Release and Procrastination – Life and Artistry

Today, I was supposed to release a new EP. Hmmm. I don’t seem to have an EP to release.

Release This

I set the date for this release. In addition, I took two days off from my day job to help make it happen. Did you ever take a day (or two) off and fill it up with the backlog of other stuff you needed to do? Well, I did.

Instead of spending the bulk of my time on this release, I mowed the lawn, I spent time (some of it “training” for want of a better word) with our puppy, I shopped for plastic-free household supplies, and I listened to live music. All of these are worthy efforts, just not what I had promised myself I’d focus on.

Friends And Other Friends

My friends fall into at least two camps regarding my recent behavior. Some would call it procrastination. Others would call it doing life. My own jury is out about why my release is delayed.

Artists are known for their ability to procrastinate. And certainly, I have fallen into this trap many times. We tend to push away the creative process because of some wicked combination of perfectionism and fear of success (or failure).

But this time, I’m not convinced that procrastination was what drove my choices. Instead, I noticed a sense of release as I created relationships with our puppy, my wife, other musicians, neighbors, and the land we live on.

Life By Any Other Name

Relationships are also crucial to artists. However much we may try to convince ourselves we can do it alone, doing life together with friends and supporters is always better.

We can always push back a release. It’s releasing ourselves to connect with the people and land we love that proves to be a challenge.

How do you balance your drive for creative projects with living your life? I’d love to hear what connects you with what matters to you. Reach out to me here (with a comment) or on Twitter to let me know about what works for you.