Pushing The Envelope

By Jan S. Gephardt

For me, this past month has been one long (exhausting) experiment in pushing the envelope. You may know this phrase, which originated in the aeronautics field. It passed into more common usage after Tom Wolfe’s 1979 book The Right Stuff (about supersonic aeronautics and the early US space program) was made into a movie by the same name in 1983.

In aeronautics “the envelope” means the limits of an aircraft’s performance capability. Pushing past it is risky. But people (being humans) quickly generalized it to meanings beyond the aerodynamics field. So, no. I haven’t been out there test flying high-performance aircraft. The performance capability I’ve been testing is my own.

In my newsletter last month, I listed the major things I do for Weird Sisters Publishing, to help keep it moving forward and growing. “My job as Chief Cat-Herder and Manager of Weirdness for Weird Sisters Publishing boils down to Art Director, Copywriter, Production Manager, and Marketing Director,” I wrote. And as you might guess, when I try to embody all those roles I work a lot of long hours. Pushing the envelope becomes a way of life if I’m not careful!

In telling the story of Chuck Yeager (Pictured with his aircraft in 1947), Tom Wolfe popularized the expression, “pushing the envelope.” Photo from Bettmann/Getty Images, via WIRED Magazine.

 

Pushing the Envelope is Not a Good Lifestyle

Some of you will read that subhead and think “well, duh! Of course it isn’t!” Others may frown and think, “But I do that all the time!” Sad to say, “I do that all the time,” even though “Of course it isn’t!”

I suspect that working long hours and testing our performance capabilities – pushing our personal envelopes – is endemic to running a small business. I know I’m not alone when I end the day thinking, “I could have done more!” or “darn it, I didn’t finish it all!” Part of the reason I’m a “night owl” is that ever since I was a kid resisting bedtime, I’ve never wanted to stop when prudence demanded it. There’s always so much interesting stuff yet to do!

But recently I’ve rediscovered that when I’m so stressed out that my fingertips tingle, it is a very bad sign. It’s hard to see this fact in the moment, when I’m yawning my head off but still “in the flow.” But it’s actually more efficient – and I’m more effective – if I’ll stop, put it down, and go TF to bed! Or take a break. Or stop and refresh/reframe.

I didn’t only read under the covers after lights-out. More often my sister and I stayed up long after bedtime whispering to each other as we made up a collaborative story. Photo by “ocusfocus,” via 123rf.

 

In this Case I’m a Slow Learner

Every few years I have to re-learn this lesson. That isn’t just my guess or impression. I have hard evidence! Exhibit A? A blog post I wrote in 2020. Back then, I was juggling weekly posts on three different blogs (with different content) and trying to finish production on a publishing project.

Fast-forward to now. I’m trying to pre-schedule social media posts on four different outlets each week. Produce a bi-weekly blog. Consistently publish a monthly author newsletter. And also finish production on FIVE publishing projects. Oh, yes – and simultaneously write a new novel. On a deadline. Well, actually, they’re all on deadlines, aren’t they?

Sure. No pressure. Piece of cake, right?

Many thanks to More Famous Quotes for this observation from Gail Sheehy. It’s just as true now as it was when I first used it in 2020.

 

Continuous Improvement vs. Pushing the Envelope

I’ve gotten more efficient over time. I’ve developed much slicker systems for drafting and organizing each of those aforementioned functions. Each is a far smoother process than when I first started doing them. That’s because I frequently take time to reflect on what I’m doing, how I’m doing it, and why I’m doing it. Basically, it’s my take on the business concept of continuous improvement. And it works pretty well for me.

But nothing can be improved forever. Eventually we hit the ceiling, the apex of what’s possible, working with the given limitations. We can expand our envelope, our capacity, our limit, only so far. Pushing the envelope beyond that carries guaranteed problems, plus ever-greater risks of disaster.

But unlike with Chuck Yeager’s “Glamorous Glennis,” the risks to a person running a small creative business don’t include physically exploding, breaking up, or falling out of the sky. Our risks from pushing the envelope of stress lie more in the realms of disaster to our health and relationships.

None of the stress-cycle graphics I could find online exactly mirrors what’s going on in my case, but I liked this one for the way it included “less time/inclination for ‘new’ relational activities.” I’ve needed to force myself to stop and relax for family Movie Nights and conversations with friends. Many thanks to Visible Dynamics for the chart.

 

What’s the Answer? Or is that “What are the Answers”?

I certainly don’t want to bring on disaster to my health and relationships. And thank God I’m not forced to make a toxic choice. If I can just pull my head up out of the cycle and get a broader perspective, I can find a better way forward.

