I’ve had to take nearly a week and a half off from writing almost completely, which feels so strange. I wrote in my last blog post about how I was struggling to manage my own expectations because even though I haven’t been well, my writerly brain feels like I should do more, more, more. Thankfully, I am finally on the mend, and I feel more energised and optimistic. It feels like time for me to ease my way back into consistent creative work. I love writing so much, and I’ve missed being able to do it, so it’s exciting to be finally getting back to some form of creativity again.
I am feeling a distinct lack of momentum though. Maybe this is caused by the fact that I still lack a lot of my usual energy. I’m well on the mend, but if I’m not careful, I do keep coming up against that point when I’m too physically or mentally tired to keep going. My schedule has also changed a lot recently, which isn’t helping. I’m home a lot at the moment, which gives me plenty of open hours to fill. All that time with no limits can make actually knuckling down to do the work much harder. It’s probably quite a combination of these things that’s making it so difficult to get back into the groove.
To help myself get back into a good creative place and find my enjoyment in creating, instead of letting it become a stress, I’m doing a couple of things. First, I’m carefully defining what I want to get done every day. With such a huge list of things that I could be doing, it can be very overwhelming to consider every single thing that must be done. To combat this, I’m taking some time at the start of every day and working out what the very next step I need to take is. Never mind all those other things that need to be done. What is the very next step I need to take to make progress?
I’m also controlling just how many items I’m putting on my to-do list. Ideally, I want around three major things that need to be completed on that day. Of course, there are plenty of other things on my list as well, but these aren’t as pressing. I try not to prioritise too many tasks. Only the ones that really do need to be done immediately. I have a terrible habit of throwing absolutely everything that needs to be done at some point in the far future onto my daily to-do list in an attempt to make myself feel productive, even if it’s completely impossible to get them all done right now. It’s actually more stressful doing it this way too. Keeping my to-do list to a manageable level is helps me feel more in control.
I’m also adding on tasks that are not necessarily for productivity, but are just for me. My writing is important, and while I’m working on my creative process and easing myself back into my creative work, I’m also trying to make sure that I keep taking care of myself. So some of the items on my to-do list are things like going for a short walk with the dogs and seeing the sun occasionally. Working on a craft project. Tidying my room so I can relax in an orderly, peaceful environment. Making sure I stay a priority as well as my work makes me feel good, because then I can feel fulfilled from creating, but also relaxed and rested from taking care of myself as well.
Finding my creative flow again is proving to be a bigger task than I hoped it would be. I suppose I was hoping that I’d be able to jump right back into writing full force. But I’m taking it slowly, building in a new schedule, breaking my tasks down into the next possible step, and making sure I don’t overload myself, and I’m hoping that, with a bit of work, patience, and experimentation, I’ll be right back on track with my writing, my motivation, and my zest for creativity in the very near future.
Photo by Renáta-Adrienn on Unsplash
