Making people and ideas findable
Oh, for extra arms or extra hours! (responses greatly appreciated.)
Well, I'm celebrating several days now as a new Smoosier, as y'all are apparently called. So far, work hours have made it difficult to produce content. Fortunately, though, I'm moving up a little bit. I start at a new employer on August 10. Still not in my target field, but the hours are less funky and the pay is better, leaving some important resources, time and money, more easy to come by.
Undeniably, though, the most important resource is to be surrounded with good people. Amy, I'm so grateful to you for pointing me in the direction of this site, one where good minds and hearts are so plentiful. I look forward to contributing as much as I can.
I'm actually sneaking in a moment to type up this blog while at work. I do need an answer to a question that I really don't have at the moment to put into eloquent blogger-y terms. How, as fellow creative-minded people, do you not let the day-to-day grind wear you down and blunt your edge? How do you shrug off a work environment that's--well, to be kind, less than encouraging--and not just collapse after all of it? How did you... "make it?" I KNOW I have the skill-set and the genuine talent I need to make it in my chosen field, but just paying the bills in the interim means sitting for all these hours, every day, feeling like a drone. At best. Every moment I'm not at work or sleeping (and sometimes *while* at work while I can steal some time), I pro-actively network, write, search, try to focus, and otherwise work to achieve. I refuse to sit on my rump and fruitlessly whine important time away. A few things keep me going: the evidence that I'm getting in with some good contacts and things are looking up, and the knowledge that while I still have breath, I have hope.
My fear is that by the time I get any sort of financial leg to stand on, my growth is going to be irreparably stunted. The ideas still come on faster than I can even get them scribbled onto a nearby scrap, or Post-It, or e-mail reminder to myself. But they sit in queue waiting for a fulfillment that sometimes seems dauntingly far away. I need to be able to problem-solve, think critically, create, do... something. use this mind. The sort of job where you just tick into auto-pilot is not for me.
What are your own expreiences, and techniques, that have proven successful in replenishing yourself and getting to a level of really satisfying creative output? I'd really appreciate any and all help with bettering this situation.
Undeniably, though, the most important resource is to be surrounded with good people. Amy, I'm so grateful to you for pointing me in the direction of this site, one where good minds and hearts are so plentiful. I look forward to contributing as much as I can.
I'm actually sneaking in a moment to type up this blog while at work. I do need an answer to a question that I really don't have at the moment to put into eloquent blogger-y terms. How, as fellow creative-minded people, do you not let the day-to-day grind wear you down and blunt your edge? How do you shrug off a work environment that's--well, to be kind, less than encouraging--and not just collapse after all of it? How did you... "make it?" I KNOW I have the skill-set and the genuine talent I need to make it in my chosen field, but just paying the bills in the interim means sitting for all these hours, every day, feeling like a drone. At best. Every moment I'm not at work or sleeping (and sometimes *while* at work while I can steal some time), I pro-actively network, write, search, try to focus, and otherwise work to achieve. I refuse to sit on my rump and fruitlessly whine important time away. A few things keep me going: the evidence that I'm getting in with some good contacts and things are looking up, and the knowledge that while I still have breath, I have hope.
My fear is that by the time I get any sort of financial leg to stand on, my growth is going to be irreparably stunted. The ideas still come on faster than I can even get them scribbled onto a nearby scrap, or Post-It, or e-mail reminder to myself. But they sit in queue waiting for a fulfillment that sometimes seems dauntingly far away. I need to be able to problem-solve, think critically, create, do... something. use this mind. The sort of job where you just tick into auto-pilot is not for me.
What are your own expreiences, and techniques, that have proven successful in replenishing yourself and getting to a level of really satisfying creative output? I'd really appreciate any and all help with bettering this situation.
Comment
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Comment by Scott Emmett on August 19, 2009 at 7:50pm -
Right there with you. I journal in the mornings and force myself to write a formal essay every Sunday. Some are good, some are....well. The ones I like I put on my wordpress blog. What do you write about and do you post anywhere?
Ten miles actually only takes about 3-4 hours.
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Comment by Leah Barr on August 19, 2009 at 7:18pm - That's some awesome advice, though I don't know how often I'll have the time to walk 10 miles. The essays, though, I can and do engage in. Need to be more consistent about it, though. Seems there's no happy medium--either the ideas come a million miles a minute, faster than I can get it all out, or I'm too tired to think at all.
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Comment by Scott Emmett on August 19, 2009 at 12:58pm
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Yes, I understand how it feels to be treated like a body in a chair. Been there, done that, have three t-shirts. Well, I hope your new gig works out for you.
Now, you did ask the question on replenishing oneself. My "best practice" is a long hike in the woods. Never less than 10 miles. Clears the mind out like nothing else. I recommend either Low Gap or Three Lakes Trails in Morgan Monroe State Park. Both are tenners.
I also write a lot. Usually short 500-700 word essays. Lets me use my own creative impulses.
Good luck on your new job!!
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Comment by Leah Barr on August 19, 2009 at 11:47am
- I was in the old job when I posted this. Have since started my new one, at a new place, and will update on that soon. Fortunately it seems much better so far! Prev. employer treated employees like bodies in a chair. New one has similar job description, but truly engages us. It's amazing what a difference that makes, and I have not yet had a day here where I've been mentally/emotionally worn out from the frustration. (just physically tired due to abrupt schedule adjustment *lol*)
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Comment by Scott Emmett on July 29, 2009 at 5:08pm
- That's a pretty heavy-duty question. Are you frustrated in your current job? Will the new one be better?
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