05: Golden Hours
"An hour in the morning is worth two in the afternoon." - Lilla Rogers
You’re Reading Adam Ming’s Daily Blog, This month I’m writing a series about taking time for your creative practice. Each post, includes an invitation to spend ten minutes developing your creative practice.
I’m doing this in October to complement any Drawing challenge you might be doing. I will be doing the classic inktober.
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Today's 10-Minute Invitation
Look at your calendar for the week ahead, try to predict when you might have peace, energy, focus and concentration in the week ahead. Pick one or two times each day.
E.g Monday 6.50 am just after making my coffee and 8pm after the kid sleeps.
Everyday’s a bit different so see if you can find 2 time slots each day, try to use these time slots for your 10 minute practice.
Maximizing Your Golden Hours
Timing isn't everything, but it's a lot.
Your golden hours are those precious pockets of time when your energy is high, your mind is clear, and your creativity flows most freely. By identifying and leveraging these hours, you can dramatically boost the effectiveness of your Ten-Minute Artist practice.
For me, I discovered that my golden hours are in the wee hours of the morning, between 3 and 7 AM. It might sound crazy, but hear me out.
My Golden Hour Discovery
Back in college, I had a couple of experiences where I woke up at 3 or 4 in the morning, buzzing with ideas. At first, it felt strange and almost wrong to be up at such an odd hour, hunched over my desk and furiously creating. I thought these were just one-off moments of inspiration.
But here's the kicker: I realized I could tap into this energy every single day.
What makes these hours so golden for me?
I have a perpetual guilty feeling, maybe it’s PTSD from going to school, I always feel like I should be doing something else. Or that I’m not doing what I should be doing. I don’t have that feeling from 3-7 in the morning.
No one’s going to ask me to pass up my homework or do a test.
Your Creative Toolkit
Now, your golden hours might be different from mine. Here's how you can find and maximize yours: