Many people get fascinated by the field of arts, thinking how much freedom it will bring in their lives -- freedom to be your own boss, to do what you want, whenever you want. But so much freedom can be intoxicating, creating its own set of problems. There are two extreme ends to the ways of working. A 9 to 5 job, which has too much structure, and a freelance life, which has no structure. What attracts us towards freelance life is no structure. But what also prisons us is this such lack of structure.
Lack of structure leads to decision fatigue. Not knowing what needs to be done next, leads to laziness. And the freedom which we so longed for makes us unfree.
I met Rohan Joshi this weekend. Among all the interesting things he told me about, one was the importance of structure in life -- especially for people like us, who work in the entertainment sector. And how we need to artificially create these structures and show up to work every day.
Structure starts with constants. And I have been trying to actively build these constants in my life. One such constant for me is playing tennis. I started playing tennis in October and it's been almost 6 months since I have been at it. I play tennis not only because it is a good form of cardio, also because it makes me leave my home, and have a routine. It is that one activity which begins and ends at a fixed time. It brings me one step closer to living a 9-5 job.
Chalchitra Talks also started from a need for structure in my life, back in 2018. It became that constant for which I just had to show up every week to recommend movies, no matter what.
I don't crave 9 to 5 jobs. But lately I have been craving the structure it brings. Because doing something you love, with structure in place, brings freedom. And to enjoy freedom in the field of arts, it will eventually need to be structured as a 9 to 5 job.
"Freedom is what everyone wants – to be able to act and live with freedom. But the only way to get to a place of freedom is through discipline." - Jocko Willink, 'Discipline Equals Freedom'.
Very well written! Once you start with one activity to chalk out the structure, you start planning the other things around that one activity and thus begins the journey towards discipline and structure.
This need for having a structure in life to which I completely relate to is on point (being a student who was at home for two years). I think through a structure you start to have a discipline which could make your day productive.
Well written, I wish there were actually any 9-5 jobs ..but there aren't
I am sure many of us will resonate with this. A very important reason why few of us can't escape the 10-9 ! In private companies.
Can you share what other structures you brought specially during your own