Why ten minutes is enough

For years I didn't draw. Not because I had no time, but because I thought it had to go somewhere. A better drawing, a portfolio, a reason. And as long as drawing had a goal, it became a thing I could lose again.

Then I turned it around. Ten minutes. One prompt. And the result doesn't matter. No better line than yesterday, no streak to break. Just ten minutes of looking and drawing and nothing else required.

Why ten? Because it's short enough to do every day, even on the day you don't feel like it. Long enough to let your breath settle, short enough not to become a performance. Only after about three minutes do you notice: your thoughts slow down, your shoulders drop, you really look at that one thing on the table.

It's not about the drawing. It's about those ten minutes where you don't have to be anywhere. That you end up with a scribble on paper is nice, but it isn't the point.

So if you start today: expect nothing. Take today's line, take a pen, and draw for ten minutes. It doesn't have to look right. It only has to be seen.