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.
in If you want to get this in your inbox, you must first be a subscriber of Ten Minute Artist, then toggle the Daily Blog on.
Or you can just bookmark this page and check in anytime.
Sponsorey stuff:
📚Adam’s Books, ✍️ Learn to write online (Affiliate) | 🖋️Fine Stationary (Mom’s shop)
Today's 10-Minute Invitation
Start your chain today. Choose a way to track your practice - a physical calendar, a digital app, or even a simple sheet of paper. After your 10-minute session, mark it prominently. Then, decide on your minimum daily creative action for continuing the chain. Write it down next to your tracker.
Jerry Says…
The legend is that Jerry Seinfeld writes jokes every day. That is the system that is the fuel for his creative comedic empire. Yellow legal pad. Bic pen. And at the end of the session relief. And the reward of drawing another big X on the calendar. His Rule is, don’t break the chain.
By which he means don’t break the chain of X’s.
It’s actually not a legend, Jerry tells this story all the time. He also says.
DO THE WORK.
For him the writing is the work. The ten minute practice aims at helping you create a space to do your work.
Keeping the chain going means you’re always working. And because you are what you do. It means you can be whatever you want to be if you do the work of being that thing.
Write, dance play music.
Do the thing. And when you’re done, write a great big X on your calendar.
Why It Matters
Consistency is key to improving your creative skills
Visual tracking of progress can be highly motivating
The strategy builds momentum, making daily practice easier over time
It shifts focus from results to the process of showing up daily
Your Creative Toolkit
Calendar Method: Use a physical calendar or digital tool to mark each day you complete your practice.
Minimum Viable Creative Action: Define the smallest creative act that counts as maintaining the chain.
Restart Protocol: Have a plan for how to get back on track if you do break the chain.
I’ve tried all kinds of fancy shmency ways of tracking what I do and it got borderline ridiculous at times, food trackers, energy trackers, trackers for every project a scrum board, digital tools… but learning the simplicity of Jerry’s method, showed me that it’s really the work that matters.
So a simple way to contain your work, and a check mark to say you did it today.
What's the smallest creative action you could commit to doing daily, no matter what? How might seeing a visual representation of your consistency affect your motivation?
Share in the comments: What method will you use to track your chain? A wall calendar, a digital app, or something else entirely? Your idea might inspire someone else's tracking method!
Big shout out to
and , and everyone else who has been for keeping up with their daily practice throughout the year. And if you’re fallen off, it’s always a good time to start a new streak!Today the Inktober prompt is Horizon.
Once again I went from black Carbon ink in my bullet journal. I’ve found most success when I organise my journals chronologically. So not a book for a project rather whatever is going on goes not the journal, this makes retrieval easier.
And it serves as a diary.