Having a personal creative block

[crankyoldman]

At least, I think I am. I've been ruminating on this all morning, because well, I have free time now that I've been working. And while I've been doing a lot more creative stuff at this job, it's not you know, MINE exactly. And I find myself not wanting to do much at all in my free time.

Rest is good, of course, but am I just in a lazy mood... forever? I haven't felt the need to write, or sew, or even play around with graphics or anything outside of work. I just come home and watch TV and if I'm feeling extra with it I read a book or play a videogame. I was starting to think it was because I stared at a screen all day, but that just doesn't seem to be the case MOST days (some days, like yesterday where I spent an entire day in Illustrator on a hugeass flow diagram... that counts as needing a break).

Ladyfriend pointed this out, because well, my participation in anything hobby related has dwindled. It was within the context of fanfic and while I maybe thought that hobby was simply something I was no longer interested in, that's really not the case. I still get stupid excited over reading fic and seeing reviews and things...

Any of you sorts out there know how to pace your creative energy better between a job and hobbies? Am I becoming unable to concentrate or something? It's just really weird and I think that it's a little more than a simple "not feeling into it".

Comments

[flecksofpoppy]

I have no idea if my experience is applicable, but sometimes, it's okay to just be, regardless of the reason. At the same time, if you're generally a creative person and you intuitively feel like you're missing something, after a long while, perhaps it might be worth looking into more closely. I feel like just "existing" outside work and etc. is underrated, mostly because for a long time I felt the need to DO SOMETHING ALL THE TIME. I feel like when inspiration and head space strikes, it just catapults you back into the universe of inspiration. But like I said, that's me, and it's certainly not applicable to everyone. I definitely wax and wane, but sometimes, it's as simple as one day desiring to stare at the television, and the next falling into a certain head space and doing effortlessly creative things with it. "Effortlessly" being, it just kind of... arrives. Of course, as I've said about 1,000 times at this point, that's me. But for what it's worth, there's my perspective. XD

If all else fails, look at L.L. Bean's website and think of dicks.