Containers for work - physical & digital space, precarity, annoyance, and boundaries between admin & practice

• What is needed to make containers for my work?
  
  Physical space: I need an organised place where I can sit comfortably to edit and do laptop work, drawing, thinking. I need a clear space where I can leave my things overnight (not the kitchen table). I need to be able to plug my chargers in easily!
  
  Rehearsing is different - but I don’t need that all the time. I do need to be able to test out some stuff, either in a clear space in my flat or a studio space. For this I really need an easy camera setup (or iPhone tripod) so I can just put it there and quickly film myself and watch it back. (I dread plugging in the wires, setting up the camera, tripping over everything… and thats a bit of a barrier to work).
  
  Digital space: I need containers which are already set up to upload things as soon as they are done - like this blog, or a Twitter. I need a good filing system and I need to stick to it. That takes effort to set up which I can’t do when I am in project mode, so I need to do that at another time and create good containers first.

• How precarity feeds into not being able to build those things
  
  I realised that precarious housing is really feeding into my inability to set up good work space. How am I supposed to invest in building something or buying furniture, when everything feels so temporary and I’m not sure if I can stay where I am for long?
  
  This also feeds into my ability to make work - of course I can’t focus on making a show, when I’m not sure where I will be living by the end of the process.
  
  This thinking is encouraging me to be realistic about what I need, and try hard to put it in place. When its not possible to have certainty (for instance I can’t find out for sure right now, whether I can stay where I’m living long term) - then I have to just make a decision based on what I need now, and commit.
  

• Annoyance
  
  If things consistently bug me, and stop me from looking forward to work, I need to sort them out!
  
  It might seem hard but sometimes just something small like putting up some shelves or screwing a hook into the wall for my keys can make things feel so much more organised and manageable, and stop me from dreading work.
  

• What counts as ‘practice’ - eg. Reading, writing, drawing, sound, rehearsing, talking with people, moving/stretching
  
  I want to expand my definition of ‘practice’, to take account of all the things I do which are feeding my work.
  
  For instance, listening to podcasts and audiobooks has been a main source of information for me recently. Just because its not sitting down to read a physical book, doesn’t mean its not research.
  
  Going for walks allows my thoughts to flow and new / different ideas come to me while I’m walking. Even if its not directly productive, moving my body and seeing the sunlight and the water and the plants *is* my practice.
  
  I am someone who really bounces off other people. Since I am a solo artist, I need to factor in that conversations with other artists and friends, and even sometimes online discussions, are a really important part of my work and not think of them as time wasting.
  

• What counts as admin eg. Life admin, work related admin
  
  Admin is separate to practice, but important to support it, and it also needs space and the right conditions.
  
  Admin is replying to emails, writing proposals, managing budgets, sending back forms for grant conditions, updating website or social media, doing my tax return. I can’t pretend these things don’t exist, I need to leave time for them.
  
  Its also all the life tasks - ordering new bank cards, paying bills, health appointments, bureaucracy - which intersect with my ability to get other stuff done and ultimately are foundational to my ability to exist (which means they have to be done, in order to work).
  

• How to divide those times so I can put admin aside & stop thinking about it to get practice time done

  For me, the problem is when I have an admin task, especially an urgent one, its hard to think about anything else.

  For practice, I need to sink into a deep focus and stay with one task for a while. I can’t do that when my brain is constantly bubbling with thoughts about a payment I need to make, my upcoming tax return deadline, or responding to emails as they come in.
  
  I need to respect both practice & admin, and create the right conditions for them - but keep them separate. I can’t deal with admin (even if its about my practice), during practice time.
  
  No idea how to do this right now, other than staying on top of admin tasks as much as possible, and scheduling time to do them so my brain knows they will get done.