Managing time and space to let creativity evolve.
This article is inspired by a talk I gave at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome during the event In Out. I was invited by my former professor, Enrico Pusceddu, to speak about the theme “Reflected Mind: Time, Space, and Evolution.” On that occasion, I talked about how a more conscious management of my time and space led to significant artistic and professional growth.
I decided to revisit this topic to better organize and clarify some ideas that I consider extremely important.
My hope is that what follows will help someone overcome the difficulties that often arise when approaching complex projects, where artistic and technical skills alone are not enough.
A Matter of Rhythm
Over the past five years, although my skills remained largely the same, I have noticed that the quality, and above all the complexity, of my work has increased.
This improvement is partly the result of practice and experience, but even more importantly of the development of a method that has allowed me to fully express my potential.
Even today, when I face uncertainties about a project's possibilities or about the best way to approach it, I still experience the same doubts I have always had. The difference is that now I know I can overcome any obstacle.
The key had always been there. It was nothing complicated or mystical. It was simply a matter of establishing a more balanced working rhythm, together with a more functional emotional approach to the process.
In the next few lines, I will explain how and why.
The Molosser’s Grip
My way of working used to be rather workaholic. I gave absolute priority to the task at hand, placing everything else in the background.
I tried to stay focused on the same project for as long as possible, sometimes for the entire day, and I preferred to finish one job before starting another.
Even in my free time I could not mentally disconnect. I kept thinking about what still needed to be done, convinced that constantly “staying on top of things” would help.
The project was the first thing on my mind in the morning and the last thought before going to bed.
I slept poorly and, for a long time, I believed that the light from the monitor was ruining my biorhythm. In reality, the cause was what I call “the Molosser’s grip.”
This went on until I began to notice something paradoxical: my best ideas often appeared while I was doing something completely different, during a walk, in the shower, or while grocery shopping.
At that point, I started to suspect that breaks were actually useful. So I began taking more of them, trying to overcome that inner resistance to “letting go” that had always been part of my approach.
Deforming Space-Time
At first it was difficult, but I soon realized that every time I took a break and truly shifted my attention elsewhere, when I returned to the project I was able to solve, in a matter of moments, problems that had seemed insurmountable just before.
I could accomplish in a few minutes what previously would have taken hours of work, and complete in a single day what might once have required a week, with a drastic reduction in mistakes.
Encouraged by this extremely positive experience, I decided to push this idea even further. I began inserting personal activities between work sessions, mixing private life with professional work.
In other words, I made my life revolve around my work without compromising it, achieving surprisingly positive results in my projects.
And in the meantime, I kept wondering how all of this was possible.
Eat, Pray, Love
The reason was simple: the brain behaves like a muscle. If you strain it too much, performance declines; after rest, it returns to normal.
It may seem obvious, but in the past I tended to think of mental processes as something almost metaphysical, not truly influenced by factors such as fatigue.
Now I know that, on the contrary, the quality of our thinking is strongly connected to the lifestyle we follow, because thought itself is the result of biological processes and therefore performs according to the health of the system that generates it.
Understanding how the brain works is essential if we want to take care of it and make the most of its potential.
For example, one thing that made a real difference for me was realizing that the brain is divided into cognitive areas that perform different tasks, and that while performing a task some of them are active while others remain relatively idle.
This helped me understand that different kinds of activities can be performed in succession. While one brain area becomes fatigued after prolonged effort, others are ready to engage in something else.
It is now explained why alternating work with personal tasks increased my efficiency, and it is also shown that dedicating time to multiple projects within the same day is more advantageous than focusing on just one.
So I moved from a rhythm like this:
project → break → project
to a rhythm like this:
project 1 → project 2 | break | project 1 → project 2.
Like AI
We have established that a well-rested brain works efficiently. But sometimes I have noticed that something more happens.
When my mind is fresh, I occasionally find instant solutions to complex problems that the day before, especially late in the evening, had seemed impossible to solve. In these moments I can immediately identify a solution without going through tests or experiments. In short, I have an intuition.
