I was in the garden this week pulling thrips off newly forming rose buds. They were so thick they threatened to overwhelm and smother these nascent flowers. With all this recent rain the garden is becoming a jungle and I am feeling really uninclined to put the time and effort in to tidying it up.

This got me thinking about unwanted thoughts. How everything can be going along and you feel you are just managing to get ahead, then one by one the jobs mount up, the tasks seem daunting and you find you are overwhelmed. 

You can’t see a way clear to making a difference and turning things around.

When that happens there are two choices;

• Give up, retreat and return another day to tackle them OR

• Come at the problem sideways. 

This second option is what I decided to do. I removed the thrips and then pulled out a weed or two around the rose, not actually connected to the rose but in the general area of it.

It felt like I was doing something to contribute to overall garden health. A pot plant near it had so many weeds growing out of it that I hadn’t even seen until I started weeding. I counted 4 different varieties of weeks growing in amongst the flowers.

When I straightened up and looked at the garden after this burst of weeding activity, I couldn’t see much change. But I knew that one pot plant had been tidied up and maybe tomorrow I can tackle another little section. An incremental change that pulled me out of the feeling of overwhelm and into the sphere of achievable small actions.

When contemplating an art project big or small, anxiety can stop you from being excited at the possibilities it might bring. This then threatens to overwhelm your confidence in your own ability to reach your desired goal. 

It’s the same when facing a blank canvas or an upcoming exhibition. The first step is to come at the situation sideways. Instead of a blank canvas, put a wash on it, break down the whiteness with some colour or mark making. You can always change it later, but this way you’ve taken action and made a start.

Similarly when you have a set date for an exhibition, you then need to draw a timeline between now and the future and break it up into achievable micro tasks, working backwards from the exhibition date. How many works do you need to finish? How many do you need to have framed? Allow time for this and the advertising in the lead up to it. Then work forwards - what can you do now, this week, this month to meet the dates halfway?

There is always option one, especially if it starts to pour with rain. Then retreat is a good idea for the day. Tackling the situation with fresh eyes means you can take positive action when you are feeling more refreshed and alert.

The main thing is to take an action and follow through. Even if that option is retreat. If you allow yourself to feel you are in control of the situation and you have freedom of choice, then you feel empowered.

All these things have a bearing on how you can design your lifestyle around your art. The work that you want to do and when to do it. To make changes, you need to embrace change as a concept. If nothing changes, nothing changes. I’m off to pull some more weeds now…