Our Favorite Creative Warmup Exercise: "Twenty Minute Tuesday"
A few years ago while Kevin and I were trying to work through some creative blocks we came up with a project that still gets pulled out of our arsenal every now and then.
We whipped up a short fiction writing prompt, set the timer for twenty minutes, sat down at the kitchen table, and wrote.
It was a Tuesday. And thus… “Twenty minute Tuesdays” were born.
Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash
The goal was never to produce anything good. The goal was to produce. The idea being that if you know there’s a timer counting down over your shoulder you’d give up on thinking too much and just go for it.
Sometimes my twenty minute Tuesday is pen and ink, sometimes- like today- it’s watercolor blobs and squiggle doodles. Sometimes the result is not half bad, but I come out with no new ideas. Sometimes the result is total crap, but I come up with inspiration for something entirely different! Each brainstorm session is a tiny meditation, so I collect them all and hold space for them equally.
Not gonna lie, I’m not displeased with how this turned out! I started furiously scribbling connecting circles with my fine ink pen, then immediately dove in to the fuchsia, rose, red, and purple paint. (If you know me by this point you know I’m on a pink kick right now with my work!)
And do I really really want to go back in with a fine gold ink pen to add some linework to this piece? Yes. Yes I do. Part of the beauty of creating your own games and exercises is I suppose the ability to break the rules and go back in for more. So ha! Break my own rules I shall.
my morning twenty minute session.
Whatever your medium, twenty minute Tuesday is a great exercise for those moments when your brain is full of thoughts and you need to clear it. Or those moments when your brain is devoid of thoughts and you need to find some to put in there. It’s our go-to warmup where overthinking is not allowed, because there simply isn’t time.
So next time your brain is buzzing, give it a try. And don’t be afraid to try something different! If you’re stuck on a painting, write a haiku. If you’re stuck in your writing, try doodling out a stick figure comic strip of your writer’s block. Big presentation at work? Paint some pink blobs first. I can’t guarantee any breakthroughs, but I can guarantee you’ll feel better!
And it doesn’t have to be a Tuesday — but you have to admit the alliteration is 5% of the fun. So for those other days of the week… how about a seventeen minute Saturday? Or a thirty minute Thursday? The world is your oyster, my friend. If you give it a whirl one day, let me know how it goes! Drop me a comment below or tag me @fireflyandfinch on instagram.
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