Intuition is a fascinating phenomenon. It is a form of immediate and sudden knowledge.
In my view, it resembles the way artificial intelligences such as ChatGPT or Gemini work. When presented with a question, they explore multiple possible solutions simultaneously, supported by enormous computational power. It makes me think that we may be capable of something similar.
Intuition is like a superpower that allows us to fully express our potential.
It is an incredible tool that we often consider outside our control, because we never know if, or when, it will appear.
This is partly true. We cannot guarantee an intuition. What we can do, however, is create the conditions for it to emerge through proper rest.
Keep Calm
Rest is not the only factor that determines the quality of our performance: calmness is just as important.
Do not underestimate the power of staying calm.
Think about those moments of pressure, during an oral exam or a university test, when a crucial word slips your mind even though you know it perfectly, and it only comes back a moment later, when it is already too late.
That is exactly what can happen when we are not calm.
A brain under stress works in a chaotic and less efficient way. It cannot fully access your knowledge, nor can it carry out even simple operations.
This is why calmness is fundamental in work, just as much as rest.
Of course, calmness depends on many factors. But if we stay within the professional sphere, one of them, in my opinion, is particularly decisive: the fear or anxiety of not being up to the task.
Even when we have all the necessary skills, and therefore no rational reason to doubt ourselves, these emotions can partially or completely compromise the success of a project. It has happened to me many times.
But fear and anxiety can be defused through confidence that intuition will come to our aid.
It is simply a matter of method.
Supporting Fire
What lies beyond intuition? What other tools do we have to face our projects at our best?
Intuition is essential in the initial stages, those of approach and exploration, and whenever an unexpected problem arises that changes the situation.
But when we move into the execution phase, when we put into practice what has been intuited, what helps us then?
In these cases, focus comes into play.
Focus is the ability to concentrate attention on a specific element while avoiding distractions. It is the tool that allows us to perform a task correctly.
Through focus we devote the proper attention to each individual step, resulting in greater speed and precision.
One thing I have learned in recent years is that every step matters. Each step is as important as the one before it and the one that follows. Neglecting one of them, without giving it the proper focus, will most likely result in wasted time later: mistakes to correct, additional work, or even the need to go back and redo everything.
We can draw a comparison with automated industrial processes, where machines perform a sequence of operations that lead to the creation of one or more products. In that context, every phase is carried out with precision and consistency, without variation. Machines are not asked to skip steps in order to move faster; at most, the rhythm is increased or the processes are optimized.
Of course, we are not machines, and we should not be, but I cannot think of a better parallel to convey the concept of efficiency.
For this reason, in my experience, when we are in a hurry it rarely makes sense to skip steps. It is better to carry them out correctly, even faster if necessary, while staying focused.
Process optimization, on the other hand, is not something that can be improvised on the spot. But as we have already seen, intuition has no limits.
So, what are the rules of focus?
Focus behaves like a grip: it is like holding something tightly so that it does not slip away. The more tired we are, the weaker that grip becomes. The longer we try to maintain it, the harder it is to sustain.
In practice, the same rules we have already mentioned apply here as well, because focus is an activity of the brain.
Once again, the balance between work and rest makes the difference.
Rhythm is the key.
Keep the Rhythm
In general, it is advisable to take a 15-minute break after every hour of work, and a longer break of at least one hour every four hours, alternating, whenever possible, different types of activities.
It is also preferable not to extend a study phase beyond four total hours, even if interrupted by breaks, because studying is particularly demanding in terms of mental energy.
Execution phases, on the other hand, can last longer. The important thing is not to forget your personal space and to maintain regular breaks.
To give a concrete example, if during a certain period I had two projects to work on, both consisting of study phases and execution phases, I would organize my days by working on both projects every day. I would separate them with a 60-minute break and alternate three-quarters-of-an-hour study phases with three-quarters-of-an-hour execution phases, with short 15-minute breaks in between.
