Doodle

 

Take a break.
ひと休みしよう。

 

I haven’t had a vacation for four years. It’s not unusual for self-employed people like me.

But I decided to take a day off today because I feel really tired. It might be creative exhaustion, but who knows. I’m not even sure if I am a creative person in the first place.

I just need to take a break. It may seem that taking a day off on weekdays is the luxury of being self-employed, but in reality, self-employed people are working almost every day, including weekends and holidays, and also responsible for recharging and revitalizing themselves.

 

 

Declutter your space.
片づけよう。

 

Decluttering is almost always a good start to recover our clear thinking.

If you don’t know where to start, declutter your computer desktop. Then move to your physical desk. Then drawers and cabinets.

And also declutter your mind space. Worry, fear, anxiety… Most of the time, these feelings are implanted by someone else so as to put you under control.

 

 

Observe the crowd.
群衆を観察しよう。

 

“The artist must stand alone to observe the crowd.”

I never watched Gossip Girl, but I like this quote.

The same applies to anyone who wants to create something new and make a difference in this world. For them, the most certain way to fail is always to follow the crowd. While they try to fully understand what others do, they never follow the path taken by the majority.

Don’t be afraid of being different. Or ignored. Or disliked. Unless you choose to follow the crowd for the rest of your life.

 

 

Don’t give advice.
助言をしない。

 

The first rule is not to give advice when people don’t ask you for it.

The second rule is not to give advice if they’re not willing to hear it and/or follow it.

The third rule is not to give advice if they don’t even know what they don’t know.

The fourth rule is not to give advice if they randomly approach others and ask for it.

The fifth rule is not to give advice that you don’t follow yourself.

The sixth rule is to forget all the rules mentioned above, and think about your own rule about giving advice.

 

 

Beat perfectionism.
完璧主義を打ち負かそう。

 

One of the easiest ways to make someone mentally unstable is to force them to be perfect all the time.

We often see this kind of situation in a workplace. Probably your boss does the same thing and makes you crazy.

We can’t always be perfect. It doesn’t mean that it’s okay to be careless and do a lousy job; we just need to admit that we can’t make everything perfect all the time, no matter how hard we work.

Focus on getting better, not making things perfect.