I often feel like I wish I could live the way I assemble puzzles. I’m really good at and enjoy doing puzzles. It feels challenging but peaceful at the same time. I’ve noticed that everyone has a slightly different way of approaching puzzles. Actually, this is useful information.
Why? Because I like being able to go from working on one cluster of pieces to another depending on what section looks easier or more fun/colorful to work on. Because I’m calm and relaxed, with a soft kind of focus, when putting puzzles together. I like the act of seeing what’s there and what can possibly be connected, what pieces I can try out and the satisfaction of pieces fitting together. I usually do puzzles by gathering pieces that looks similar together. Some people start with the edge pieces. Others, like me, just start with what section feels like more fun or with a distinct pattern/color that is easier to find. I like the physicality of moving the pieces around, being able to move around the puzzle to see from different perspectives. I like to do a little bit at a time every day, sometimes in between work or errands. I don’t expect to finish it by a certain date, but I just keep plugging at it piece by piece. Eventually it all comes together. I don’t think about it too much. I like to be casual about when and how I pick it up. There’s a lot of trust and not a lot of conscious thought, but plenty of activity.
This actually says a lot about my creative process and how I like to work!
Right now I’m juggling multiple writing projects. This feels better to me than working on just one thing all the time: my energy feeds off novelty and change, and I can be somewhat restless. If I pressure myself to focus too hard on figuring one tiny detail out instead of just doing what I feel like in that moment, I miss out: like when assembling puzzles, I could have spent that time not resisting my natural tendencies and gotten way more done at the same time. I’ve noticed that when I focus too hard on something, it seems to elude me. If I just maintain a soft focus on the task and give myself two or three options of specific tasks to choose from in any given moment, I’ll be more likely to focus on something and get it done with ease.
And like gathering and moving puzzle pieces around, I can jot down notes or phrases all down and then move them around and see what connects. I start the project with whatever I can think of in the moment and trust I have “all the pieces” inside me (all the information, access to what information I need) to finish the work. I just keep coming back to the project and add more pieces to it, not pressuring myself to finish the task in one go. I won’t have to think too hard because I’m relying on all my senses and attention in a way that feels comfortable and fun to me, but still challenging—that’s my sweet spot! I could come to the project every day as if showing up to an actual job, but I can’t think of it as “grinding” at it. (It’s already been established that willpower doesn’t work!)
This has really changed how I feel about my work when I sit down to write. Before, I felt like I was hitting walls everywhere I went. But if I think of this activity as a different kind of puzzle making, I feel a lot more confident about the process. I’m just putting the pieces together, that’s all. I’m just working on the sections that seem most promising in the moment. Even if I don’t know what the full picture looks like yet or know what to expect of the final draft, what I already have provides clues of what goes together. I can play around with layers and juxtaposition, subplots and character arcs, and it will have its own mysterious logic to it. But eventually, it will come together.
What activities feel easy to you, that you’re naturally good at and like doing? Is there a way to bring that ease into your other creative activities or your writing?