean Irion)

Esoterica: To be fair, a supportive partner and studio
assistants go a long way toward fooling people into thinking
that one is organizationally competent. Helpmates are above
angels. The telephone and the computer, on the other hand,
present special problems. I save some outgoing calls for the
car--and actually look forward to making them on a relatively
safe, hands-free (Bluetooth) system. A studio computer frees
up, speeds up, and actualizes an artist. Around here, Tuesdays
and Fridays are particularly full because there are so many
Inbox friends. As I'm older, and perhaps more mature, this
universal socializing is hard to resist. I'm eating better too.