The first step is realizing, “oops, I did it again.” What’s needed after that is (1) getting perspective and (2) yet more “continuous improvement” – but of a different sort. Instead of optimizing my systems for doing specific tasks, I need to re-center on my ultimate goals. Are all of the things I’m doing still central to my primary objectives?

I often find that some of them don’t yield the same benefits they once did. I can stop doing them, or maybe adjust their requirements and do them less often. Is filling out a checklist that I’ve consistently neglected for a while still helpful? Or was it once a learning scaffold that I no longer need? Maybe it’s now busywork. Have I found that a certain measurement gives no helpful information, so I can stop measuring that thing/aspect?

Business needs – like life itself – are always changing. Pushing the envelope can create a powerful momentum if it’s well-targeted. But every once in a while all of us have to stop, back up, and review what we’re doing.

It’s not pushing the envelope alone that yields success. It’s (briefly, and only when needed) pushing the right ones.

IMAGE CREDITS

Many thanks to my image sources for this post, as noted in the cutlines above. They are WIRED Magazine, “ocusfocus,” via 123rf, More Famous Quotes, and Visible Dynamics. Y'all helped me make my point, and I appreciate it! 😊

How to stay creative

The Artdog Quote of the Week

Angelou had good reason to know this truth. Like love, like generosity, like any attitude, discipline, or craft that you practice, the more you practice it, the richer your store.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Brain Pickings, via The Fox is Black, for this image and Maya Angelou quote, featuring artwork by Lisa Congdon.

Creative healing

The sixth day of Kwanzaa
This one is especially near to my heart: the principle of Kuumba, creativity! The only way to build a vibrant community is through the creative devotion of the people within it.

Just as the arts can help revive a dying neighborhood, so can the application of creative energy build positive bridges of hope, where before there were only walls of separation. Our whole country desperately needs this kind of creative healing.

What better, more hopeful task can we set ourselves upon than that, this New Year's Eve?

IMAGES: Many thanks to Jeffrey St. Clair via LinkedIn's SlideShare, for the nicely designed symbol image and "seven principles" slide, to the Pinterest board of Students at the Center Hub for the Mae C. Jemison quote, and to SororitySugar's Tumblr (tagged Gamma-Sigma-Sigma) via Pinterest, for the Mitch Albom quote.

Breaking out of patterns

The Artdog Quote of the Week 

When we look at creativity's value, it's everywhere.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Pinterest, and Professional Artist Magazine for this image. 

When is it play, and when is it creative work?

A much-belated Artdog Quote of the Week!

I've been playing a little more than I "should" this week (always with the "shoulds" [insert quiet groan here]. You'd think I'd learn).

Last week, I finished my final editing pass on Going to the XK9s. It's the (eighth draft of the) first novel in my planned "XK9 Series."

I sent it off to my editor, took a deep breath, and . . . OMG! Really wanted to get going on the next one!

I don't know if this is a good thing, or a bad thing. I've been told that one should take a vacation, or at least a nice, relaxing break, after finishing a novel manuscript--especially after finishing the kind of fine-toothed-comb, line-by-line editing process, where you sweat ALL the details.

My problem with that? I'm bubbling over with ideas and energy for the next book. My XK9s are a pack of sapient police dogs who shake things up on their adopted space station home, while sniffing out bad guys. Writing about them is a lot of fun (as I hope reading about them will be).

I've also had enough experience to know that "flow" like this doesn't happen all the time. It's wise to hop on and ride it out, when it comes, which is what I've been doing, instead of writing blog posts (sorry). Every job feels like "a job," sometimes--just not right now, for me.

So, then, am I relaxing? Am I working? Is it okay to say "yes"? If your work feels like playing, do we have to draw the line somewhere?

Gosh, I hope not.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Pinterest, via Betype, for the John Cleese quote, and to Marine L. Rot for the "creative flow" banner.

Independently together

The Artdog Quote of the Week: 

My vision of Strength in Diversity has everything to do with people from different cultures, socio-economic backgrounds, and life experiences coming together to pool their collective wisdom.

That is, in fact, also the essence of creativity: drawing ideas from a range of sources and putting them together in new ways. Only through that process can we innovate, develop our potential and make progress toward a better world.

This attitude does not mean I'm a pie-in-the-sky idealist who just wants to sing Kum By Yah with everyone else in the world because of the overflowing goodness in my heart.

And I don't espouse my ardent belief in the vital importance of social justice out of some ambition to be politically correct.

