Time and Space Management

I am sitting in my office.
At least in the office I am using for the next three weeks through overwhelming generosity of a close friend.
I'm sitting in his chair, a little taller and a little straighter.
Like it's time to get down to business.

And it is time to get down to business.
Let's talk about that for a second: time.
As a writer, I freak out about time constantly.  As in:

there's never enough time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I'm finishing a script I never feel like there's enough time.
And that feeling that time is running out really is a self-fulfilling
prophecy.  Because I get panicked and all I can do is focus on the ticking
time bomb clock.  It really freaks me out.
So I started doing this thing where I say to myself:

I have all the time in the world!!!!!

I lie to myself.  Constantly.  But isn't that what fuels creativity?
Delusion.
I lie to myself about how much I can get work done,
how much time it takes,
how motivated I feel,
how good the work is,
how many breaks I need.
Because what is the alternative?
Beating myself up.  That's the alternative.  And I do that without a second thought,
without prompting,
without much effort.
And if it's not true that
I suck
I'm a loser
I'm untalented
I'm no good.
Then it's all bullshit.  And frankly,
I'd rather feed myself the bullshit
that doesn't smell,
doesn't hurt me
and tastes good.
Why not?

So telling myself that I have all the time in the world
is not the worst lie I could tell myself.
And it takes the pressure off.
I enjoy how I spend my time and the experience of
all this creativity is a much more pleasant one.
Because if creativity is a more enjoyable thing,
then we're encouraged to do it more.  If it sucks all of the time,
then we're not going to do it.
And trust me, it sucks enough without me trying to make it suck more.
So I listen to my music,
I have my snacks,
I put myself in an office,
and I get to it.
And getting to it does often involve
staring at the screen,
singing along to my entire iTunes library before I write a word,
watching Netflix as research,
Googling my face off,
talking on the phone,
looking at Facebook,
and countless other distractions.
And I do get shit done, too.
It happens!  Seriously!  I mean it!

But having the physical space is just as important
as being in the right head space
and often both go hand in hand.
I have this great office to go to every day for the next three weeks
and I'm doing it partially because I need to see what it feels like
to drive to my own personal office,
shut the door and let the magic happen.
But I have to leave home.
And I'm testing out the idea of what it means to
have an office
that is not attached to a day job
and to not have to work at home
just because I don't have a day job.
I have made the mobile office thing work
with the Starbucks,
the West Hollywood Library,
and the Korean Spa
and sometimes going down to my Mom's place.
But the idea of having a separate office
is great because it honors
my work
by allowing me to claim a separate space for it.
So I am super grateful for my friend Tim's generosity.
And now I'm getting to work…

But I have all the time in the world!

I am grateful for this office.
I am grateful for quiet.
I am grateful for the cloudy sky in LA because it makes it easier to work.
I am grateful for the ability to take a breath.
I am grateful that I packed a lunch.
I am grateful for love.
I am grateful for 8 pounds of carne asada.
I am grateful that I get to go camping tomorrow.
I am grateful that I get to see old friends next week.
I am grateful for all the time in the world.