A couple weeks ago, during a strategic planning review, I thought about setting a new, small daily action around creativity, which is one of my areas of focus.
The 1008 Paintings Project has been lurching along in fits and starts, and wondered if setting up some kind of daily action in this department would help smooth things out.
Sitting with pen in hand, contemplating what sort of assignment I might give myself, I had one of those struck-by-lighting-bolt moments. A voice within me said, quite clearly:
“Don’t add one more thing to your to-do list (I accidentally just typed d0-d0 list). You are already doing tons of daily creative actions.
Really? I am? (Answering back in my head. If I answered out loud, that would signal a different problem.)
“Yeah. Why don’t you write down everything creative you already did today, for example?”
By the way, this whole voice thing happened as the smell of my neighbor’s burnt toast drifted into my apartment. Not exactly the burning bush, but the biblical similarity was noted.
So I made the list. Being the a visual person, I wanted a pretty list in my journal. But didn’t have any pretty paper on hand.
Actually, I wanted ledger paper, the kind used for accounting. I’d been thinking a lot about how financial terms, like those used in accounting, are used liberally in productivity, goal setting, and even the whole self-help diaspora.
Give Yourself Credit
Hold Yourself Accountable
Small Change — Big Results
Don’t Shortchange Yourself
Lo! In my stash of workshop supplies here in Mexico, is a lovely handmade journal, made mostly with recycled ledger paper, from my friend Minnie.
She gave this to me a year ago, and it’s in the too-beautiful-to-use category. This image shows clear plastic sleeves she added full of lovely collage ephemera to play with.
Since I’m always telling people to dare to use their precious supplies (paper? I promise, you’ll get more) I got the journal out and dared to make a mess of it. Not using our supplies is a good way to get nice and blocked. But that’s another lecture for another time.
The journal from Minnie is the perfect journal to use for what turned out to be a very compassionate creative action: a daily accounting of everything creative I did. And there’s a time limit on the action. I’m just doing it for a month, or whenever the journal ends.
I’m not sure yet what this practice will reveal, all I know is that it feels good to acknowledge all that is getting done, and that am creative everyday.
The pages titles are stamped into the book as I think of them.
I call it my Ta-Da List.
Which sure beats the pants off the tired old Do-Do list.
Speaking of small daily actions, I’m doing an online “accountability” experiment with whoever wants to play along. You can check out this post on Small Daily Actions to learn more and join in.
So, what did you Ta-Da today?
What other accounting terms can you think of that go with this theme? (I’ve run out, I think.)
How do you give yourself credit for all you do? Or not?
What are your antidotes to the never-ending To-Do List?
If you are interested in daily creative acts, check out Creative Every Day, the luscious and inspiring website by Leah Piken Kolidas. She hosts regular Creative Every Day challenges which are a great place to connect with others.
I was thinking about her work when I was wondering what my daily creative action might be. Here it is, Leah!
p.s. My friend Minnie, when she isn’t playing with paper, makes the most unique jewelry I think I’ve ever seen. You can find her blog here.
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Howdy! I’m Lisa Sonora Beam, author of The Creative Entrepreneur. I teach people how to get unstuck and use their creativity to make a living doing what they love. 
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That’s a brilliant idea really and I guess it could encourage one to keep working on the Ta-da list
For me I use online Todoist.com with plugins to keep all my tasks then I use pen & paper to list small tasks to be finished through the day and when I finish them I open todoist again and write down new tasks.
I should try it
Good idea .. keep it up
@Geeee Thanks for the tip about Todoist.com. I like how it sounds like To-Taoist! Just looked at their about page, and found a wonderful Zen list of how they view to-do’s. Wonderful! Will check it out.
Great writing. Great concept. I plan to put you on my monthly best of the best blogs. Do you have an “elevator blurb” I can add?
Did you mean to spell it Antitode? Best, Julie Blum
I love your Accounting for Creative Actions journal! Fabulous idea and very well executed! Your writing is very nice – you speak to me. : )
Thanks!
I love the idea of a Ta-Da list. I definitely will have to try it. I need to give myself more credit for what I accomplish also. all the best from another Lisa