No, my primary reason for affirming the importance of a diverse and interconnected society is that I firmly believe it's my nation's best route to a strong, positive future. It will take the intelligence, and the fortitude, and the creativity of ALL of us, to get ALL of us out of the messes we've made.

As allies, not enemies, we need to think independently together.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Inner Journey Outfitters, via Pinterest, for this image. 

Please note that I am mirroring posts between this blog and the blog on my new website, Jan S. Gephardt's Artdog Studio. Each post goes live there a bit before it goes live here. 

Just the start

Here in the North American mid-continent, we feel the onset of summer. We've explored the meaning of "summer" in all of its variety as a metaphor for freedom. 

Now we stand at the brink of it. May you have a good one!

IMAGE: Many thanks to "A Lonely Girl" for this image.

Before you throw in the towel to Boredom . . .

Don't declare yourself "officially bored" until you ask yourself:

There are times that are just inherently boring. I get that. Times when you're trapped somewhere, waiting to do something, or obligated to perform some drudgery. 

But even then, in my opinion boredom is an option we choose--a decision we make. I decided early in life that if I was bored it was my own fault. 

Of course, we creative types have lots of options at our disposal for Been Creative?, but creative is a state of mind. There are creative possibilities in almost any situation (it helps if there's a streak of anarchy in your system sometimes, too). 

For instance: Stuck at the DMV (as I was recently)? If your local DMV doesn't have the nifty "Q-Less" feature that cuts wait times dramatically, consider what might happen if aliens landed in the parking lot outside, or a couple of madmen with paintball guns came running through?

You'll notice the suggestions in the acrostic will work for children of all ages--including Outside Play (helps to have kids or dogs on hand, but lots of things count as "play." Got golf clubs? A tennis racquet? Hiking gear?). For a list of 27 other crazy outdoor game ideas check BuzzFeed's list.

Read a Book? Well, duh. I never leave home without one, if I can help it. Books open the world of the possible for people of all ages. I bet you'll enjoy this TED Talk.



Exercised? This is almost the same thing as "Outdoor Play," for many of us--but it sounds suspiciously diligent. How about changing the "E" to Explored Something? Explorations take many forms.

And you might be surprised how much fun you can have with Done Something Helpful? Did you know that other people's work is always more fun than our own? (Another surprising lesson from childhood). Again, the creative possibilities are endless. Engage your empathy to see who needs help, then come up with pleasant ways to give them a hand--like this young man, spotlighted by the Huffington Post.



Whatever you dream up, don't forget to follow through! And if you can offer your own creative cure for boredom, leave suggestions in the form of comments!

IMAGE: Many thanks for the acrostic image from Planet Smarty, and for the "van unicorn" from Kristin Lamb's Blog. Thank you, BuzzFeed and Mallory McInnis for the "Frozen T-Shirt Race" image. Many thanks to TED Talks and The Huffington Post for the two videos.

Does this look like an oasis to you?

Or maybe it's your idea of a "treasure island"?

If you're like most of my friends, reading is one of life's best joys--or, at least, I hope that for you! I can't imagine a creative summer for anyone of any age without chances to voyage to the far shores of the imagination, via books.

Summer reading is one of the best ways a child can stay fluent and avoid the dreaded summer slump. My friend Veda Jairrels has made a strong case for reading as a massive help against the achievement gap in this country. She's founded a group on Facebook, the 2000 Book Movement, and groups such as 1000 Books Before Kindergarten are helping turn the idea into a movement.

But reading is wonderful for people of all ages. It opens us to new ideas and in some cases whole new worlds--or gives us better tools for dealing with the world where we live. Whether you prefer traditional "dead trees" books, e-books on a reader or pad, or audio versions--or whether you like to mix all three types--reading is foundational to a well-rounded intellectual life. 

Oh, and while you're reveling in the riches of the written word . . . don't forget to support your community's library and shop at independent, locally-owned bookstores! Those are community resources we really don't want to lose. 

IMAGE: Many thanks to DMCI Homes for the "quilt and books" image, and to the Middletown Public Library for the "1000 Books Before Kindergarten" image.

Why Creative Parents Don't Fear Summer

They don't fear it, because they Know. Not that it isn't a creative challenge--bored kids can get into a lot of very un-fun, uncreative trouble. Our job is to provide a nudge, keep an eye on the boundaries, and offer a little space.

This is the reason why I've always been of two minds about the "Summer Slump." It's an all-too-real phenomenon, easily observed and documented by teachers everywhere--the loss of skills that atrophy over a roughly two- to three-month vacation.

