head space + habit

Turns out running a restaurant does not immediately leave a ton of head space for a certain type of creativity.

Don’t get me wrong- there is ton of creativity needed while running a restaurant. It comes in all shapes: writing menus, team building, people managing, training, finding solutions to a wide range of problems, putting out fires (sometimes literally), providing value for customers, creating a positive work environment - it’s endless.

However- creativity comes in many forms. And while all the above feels important and rewarding- it sometimes feels one noted.

Sure, it’s a Nice note.

A familiar note.

Sometimes even a profitable and fun note.

But it’s always that one note.

It’s not the same creativity that I would explore in say, my free time, because

a) what free time? And b) that shit takes time to cultivate.

The type of creativity I’m talking about needs time to marinate and be nurtured and chewed on and watered and pruned and it needs space to breath and run.

Like a baby steak idea plant puppy.

And it needs all the things that those things need to become good. Or recognizable. And eventually edited I guess because who really needs a baby steak idea plant puppy running around. I mean, it might be fun at first, but it should eventually get dealt with before it takes over the streets.

I needed the space for that.

So I started waking up early.

Really early. Like 5am early.

I did this stint for a while and it was actually amazing.

(How annoying, right? 5am?! I mean, come on.)

What I found was quite simple. Space. And not just any space, Head space! Holy shit. Queue angels singing in the heavens!

While this was an amazing find, it wasn’t enough- or apparently sustainable cause that was like 2 years ago and I haven’t done it since.

Anyway, it still wasn’t enough. Turns out you need both the space and habit.

So now I am waking up at a reasonably early-ish time and honing the habit part.

Truth is, creativity is a beast.

But, if you want to harness the type of creativity that lights your fire and allows you to burn brightly, well, you gotta put in the work.

And even if I don’t know exactly what my baby steak plant puppy will grow up to be, at least I know it’s exactly the brand of creativity I want to work on.

And that’s enough for now.