Daily Check-In #1, Week Three Comments

Are you reading this, or have you decided to be very strict about Reading Deprivation this week? Janis, feeling challenged by the idea, asked me to comment on that aspect of the coming week's TAW experience. In fact, I have a friend who stopped working on The Artist's Way years ago and never picked it up again because she got so angry about this assignment. "I'm a teacher. I can't go a week without reading!" she said.

I'm a teacher too, and today is the first day of the new term, and I can't go without reading, either. But I'm not going to get mad at Cameron and give up on the rest of the experience, because it's valuable to me in so many ways even if I do't do everything exactly "right." That being said--I HAVE been in a position where I could give up reading for a week, and Reading Deprivation IS a powerful tool. You will be astounded at how much creative work you get done when you're not anesthetizing yourself with reading.

That, to me, is the key. I think Cameron is speaking here of reading that anesthetizes. Reading to escape one's life instead of meeting it head on. Reading to avoid being creative. All reading doesn't fit into that category--and, in fact, watching television and endlessly checking personal email both fit much MORE into that category for me.

Cameron's suggestion isn't a law you have to obey. But whatever you can do this week to replace mindless escape with creative work, do it. I'll be interested to hear next week if it increases your productivity.

And if you're up to at least reading notes from your fellow TAWers, you'll find comments from Kay, Margie, Pam, Ann, topangamaria, June, Liz and Janis under the Check-In for Week Three.