Anyway, I have, mercifully, had a lot of work on lately. Lots of creative writing workshops, lots of work in school with my youth group, reviewing work with the Irish Writers Centre, editing work etc. I am so incredibly grateful for all of it because I'm in that rare position of being paid to do things that I truly love. All of it is either freelance or short-contract work so I get anxious about that sometimes (who knows if I'll have this much work in January? No idea) but I'm not complaining. I am super busy and really tired, but still, not complaining.
Something I have noticed, however, is that I am finding it much harder to wind down these days. Maybe it's just a getting-older thing, or maybe the work adrenaline is just so constant that I can't stop because there is literally always something to do. This is probably not a sustainable way to live, so coming into the new year I would like to find ways to manage winding-down. I would like to make more time for it and I'd like to be able to stop my brain from thinking about work all the time.
So this blog post is more of a question and a request for feedback from people in this position. I'd love to hear from other writers and artists about how they fit in the 'me' time and what they do during it, and how they manage to chill out. I have never been good at doing anything regularly like meditation or yoga, and I also have no spare cash so it needs to be free. I can feel a new year's resolution coming on....
 |
| Much Better! |
3 comments:
No idea but if you find out, please tell me! I tried to write a list the other day of things I do 'for fun' and discovered that absolutely everything I do relates to work. Sometimes I call it 'fun', but the truth is I only read a book if it's research, I only see films I think are going to teach me something about storytelling, I only go out in in the evening if it's to a literary event, I choose holidays based on where I'd get the most time to do some work, I go to the museum 'to fill my creative well' etc etc. I took up the ukulele as a hobby and instantly starting thinking, 'Hmm, a book about a teenaged ukulele player...' There's no escape! If I suspect I'm not being in some way productive, I feel guilty. In the summer I garden, but I also write in the garden so it's entirely possible that I only garden in order to make myself a pretty office. I never thought of myself as a workaholic but actually... And it's not good. You need to unplug. I'm working on it, I'll let you know if I have any breakthroughs, LOL!
Kelly x
My darling dog is indifferent to anyone's work ethic. Taking him out, especially by the sea, keeps everything in perspective - except on wretched days like today, when I looked up from typing and realised it was too dark for a walk. But then, even the guilt trip isn't actually to do with writing. Talking of which - it's dog's dinner & my wine time!
With me,as with anything I really want to do - including writing - it's a matter of setting time aside, actually making a conscious decision to spend time doing nothing, or something I find relaxing. Like booking a holiday some weeks in advance, bit on a micro scale. I find that if I wait for the time to arrive; when I'm on top of the to do list, and feel I can give myself permission, that time never comes.
Post a Comment