Article
Don't Work Yourself Into A Corner
Don't work yourself into a corner
by Melissa Gibson Smith
A Note from the Editor
This week in The Spark, Melissa Gibson Smith explores what it takes to protect our creative time.
The hours we keep putting off. The projects waiting for our attention. The work that gets whatever time is left.
Sometimes the problem isn't finding more time. It's deciding what deserves the time we have.
A little preparation can change the shape of a creative day.
And sometimes, the best thing we can do for our work is make room for it before the rest of the world arrives.
In a 1983 interview, Maya Angelou described a writing routine that sounds almost severe. She was up around 5:30 and had her coffee by six, and by seven, she was walking into a hotel room she kept for no purpose other than writing. She called it "a tiny, mean room with just a bed," and she kept a dictionary, a deck of cards, and a bottle of sherry there. She worked until about two in the afternoon. On bad days, she gave up around 12:30, and on good days, she stayed as long as the writing flowed.
By then, Angelou was an acclaimed author with a home of her own, and she still chose to leave it every morning. She had learned something many artists discover the hard way: a creative life without boundaries ends up with whatever is left over.
Most of the artists in this community don't have Angelou's arrangement. Some hold day jobs and make their work before sunrise or after the dishes are done. Some work in their creative field all day, designing, editing, teaching, or performing for clients, and still can't find time for the project that is actually theirs. Others are raising families, and their creative time arrives in pieces, during nap time, in the car outside practice, or after everyone else is asleep. We tell ourselves we'll get to it once things settle down, and things rarely settle down on their own.
The hotel room isn't the point. What matters is that Angelou decided her work deserved protected time before the day could decide for her, and that decision is available to all of us, even if the time we protect is an hour instead of a morning.
We tend to picture boundaries as walls that keep people out, but what Angelou built worked more like a well-organized kitchen station before service, with everything she needed within reach and everything she didn't left somewhere else. She wasn't hiding from her life. She was setting up the conditions her work required, so that the rest of her life could have the rest of her.
Last month we talked about the courage to let our work be seen. That courage needs something underneath it to stand on. Boundaries aren't a retreat from being seen. They're what make it possible to keep showing up and creating.
At Epiphany Space, we hold those boundaries alongside one another. At Tuesday coworking, each of us names at the start of the session what we plan to accomplish, and we check in at the end to see whether we did. Through our Jumpstart posts, we share our goals on Monday and look back on them together on Friday.
I first learned this in a restaurant kitchen. I worked in my first restaurant at thirteen, and at sixteen I began training under a French chef at a Mediterranean restaurant called Olive Branch. Most of the kitchen was open to the dining room, so everything had to stay spotless, and the bulk of the prep happened before service or in the back. The discipline he drilled into us was mise en place, everything in its place before the first order comes in, along with a warning I still hear: don't work yourself into a corner.
A few years later, I worked in a historic hotel where one kitchen served the main dining room, the bar, room service, and every event in the building. The walk-in refrigerators were two floors below us, reachable only by elevator, and if you hadn't planned ahead and brought up what you needed, you were in real trouble once service began.
A creative life works the same way. The time, the tools, and the protected hours have to be set up before the demands of the day arrive, because once they do, there's no running two floors down for what you forgot.
Reflection: What does your creative life need to have in place before the demands of the day begin?
Continue Your Creative Journey
Your creative ecosystem grows through collaboration, connection, and the people who help you bring your biggest ideas to life.
If you're looking for an online artist community where writers, filmmakers, musicians, visual artists, and creative entrepreneurs encourage one another and stay accountable to their goals, we'd love to welcome you to Epiphany Space.
Inside our creative community membership, you'll find:
- Weekly coworking sessions
- Peer mentorship groups
- Creative workshops & retreats
- A supportive community that helps you keep creating
MELISSA GIBSON SMITH: Founder & Creative Coach
Melissa Gibson Smith is a dedicated and passionate coach committed to helping artist’s and creative entrepreneurs thrive’ emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Melissa’s approach is trauma-informed and holistic, providing one-on-one spiritual and creative coaching sessions to help individuals overcome blocks that impact their lives and creativity. She conducts workshops, and the signature “Healing the Soul of the Artist” Masterclass, aiming to foster personal and professional growth. She has launched multiple businesses and a non-profit in California, New York, and Georgia as a culinary and hospitality executive.
As a healer and spiritual coach for over 15 years, Melissa understands the impact that the highs and lows of life have on our creative journey. These experiences enable her to bring a unique perspective to her coaching practice. Melissa’s goal is to create a safe nurturing environment that fosters love, belonging, play, and creativity; ultimately helping individuals achieve their full potential.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW CAN ARTISTS AND CREATIVES MAKE TIME FOR THEIR WORK?
Artists can protect their creative time by establishing consistent routines, setting boundaries around competing demands, preparing their tools and workspace in advance, and setting realistic creative goals. Coworking and accountability partners can also help artists maintain momentum.
WHY IS ACCOUNTABILITY IMPORTANT FOR ARTISTS AND CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS?
Creative accountability helps artists stay focused, establish achievable goals, and make consistent progress on their projects. Sharing goals with other creatives creates opportunities for encouragement, feedback, and support.
wHERE CAN ARTISTS AND CREATIVES FIND AN ONLINE CREATIVE COMMUNITY?
Epiphany Space offers an online creative community for writers, filmmakers, musicians, fine artists, screenwriters, and creative entrepreneurs. Members can participate in coworking sessions, peer mentorship, writing groups, and creative events.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF JOINING A CREATIVE COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP?
An artist community membership provides opportunities to connect with other creatives, develop professional relationships, receive peer support, participate in accountability sessions, and find mentorship. Epiphany Space membership brings these opportunities together in one creative community.
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