amanda palmer
Interview by Madeleine Dore
This week’s guest is unquestionable gifted in an astonishing array of disciplines – Amanda Palmer is a singer, songwriter, filmmaker, playwright, pianist, author, director, blogger and ukulele enthusiast.
It’s easy to compile Palmer’s successes and accredit it all to a perfect, productive creative schedule. But the as Amanda freely admits, there was a time when her relationship with productivity was punishing.
In this episode, Amanda talks about how we can crush progress with perfection both as a culture, and as individuals.
We talk about reframing and resizing your suffering, why we need blanket compassion, the importance of sleep, parenting and creative routines, setting boundaries, pausing projects, and finding your own internal measures for success.
Amanda Palmer: Performer
““Your internal combustion engines are always working on something and your experience is always being synthesised into whatever is going to come out in the tray at the end of the day, whether it’s a week from now or ten years from now.”
”
Shownotes
02:41
This weeks’ guest – Amanda Palmer has been successful in an array of disciplines, including singing, songwriter, filmmaking, directing, and more. She’s never had a great relationship with routine and describes her days as currently being mid-air.
04:52
Unpredictable routines – As nice as it would be to have the perfect environment and the perfect routine, that’s not always possible. Sometimes you just need to take what you have and just try to figure it out as you go. Step back and reframe when needed and remind yourself that you will be fine.
07:33
Privilege and compassion – Nowadays, people are constantly being confronted by their privilege and they’re having to assess it and try to keep a healthy perspective on it. You never know what somebody else is going through, so it’s important to have a blanket compassion for others, including yourself.
11:22
Do it anyway – People often want to help during difficult times but are afraid to do so because of the people who crush progress with perfection. Do something anyway. And keep doing it. It doesn’t need to be a grand gesture but doing something is better than doing nothing.
17:13
Necessary trivial basics – Figure out what these are for you and try to commit to doing them regardless of what else is going on in your life or how busy you are. But also remember that it’s not set in stone, you can change your mind about them, and it is okay to re-prioritise if you want to.
21:36
The Goldilocks zone – It can be easy to judge yourself and put pressure on yourself to always create, to always be better, and that you’re not good enough. Try to find the Goldilocks zone where you can create, where you can express, and where you can contribute without overloading yourself.
27:58
Compromise – When you and your partner are both freelancers who work from home, it can be easy to step on each other’s toes and butt heads. Figure out what both of you need in order to be productive, and make sure to give each other that required time and space.
32:11
Allow time to idle – Amanda believes that there is no such thing as pushing pause because we’re always going and always experiencing things, but it is okay to slow down and idle. Things will always be there when you’re ready, so don’t rush unnecessarily to get to them before that.
35:22
Know your boundaries – As a performer or as a creative, you need to be in the right mindset while working. Figure out what you need and don’t be afraid to stand up to others if need be, so that they respect your wishes and give you the space and time that you require to be in that mindset.
38:07
Limit yourself – You can’t do everything. There’s only so much time in a day and so many things that you can do with that time. Know your priorities and limit your commitments so you don’t overwhelm yourself by taking on too much.
43:59
Plan your schedule – Your career will constantly fluctuate with times where you need to work long, non-stop hours with no end in sight and times where you can sit back with your feet up and take a little break. Understand when these times are, commit to them, and always give yourself time to recover in between the busy periods.
48:16
Define your own success – Only you know what your goals are and what success looks like to you. Nobody else can define this for you, so look inwards and ask yourself what you’re aiming for.
51:13
Practice blanket compassion – It’s so easy to forgive ourselves or to justify our own actions, but so hard to do it for other people. This is our default setting and it’s hard to change, but you can make the conscious decision to do this.
Findings
The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer
There Will Be No Intermission tour
The Author’s Way by Julia Cameron
This is Water by David Foster Wallace
Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
CreativeMornings talk by Esther Perel
Where Should We Begin? podcast
““You really do not know what is going on in anyone’s heart at any given moment, and you don’t know their traumas, their backgrounds, their sufferings. What you can bet on is that they have them.””