The Podfather Chronicles – Chapter 4: Creative Timing and Spaces

by Neel Desai, M.D. 

The Happy Doc Podfather Playlist

Impact Theory – Tom Bilyeu with Ryan Holiday on Using Stillness to Achieve Greatness 

Tom Bilyeu recently interviewed Ryan Holiday on his Impact Theory podcast about using stillness to achieve greatness. Ryan was discussing his new book Stillness Is The Key. They talk about being able to change your perspective, so you can change your mindset and actions. They also discuss emotional, mental, and physical stillness. For this post, I will focus more on physical spaces for stillness. I am going to unpack this concept of physical space, the time we spend (or don’t spend) in those spaces and how important they are. 

You probably have the heard term “man-cave” before. This is usually a thing a lot of guys do – they have a place, usually in the lower level/basement of a house – adorned with some type of television, home theater system, couch and/or recliners, a bar, a fridge stocked with adult beverages, sports memorabilia of their favorite sports teams, and may even have a recreational tables like a ping pong table or a pool table. Add in a few guitars and a keyboard, and you are basically describing my own personal “man cave” in the basement of our house. It’s freakin’ awesome.

Most of the rest of our house is taken by the rest of my family living with us, so it nice for me to come down to recharge, reconnect, think, reflect, and create. My wife has an office to create various crafts. My son (E) usually hangs out mostly in the kitchen and living room. My mother-in-law has her room and the living room with my wife and E. My nephew has another part of the basement we converted into a mini-appartment. I also know Taylor has a designated space for podcasting at his appartment. I have seen it!  All of us need our physical space. 

Timing also matters.

The timing of when we spend being in our spaces also matters.  I know Taylor usually does our daily podcasts in the mornings.  My favorite times to create are early mornings. I enjoy the quiet and still  just an hour or two before the sun rises. Everyone is sleeping, including the dogs, and I am at my peak energy, mentally, emotionally, and physically. I know also know plenty of people who are peak creative during the late night hours. I am most exhausted during late afteroons/early evenings. This is something that fascinates  me – our creative spaces and creative timings.  

I believe our creative spaces are a reflection of what is going on in our heads. I would think this where  that phrase “I need my space!” comes from. When you say this you are asking for physical and mental space to be the best version of yourself. When you don’t have physical space, it sucks the mental energy out of you, and you are acting from a place of lower energy. I think creating your physical space is a reflection of creating healthy mental space and energy for you. Too many times our minds get full of other people’s toxic clutter. That clutter takes up a lot of mental bandwidth. 

We talk a lot about creativity on The Happy Doc. We can also apply this to creating your own physical space as well. When you create your own physical space, you are creating an authentic, reliable, vulnerable, and unfiltered place where you can drop all pretenses and just be yourself, doing what you enjoy, and what makes you happy.

But it’s not enough to just have a creative space. I also think you have to have some designated time there based on knowing the timing of your creative peaks.  Of course, you can create any time, but I do think you have to ask yourself this:

 “When do I have my most clarity, focus, and energy?

It’s just like studying. Some people do really well when they study early and in the mornings. Other people study really well burning the midnight oil. Neither one is better, just different. I think it’s just being self-aware about when you are at your peaks and nadirs, and then trying to schedule your time in those spaces to maximize the quality and quantity of your work .

So what is the lesson?  I think there are 2 main lessons here. First, if you don’t have a creative space, make one. Get creative in making a creative space. Even if it is a closet, a room at the local library, or a friend’s place, the size and location is not so much important as it is being your designated physical, happy, and creative place to reconnect and reenergize  yourself.  This is where you might able to do things that allow you just be in the still. It could be for meditating, thinking, imagining, reflecting, writing, playing music, singing, painting, or just tinkering.  Creating this space gives you autonomy you deserve and are so worth.

The other main lesson is about setting intention to spend time in those spaces, preferably regularly and consistently. The more you do this, the more energy and clarity you gain to lead you to a much more quiet and calm  mind. Conversely, if you do not have time in these spaces, it will slowly suck the energy and life out of you.

Creating your physical space  allows  you to decompress and release all the toxic clutter and noise in your head. A quieter head and personal space leads to healthier and innovative thought processes, actions, and novel connections. So what are you waiting for? Go create your space, set intentions to spend time there consistently, own it, make it your’s and love it. Your future self will thank you for it.

Impact Theory – Tom Bilyeu with Ryan Holliday on Using Stillness to Achieve Greatness

The Happy Doc Podfather Playlist

Neel Desai is a father, family physician, active contributor to The Happy Doc, and happy as a clam when he is exploring the mysteries of his weird head spaces in his Man Cave. Follow him @drneel1973.