👋 Hi, I'm Nicholas Roberts. I create and perform music and write this daily blog about creativity, culture, and my life.

I live in Los Angeles with my wife and golden retriever.

Email me: hello@nicholasroberts.io

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I was listening to an artist talk about how he paints every single day.

For him, painting is a spiritual practice. It puts his mind at ease. And by painting every day, much like meditating or prayer, he’s able to quiet his thoughts.

For years, he struggled to reach his daily painting practice. Life always got in the way. Picking kids up from school. Or running out to the grocery store before dinnertime.

These days, he adheres to a concept he coined as “Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 habits.”

His goals were always things like “paint one painting per day” or “complete one new sketch every day.”

But depending on the painting or the sketch that comes out of his hands, it could take minutes or hours to complete.

And on days where life gets complicated, these goals became unattainable and he’d feel like he’d failed if he couldn’t actually finish a painting every single day.

He calls these types of goals and habits “Level 3 habits,” or his ideal state—If the day goes perfectly, he finds as much time as he needs to finish the project.

But that’s not always possible.

So he also gives himself grace to work on “Level 1” and “Level 2” habits as well.

A Level 1 habit is something that can be done every day, no matter what. Something so easy that there’s no barrier to entry.

In his case, it’s drawing a circle in his sketchbook every day. Drawing a circle may turn into something else, like a face, but he only asks of himself for the 15 seconds it takes to open up a notebook, grab a pencil, and draw one circle.

Level 2 habits are somewhere in between. Something that would feel good to accomplish, like beginning a new painting, or drawing a full face. Something that helps him get better at art, tap into his internal love of creativity, but without the pressure of having to finish.

And finally, Level 3 habits are perfect conditions where a brand new painting just pours out.

If he’s able to complete any of these levels every day, he’s practiced painting.

What are you working on that could benefit from practice but without the pressure of perfection every day?