Where does all this energy come from?

This week I have been surprisingly productive. Which I'm very happy about, after a long time struggling to get myself organized. It is fascinating how falling out of a flow makes it feel impossible to get back into it again. But even more fascinating, when you finally get back on track, because eventually you do if that's what you really want to, it feels like you have more energy and more inspiration than ever before.

Why is that? Maybe I just forgot what it feels like to be in a good flow, and the contrast to having lost the thread is so striking. Or maybe a break from the flow is good, it forces me to reset, reevaluate and search both in my own repertoire and outside for sparks and inspiration.

Either way - I'm not going to list good advice on how to get back on track, be more efficient,  ways to boost your creativity and so on - there are millions of posts out there addressing these issues, and I'm not sure if any of them really helps. The thing is, according to my experience - it is quite individual how people get into gear. And it varies from time to time, from situation to situation. In this case, a broken coffeemaker released a chain of actions which eventually ended up triggering the urge to write something. And that is really the key - no matter your reason for being outside the flow; you need to complete one act, one small thing, that makes you feel in touch with what you want to do. This feeling of accomplishment restores your belief in your ability to do stuff, a belief that suffers increasingly the longer you're absent from your flow.

And of course a good cup of coffee while people-watching is like a having a creative conference with yourself. But I already talked about that.

I started another blog this week, on a different platform. I've thought about trying out Wordpress for a long time, but Blogger is familiar and comfortable, so I've been postponing and doubting and procrastinating. This week I took the plunge and published http://breadphilosophy.com

I might move all my stuff to Wordpress eventually, I'll see how this one goes.

In the meantime I'll enjoy my productive energy and focus on nailing more stuff down. I know too well the danger of the creative boost. Starting off all the great ideas at the same time can make you loose track of what you want to achieve. Which may turn a good wave into a hard and unexpected crash.

A notebook is my companion and will keep me surfing for a while I hope, might even take me smoothly on to the next wave. Time will show.

Coffee, Time Management and the Need to Write About Nothing

It is easier to write about nothing than to write about something. If you write about something, you always need to keep a watch out for fact flops or duplicates. If you write about nothing, nobody can arrest you on anything. That's a good place to start when you've lost your self discipline and struggle to get the words in order.

Loosing that flow of words, or urge to create, can be pretty painful. It affects general well being. It is like a training fanatic who can't go running because of an injury. The day falls out of balance and a feeling of despair takes possession of you because all this previously productive and meaningful time just passes with nothing to report.

Coffee is a writers best friend. A coffee shop is the second best friend. A Coffee shop can provide an atmosphere where the mind can wander freely, impressions trigger new tracks and before you know it you're on to something you want to put down on paper. It might be nothing and that's quite alright, as long as it can be described with words.

I broke the coffee carafe for our coffee maker the other day. Having struggled with being productive for a while, also loosing my kick start fuel was a bit of a crisis.

This morning I didn't even have a cup of tea. By 11 o'clock, I felt quite sick and needed to lay down for a while. It didn't help. It just got worse. Then I remembered that I happen to have a gift certificate at Starbucks, obtained at a raffle at the Norwegian Seaman church some time ago. And I remembered that there's something called caffeine addiction.

So I went to the nearest Starbucks and had a free Tall Latte with-an-extra-shot. Half way through my coffee I felt like a different person. Not only was I breathing normally and my headache was gone - I also felt my energy coming back, and even words started tickling. I pulled out my notebook to capture them and make sure they didn't disappear into wherever they came from. I felt kind of chirpy. High on coffee.

Imagine being a heroine addict and being told to "lay down and rest for a while" until the withdrawal symptoms would pass. The thought of that just made me realize how stupid it is to get up in the morning, forget your daily dose of caffeine and then lay down in the middle of the day to try to wear off the headache.

OK, so I'm a caffeine addict. I can live with that. Especially if I want to continue writing or producing anything creative. Because sometimes you just need to go to a coffee shop to break the barrier and untie the knot. And being at a coffee shop without having a warm, fresh and aromatic cup of coffee just doesn't make sense.

Having said that, I do really miss having a nice neighborhood coffee shop - with good coffee. We have Starbucks, and then a few blocks away we have another Starbucks, and then another few miles there's a Starbucks with a drive-thru.

There is a European Bakery within walking distance, and they also claim to have coffee, but they seem to have no idea how to make it. Two out of three coffees purchased there have badly scolded me or my company. It's truly undrinkable. That's really unfortunate, because they make great croissants and the staff is really friendly. They even ran out to the pharmacy to get us some anesthetic ointment for the burned hand one time.

I do miss the busy coffee shops in the city. They just tend to be goldmines for stream of consciousness  - to use a famous literal phrase (ups - that's writing about something) - with all their fuzz and buzz and movements and the meetings. Starbucks lacks ... integrity. It lacks character. Every Starbucks is just a clone of another with a small spacial twist. A bit depressing, knowing that it is the only coffee shop around here you can actually get a fairly decent coffee.

But when the addiction kicks in and you're desperate for fuel both mentally and physically,  then a Starbucks gift certificate is worth a million. Well, at least a cup of coffee. It made my day - I managed to pull myself together, focus for a while and put down a few words about nothing.

Tomorrow will be a good day, I can feel it.