To make the rhythm clearer, here is a simple scheme:
p1 study | -15 min- | p1 study | -15 min- | p1 task execution | -15 min- | p1 task execution
— 60min —
p2 study | -15 min- | p2 study | -15 min- | p2 task execution | -15 min- | p2 task execution
In this way, I achieve the best possible result: I simply need to keep the rhythm.
Let’s Take a Break
But what exactly does a truly restorative break consist of?
By now you have probably understood that it can be any activity completely different from work.
Any excuse is a good one to step away from work.
For example, as I mentioned earlier, between one project and another I insert simple everyday tasks, the kind that normally accumulate at the end of the day or during the weekend. By doing so I not only rest, but by optimizing my time I also lighten my workload and improve my quality of life.
Naturally, it is preferable to dedicate time to what we enjoy the most, but that is not always possible.
In my opinion, however, the most regenerative activities are power naps and physical exercise. There is scientific evidence showing that short daytime naps and physical activity improve cognitive functions. It is no coincidence that more and more companies are equipping their workplaces with gyms and nap rooms available to employees during the workday.
In my opinion, however, the most regenerative activities are power naps and physical exercise. There is scientific evidence showing that short daytime naps and physical activity improve cognitive functions. It is no coincidence that more and more companies are equipping their workplaces with gyms and nap rooms available to employees during the workday.
This is a fair observation, and it highlights how our current work system is often not designed around human needs. However, consider this: if a break can take different forms, then the possibilities are just as diverse.
Looking back, I cannot help but notice that I was actually more inclined to take breaks when I worked in a company than I am now.
Moreover, there were more distractions, I interacted in person with other people, and I was required to follow a schedule.
In my studio I am alone, surrounded by the silence of my projects, without particular pressures and with the entire day ahead of me. So those stimuli that I once perceived as limiting, chaotic, and often unwanted now seem like breaks to me.
NO GAIN WITH PAIN
At the beginning of my freelance career, work was all-consuming. The day felt like a blank sheet that I didn’t know how to fill with anything other than my professional goals. Perhaps it was the desire to prove myself, to make a difference, to “carve out my place in the world,” combined with a mindset shaped by the toxic culture of “no pain, no gain,” the idea that there can be no result without suffering.
This way of thinking, typical of the society I live in, led me to believe that without sacrifice and suffering there could be no real achievement. It is a concept that contains some truth, though not in an absolute sense. It tends to link suffering and results together, suggesting that one cannot exist without the other and that they are directly proportional.
In my view, the risk is that over time the two begin to blur together. One may end up feeling little satisfaction for results that were not achieved through hardship, perceiving results as greater than they really are because of the effort invested, or, worse still, seeing results where none actually exist simply because one has worked very hard.
I sometimes suspect that this way of thinking is a legacy from past eras, an attitude toward life that resembles monastic traditions, where suffering and deprivation were seen as means of spiritual elevation.
Or perhaps, more simply, it is an inheritance from an agricultural past, given that effort and hardship in the fields were constant companions.
It is time to move forward!
If you are like I once was, if for you extreme dedication to work, even to the point of suffering, seems like the only way to approach your projects, then I would suggest taking a break from that way of thinking. Because the truth is that there is no real gain in pain.
Following that path may prevent your true potential from emerging.
Paradoxes
Finally, I will leave you with a few phrases that may sound like wordplay, but that carry a deeper meaning and that, for some time now, have become my personal mantra:
•
orking on an artistic project is like growing a plant. You do not rush a plant, and you do not give it more water than it needs. But through intuition, it will bloom sooner.
•
The fastest project you will ever complete is the one you intuit cannot be realized.
•
If you skip steps to save time, you may arrive sooner, but still be late.
•
When you are in a hurry and feel you have no time, that is precisely the moment to take a break.
•
A project is finished when it is finished. And if, when you think you are done, it is not complete, then you are either at the beginning of the end, or at a new beginning.
I wish you all the best, and may intuition be with you.
