Acting on impulse

and how to keep out of trouble

Last week’s post on motivation was interrupted by distraction, so it’s fitting that this week is all about impulses…when to follow and when to hold back.

I never thought of myself as an impulsive sort

I was the child who was slow to join in, happier watching from the sidelines. I’ve always been cautious, nervous, not confident in my abilities, or prepared to jump in and risk public humiliation. It worked for me for decades.

Then the internet happened and the gloves are off

You can see what people the other side of the world are up to: read their blogs, discover their art - and do the same thing, yourself – hello Substack! You can find information you never realised you needed to know (especially late at night) and be inspired to try something you’d never thought of doing before (and set to, immediately).

And well I never, you can also discover things to BUY that you were previously oblivious to, yet now you suddenly know with absolute certainty that….yes, you need this thing in your life, right now.

Enter: the sketch squares thingamajig from Faye Bridgwater!

To say I didn’t know I needed it is not quite true. If you’re into thumbnail sketching, it really helps to get your sketchbook prepared in advance with a few pages of squares already mapped out. I’ve used rulers, I’ve used strips of cardboard the right width…but it was still a bit of a faff. There must be a better way…

And lo, Faye’s little gadget was exactly what I needed – so I bought one. It arrived really quickly, and was wrapped so beautifully, I thought “I know – I’ll film an unboxing video and stick it on Instagram and tag Faye”.

And having drawn my squares in a matter of seconds, it was rude not to fill them in. So I grabbed two colours of felt tip, one pencil, and one aquarelle crayon and set to. No overthinking, no hand-wringing. Quick, easy, satisfying.

izzymoore.paint

A post shared by @izzymoore.paint

In case you’re wondering, I posted this on my alter-ego instagram profile - the one where I muck about with paint and generally don’t know what I’m doing.

And, yep – as I was colouring in my little squares, ideas started to flow…things I could do next, how to translate my little squares into fabric and stitch, how I could develop ideas for my teaching…ideas that kept coming beyond the short 30 minutes of spontaneous creativity in actually doing the squares.

Left to my own devices on a Saturday morning, I doubt that would’ve happened. But thanks to a couple of moments of impulsivity, first to order it and then to film an ‘unboxing’, my weekend was completely different.

But more often than not, impulsivity leads me into trouble

Too often, I can’t discern the difference between a really good idea – or a dangerous compulsion to buy something I don’t need or that won’t work anyway. Basically, don’t ever let me loose in IKEA. So of course I tootled up there yesterday, before you could stop me.

I went with my daughter and we made a pact. She wasn’t allowed to buy mugs or pot plants; I wasn’t allowed to buy anything not on my list. But despite careful planning, I still struggle to know the difference between a good plan and a silly plan. I can think, and measure, and draw up diagrams of how things will fit – but how do I know that what I see in my head can be brought into reality with a thing from IKEA until I get it home and it doesn’t fit and it’s too late? I’m not driving back there. And what if my plan is addressing the wrong thing and skirting round the actual issue?

The good news

No more pot plants or mugs were purchased. Which is just as well, because at the weekend – spurred on with energy from my burst of creativity - I finally got round to repotting and dividing and generally sorting out all my bedraggled and desiccated houseplants. There’s now a compulsory snake plant tax for every member of the household: all rooms must have one. Luckily we now have some lovely new pots to display them and a perfectly functional saucepan-lid-rack-thing, and a really cool lampshade ready for when the electrician switches our light fittings in few weeks - but no pickled gherkins, they’ve mysteriously vanished from the shelves.

The good-news-tinged-with-uncertainty

My new desk baskets succeed in holding my aquarelle and pencil tins within easy reach (predicted). But the existing jam jars of scraps don’t fit under them (semi-predicted). I either have to actually do the projects I’ve been saving scraps for…or throw them away. Oh gosh. Didn’t see that one coming.

The distressing thought of having to chuck something out, combined with the guilt of creating a messy desk where things no longer fit, meant I had to recover with a homemade recreation of our favourite bit of IKEA: the kid’s ‘underwater’ toy section with soothing blue undulating waves projected onto the ceiling and walls, and a gurgling soundtrack. We achieved this courtesy of a lamp-thingy with Bluetooth speaker my daughter purchased - on impulse - when she was living in France.

To find an appropriate underwater soundtrack, we started with whale song then fell down a rabbit hole of plant music: music composed from plants. Whether there’s actual science behind it or not, it is incredible: strange, soothing, uplifting. Here's some of what we listened to (and a few other bits and pieces) if you want to replicate the vibe:

My conclusion? I’m not on solid ground here but…

If you share my difficulties in discerning between things you need and things you want, here’s some questions to ask yourself, no matter if it’s a thing or an experience or some information you’re compelled to acquire:

• Would this solve a problem you’ve already identified or are you inventing things?

• And is this actually the problem - or is this yet another way to avoid the real issue? This has absolutely NOTHING to do with having too many art materials, I’m sure you understand…

• What result are you looking for and how exactly will it deliver that? Is it realistic, actually achievable, and has it been done before?

• Is it worth it - the cost or space or time?

• Is there anything you already own (or know, or could do) that would achieve the same result?

• Would this new thing be better? Really, honestly?

• Where will it live – in space, in time, in your head?

• What are you prepared to lose to make space – again, in space or time or your head?

Have I missed anything? What would you add to my list?!

Other than fiddling about rearranging my pencils, this week I’ve also finished the videos for my little bag course (more details next time) and been welcoming people onto my little freebie Confidence Kickstart - which is still open to join, if you’d like to.

You can find it here, along with peeks of what’s to come very soon:

Until next time,