on productivity and art block
I think we can all agree that we’ve all been there. When we don’t want to get up from bed and just had the urge to binge-watch every TV series and movies Netflix could possibly offer. I’ll admit, I’m there right now. Except I don’t have the urge to binge watch a bunch of shows or movies. I pretty much have the attention span of a 5-year-old at this point, thanks to TikTok.
I actually started writing this in May, and I only got back to it when September was almost ending. I almost almost blame this personal creative burnout on my experience in the last two years of high school because of the never-ending outputs they demanded from us. I know, it’s never really a good thing to put the blame on other things when things like this are within your control (I’m working on it, I promise.)
For someone who can rarely find the time to create any personal art recently, you can imagine how tired I’ve been, especially when I just started online college. Suffice to say, I’m still experiencing burnout to this day. I only look productive because of the iced coffee along with the impending deadlines on my Google Calendar. I honestly don’t know why I’m writing this when I’m basically the writer who doesn’t write and the artist who doesn’t make art. I know, ironic.
But then again, in such a fast-paced environment no matter where we are, we really can’t avoid getting exhausted from the things we do. And sometimes, it sucks that we get tired of doing the things we love doing. But it happens, and I feel your pain. It happens to the best of us.
On days when I have a couple of things on my (never-ending) to do list, I usually watch college or school vlogs on YouTube so that I’m vicariously motivated to be productive to work on what I need to do for the day. But obviously, that isn’t enough to keep me going, which is why I almost always have iced coffee with me so that I feel like I have to do something or else, it would be “for nothing.”
Still, this doesn’t magically bring back your motivation to create things for yourself. Like I always say, just take it one day at a time. Things like this don’t happen overnight. I have noticed that whenever I’m in a creative environment or if I’m surrounded by good and creative people, it almost always makes me want to start creating again. It’s all in what makes you feel inspired to create again, whether that be going through Pinterest, looking and appreciating art posted on different platforms, walking through museums and art galleries, or just surrounding yourself with creativity or the people you love.
It’s just a matter of mindset and energy. And sometimes, it takes us a while to get back on our feet. And that’s okay. As long as you never let the fire completely burn out. The sun will rise, and we will try again.