Worse, for children living with food insecurity, the long summer vacation can be a time of deprivation, if not outright famine. 

Taken together, the "summer slump" and the serious problems of food insecurity and sketchy childcare for children living in poverty have led to calls for year-round school. 

Yet I remember some of my best childhood moments from those months of long, unstructured days and unbounded imaginations, when my sister and I would invent our own worlds and delve into new, exotic realms through books. 

Looking back on it, I was a lucky child--a child of privilege, though I didn't realize it and my cash-strapped parents would have been startled to hear that evaluation. But we had enough to eat, a safe place to play, and all the books we could read, thanks to our local public library. Untold riches!

I worry that the value of "down time" is being overlooked these days, in our concern about other pressing concerns. 

The mentality that prescribes "drill and kill" approaches and "minimum-security prison" protocols for inner-city schools is the very approach that de-funds and eliminates the music, art, and sports programs that give at-risk kids the will to fight on and stay in school. 

Even in more well-funded neighborhoods, the pressure of competition tempts parents to lock down a child's every moment under the relentless tyranny of "enrichment" activities, such as tutoring, organized teams, and summer school, that allow no time to sit and watch clouds go by or think big thoughts. 

Rich or poor, kids need time to just be. To think about stuff, to experiment, fail, succeed, and make up their own stories and games. To learn who they are, and what they value the most. Indeed, as explored on Studio 360, a little boredom can be a good thing! 



Wise parents know it's a delicate balance that absolutely must be struck, if kids are to grow fully into themselves.

Do you have any good stories about fun things you did as a kid that were "freeform" and creative? What imaginative adventures did you enjoy? Please share them in the Comments. 

IMAGE: Many thanks to "The Artful Parent" Pinterest board, for the image, and to Studio 360 for the audio clip.

Backyard camping, anyone?

Talk about your classic summer experience . . . 

My sister and I never exactly "camped out" in the back yard, but we slept on the screened-in back porch, and also in the playhouse. 

I was a bit older when I actually got a chance to camp out "for real." But my kids definitely knew the joys of camping out in the back yard (as well as in the living room or playroom in tents or large boxes, as part of memorable winter and early-spring birthday party-sleepovers).

One of my themes this month is a sort of pre-summer warm-up of the creative juices. 

For you it might not be backyard camping, but here's my challenge to you: 

Do something different and fun (emphasis on the fun) this week. Something off-the-wall that you would normally not do--and that makes you feel like laughing out loud from pleasure. 

Then share a comment below, about what you did. Let's compare notes and see what interesting things people came up with!

IMAGE: Many thanks to "Tinkerlab" for the image!

Can you think Big enough to get Small?

Sometimes the answer to a massive challenge is right under our nose. As we close in on our most creative summer yet, remember that attitude is everything!

What's the key to creativity and a joyful life? It's how we approach the little things. The beauty we see in unexpected places and people. The first creative challenge is having eyes to see. The second is in our acceptance and creative follow-through.

IMAGE: Many thanks to Favim for this image.

101 Bits of Summer Fun

Here's a follow-up to my Wednesday post: a list originally designed for kids and their parents. But read it over and think: wouldn't you find a lot of these ideas fun? No matter how old or young you are?

Creative people never quite completely "grow up." It's how so many of us live to vigorous old age, still creating, still learning, still growing. 

This summer, take the time to spread your wings. Explore! Enjoy! Dare to reach beyond the normal, whatever that is for you!

IMAGE: Many thanks to Carried Away Ministries for the list of "101 bits of summer fun"! How many will YOU try? 

Creative Challenge Accepted?

I've always thought of May as "trembling on the brink of summer." Summer is a magical season for many people. A time for re-thinking, re-inventing, and taking on new challenges.

This image was created with runners in mind, but think metaphorically and it speaks to us all.

In my part of the country many schools end their spring terms in May. But even if you don't have kids in school (or aren't one yourself), you still may be looking forward to a change of pace this summer. As we go through this month, the theme of my quotes and images will be preparing for a creative summer.

Don't you owe it to yourself to approach the challenge creatively? Imagine the possibilities! Then go chase the best ones. 

IMAGE: Many thanks to Quotes Love for this image. 

Artdog Image of Interest: Does You Haz Creativity?

There's some in all of us! Believe it.

IMAGE: Courtesy of MOZ Blog.

Artdog Image of Interest: Creativity--It's Out There

Perplexed? Blocked? Seeking insights? Keep the faith!

IMAGE: Many thanks to the iPad Art Room.