To bake sourdough bread, you need four ingredients: Flour, Water, Culture, and Time. Time is as important to sourdough bread as the things you can feel and weigh. And if you want some fresh bread in the morning, you’ve got to plan for it, you’ve got to be preparing things a day or two in advance.
There are times when I’m struggling to really nail an idea. I might have a character design or colour palette in my head and I sit down to work and work and work until what I see in my head is on the page. I know I can do it, but some days are just harder than others. I think things like, “If I just put in another hour, I’ll have it.” But frustration builds, I almost always never get there.
Just add time
Now, I’ve learned to identify that feeling of ‘pushing through’ early. And when I start to think those controlling thoughts, I do the opposite; I walk away.
Like baking great sourdough, great ideas need time. They require patience and a generosity to yourself. A trust that, in time, you can do it, but it doesn’t need to be right now. Maybe you need a bit more practice. Or maybe you have to sleep on it and look at it with fresh eyes. Maybe you need to an additional flash of inspiration that puts you on the right track or gives you a renewed motivation to finish. In a world where we’re told that we can control everything, giving ourselves over to time is hard. In my experience, it’s always worth it.
