Inspiration comes from the oddest places! I read an article in the New York Times today as I waited for my son at the skatepark and had to race home and write this for you.
The article wasn’t about personal productivity, work life balance, or time management. It was a chef’s process for composing a three-course meal and it absolutely connects with a crucial concept related to creativity and project management.
The author was inspired by the memory of a salad he ate while in Normandy, France. He explained that when you create a multi-course meal you must pay careful attention to balancing flavors and textures throughout the meal. The meal must have a progression and momentum to it. He chose to start light then delve into deeper flavors and end with something slightly sweet. He was inspired by old cookbooks, a walk through the super market, and a sudden flavor craving he sensed in himself.
This is very similar to my approach to musical composition and project management.
Project Management in Seven Stages
Identify the Spark
Gather
Brainstorm
Structure
Action
Refine
Celebrate
Once you have your spark or your primary inspiration, you must gather your materials. You can’t just bring them together - you have to connect with their innate beauty and value. If you want to be more productive - start cultivating beauty in your life. Tap into your passion and purpose and you’ll never have to complain about email in-boxes, to-do lists, and other paltry stuff.
Appreciate how your materials complement one another and how they contrast. How does one material or experience lead to the next?
The 3-course meal described in the article is: beet and tomato salad with scallions and dill, pan-roasted duck with wild mushrooms, and lemon tart with a touch of lime.
Now, consider taking this beauty-appreciating approach to your roles and the management of your busy life. Just like one course leads into the next in fine cuisine, you must enjoy the flow between all the hats you wear. Your roles are your materials - your main ingredients. What happens if you have shitty ingredients? Bad food. The same goes for managing your life. Choose your 16-20 roles very carefully.
Here’s an example of embracing the beauty of each role in a typical morning.
Visionary: putting on my creativity hat when reading the paper and soaking in all the ideas
Chef and Dad: making breakfast for my sons; timing, subtlety, sequencing, movement
Writer: coordinating different elements and focus them into a coherent written piece
Entrepreneur: allowing empathy to come to the surface while writing copy for my web site
Meditator: surrender, stillness, openness, and a gentle focus
Exercise: Create a list of unique attributes you bring to each role.
Creativity and Cooking Articles
Project Management Stages
Art and Creativity in Cooking
Connection between cooking and innovation and creativity
Redefining creativity with cooking
Cooking and mindfullness
Approach your busy life with the love and care of a master chef composing a Michelin-star-deserving meal. Project management, work life balance, and creativity depend upon combining various elements into a whole that magnifies the beauty of all parts.