Here you’ll find a collection of notes from various practices I have completed or am currently working on.
These digital notebooks document my efforts to dive deep into a particular creative or spiritual practice (or both, given their inherently-connected nature). Each effort focuses on engaging in or building a practice, one I have long been drawn to, but have otherwise hesitated on indulging due to my own anxieties and fears.
At times, two or more of these practices may progress concurrently. Some may fit within a particular timeframe if they are specifically designed to do so; others may not. Slip-ups occur, errors take place — such things are expected going in. My aim is to be as be as intentional, and yet as flexible and adaptable, as possible. Messiness is welcome. The ultimate goal is to begin and complete a particular practice with the hope that it will become an embedded part of my creative and spiritual practices on a regular, if not daily, basis.
Below are the notes from these efforts, including takeaways and suggested resources I may have found helpful in case you feel compelled to create a similar experiment of your own.
If you’d like to chat about these practice efforts, have questions about my motivation behind them, or want to talk about your own efforts in creativity and spirituality, feel free to drop me a line at matt@mattbperkins.com.
Cheers, and much love.
Practice 001: Meditate twice a day for 30 days
For a long time I’ve desired to make meditation a regular part of my daily life, but have had trouble committing to a daily practice. Here I attempt to meditate twice daily for one month in the hopes that it will become an embedded part of my daily routine.
Practice 002: Read 4 books in 30 days
It is my belief (though this could be faulty) that I have more time to spend on reading than I otherwise thought. This effort is meant to show me if it’s feasible (and ultimately sustainable) to read four books within one month on top of regular life responsibilities and creative work, or if something more feasible would need to be adapted.
Practice 003: Becoming a Digital Minimalist (take 2)
Here, I tackle a second attempt at the “digital declutter” as outlined in Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism. For the month of May 2020, I’m paring down my phone to basic apps, putting it on Do Not Disturb mode, avoiding social media altogether, and aim to focus more time on writing, reading, spiritual practice, exercise — basically anything of value that isn’t connected to the internet.
Practice 004: The Bradbury reading program
A different approach to reading more, following a “program” outlined by Ray Bradbury in 2001. As part of this effort my intention is to read one poem, one short story, and one essay every day for the month of May 2020. There is flexibility as to where I’m finding those pieces, and I’m allowing myself to read above and beyond them, but at the baseline, I must read those three forms of writing each day.