Being Lazy and Loving It

©Jaimee Todd

I spent so much time in the last few weeks getting my prints up and running for the online store that I kind of had to slow down and do a whole lot of nothing. Getting that set up can take a lot of work; It starts with getting the prints ready from the printer, staging them properly and getting the right framing materials and then actually photographing the pieces in the right light and such. Then there’s work in fine-tuning my mailing list, writing up copy for the items on the store, making sure that I had packaging materials and then some. It’s more work than it may seem and now that it’s done, I’m ready to do a whole lot of nothing. Normally I’m constantly making lists of what I need to do for the day, planning the next phase, researching, coming up with blog ideas, researching potential display venues and all,  but I decided that now I need do nothing. I need to laze and let the creative process restore itself properly. At first I felt a little guilty about not having a to-do list ready to go for the week but then I felt comforted by the following quote from Seth Godin’s blog:

[W]asting time is a key part of our lives.

Wasting time poorly is a sin, because not only are you forgoing the productivity, generosity and art that comes from work, but you’re also giving up the downtime, experimentation and joy that comes from wasting time.

If you’re going to waste time (and I hope you will) the least you can do is do it well.–Seth Godin

So, I’m glad to say that I don’t feel badly for taking the one-hour (or was it two?) nap on the couch, in front of a open window while the rain fell during a summer afternoon, or for reading a few passages out of a book on quantum theory physics (okay that might have been a little over the top), and then thumbing through the Sunday NYT while listening to jazz music with my AJ. I’ll also be looking at some subject matter for a potential painting that I might start working on today…

…or tomorrow.