How to keep your creative cool in a heatwave
After watching Glastonbury swelter in the recent heatwave I asked a friend, who is a regular Glastonbury goer. “What’s worse, Glasters in the rain or a heatwave?”
“Oh rain of course,” she replied.
I went to Glasters a couple of years ago. It rained and rained and rained. And yes I can see her point, it was tedious. But for me, a heatwave is worse.
I’m not a woman who glows, I am a full-on sweat monster. I’m always too hot. This was pointed out to me with much laughter as I packed my bags and moved to Sydney. And, yes, it was hot, and I did get used to it. Eventually. Kind of.
The heat brings out my inner intolerable self. It makes me floppy and useless. Add in a dose of humidity and I’m horrid. Along with my departing sense of humour, my creativity scuttles out the door after it.
Yesterday I sat for two hours staring at my screen as sweat slowly made its way to my top lip. I looked on social media for inspiration. I found lots of beautiful pictures of cool-looking people, in cool-looking houses, and thousands of pictures of ice cream. Are you kidding me? Can the algorithms read my mind? Probably.
After consuming my body weight in ice cream, I have a lactose shut down and then think about doing some work. By this time it’s 5pm, my shed is in the shade and I can actually concentrate for more than a nanosecond. I get some ideas down and think about how I’m going to get through my first Spanish summer in my shed.
This is my plan: work in the morning until the sun hits my shed. Retreat to the shade and do some research*, and then when the shed is in the shade, back to it. Work until the sun has gone down and then dinner at a temperature that doesn't make you want to pass out. Easy-peasy.
If this cunning plan doesn’t work, then I’m going to bust into my husband’s office and share a desk with him. I think he’d love that.
* When I say research, what I really mean is have an enormous lunch then siesta for the rest of the afternoon. The Spanish know what they’re doing.