(Say THAT title five times fast!)
Call me a horse girl, cuz I’m back in the saddle, baby!
Hello, beautiful readers. Remember me? Welcome back to TCC where I pop into your inbox every weekend for chats about creativity and mindset shifts for artists!
It’s been a hot minute, and longer than I intended to be away. What began as an intentional week off of writing to better enjoy and be present for a weekend with loved ones spiraled into a 4-week hiatus…so let’s talk about it.
I’d like to begin by stating two truths that I think bear reminding:
We are all deserving of rest.
Creative ruts happen to the best of us.
Now that those conceits are out of the way, I wanna pick apart some themes I’ve noticed in this past month about the fine, fine line between rest and a creative rut:
Rest Ruiner: Good Old Guilt
Firstly, I want to talk about the guilt that can quickly mar even our most intentional attempts at rest. When I decided I couldn’t (and also simply didn’t want to) fit in time over a family weekend to write the blog, I tried sooo hard to remind myself that taking breaks is okay. It’s summer time, for crying out loud!
Reassuring yourself of the morals you profess to live by and actually believing them to your core, however, are two different cans o’ worms. And it’s hard as fuck to let a belief like “you deserve time off and don’t need to justify it” take root when you exist in a culture that values productivity above all, and where employers will make you justify your requested time off with a written explanation. How, then, do we silence the ball-busting manager in our own heads?
I don’t have a perfect answer, other than staying the course and trying to put guilt on the shelf and enjoy what you can of your time away. Boundaries can also help ⬇️
Intentional Rest is Best
The more intentional you can be in setting boundaries and parameters around your rest, the less reason you have to feel guilty about it. Whether that looks like deciding to take an hour for gentle yoga before returning to your task or *slams laptop shut until Monday*, establishing a timeline ensures your rest is protected and can assuage guilt because you know when it’s time to get back to work. And until then, your rest time is yours and can look like whatever you want.
P.S. Persistent guilt whenever you take a break or stray from a task can also be an important indicator that you’re uncomfortable with rest…and therefore probably need it more than most. I’m lookin’ at you, workaholics!
When Rest Goes Rogue
What happened very quickly after my first weekend off was a proclivity to seek out reasons not to sit down and write. I told myself, “A two week vacation from writing makes total sense… It’s summer, for crying out loud!” Rest had turned, as it so often can, into avoidance.
Looking back, there were several root causes of this. Firstly, I actually was pretty damn busy — traveling several weekends in a row and doing things that generally disrupted my routines.
As a result of that full calendar, I let my maintenance habits slip. Morning pages, eating actual meals…these things can be taken for granted until you realize what they had been doing for you because they’re not doing it anymore. (This is how I feel about my ADHD medication: when I take it, I feel “normal”. I still struggle to focus sometimes, and sometimes wonder if it even helps… Until I miss a dose. Then, when I cease normal functioning, I’m like ohhhh right, haven’t had my meds today! That’s why everything is hard!)
Creativity Loves Consistency
Without my morning pages, I wasn’t even writing daily or taking stock of my thoughts and feelings anywhere. No wonder I’d come to week’s end and feel like I had nothing to say. I let the foundations for my creativity crumble, and let the “lack of inspiration” become my next excuse, continuing the avoidance that was now masquerading as an extension of a rest period.
I’m having trouble finding the exact quote, but Seth Godin has said something along the lines of:
I don’t sit down to write every day because I have something to say. I have something to say because I sit down every day to write.
This is the key that I had forgotten in my stagnation: inspiration follows action, not the other way around. I needed to just sit down with my laptop (as I’m forcing myself to do now) and get something out instead of waiting for the perfect idea to hit me.
No-Exit Rest ➡️ Creative Rut
I also made a fatal mistake entering my #restera that I now realize propelled me into a rut with no rescue ladder: I went into rest mode without a clear exit strategy.
Would you go on an adventurous hike without making sure you knew the route back to base camp? I think not. And yet, when it comes to off-roading from a creative project, I didn’t set myself up for a successful re-entry to routine once I’d taken some time off.
I didn’t decide on a topic for the week I’d return to the blog, or block off the necessary time in my calendar to write. (These are two things I consistently do for my writing to reduce mental lift when it’s time to actually sit down at my laptop and write.) In neglecting to remember how much harder it is to get the creative wheels turning when they’ve got a week of rust on them, I dove head-first into R&R mode without securing a lifeline for my future self, essentially writing myself a one-way ticket to falling into a rut and getting stuck there.
If you take anything away from this discussion, let it be this: Please take time for dedicated rest. But give your future self the gift of tending to the transition out of rest before you relax — and get rusty.
(This is the creative equivalent of having the foresight to order grocery delivery to be delivered when you’re getting back from a vacation, travel-weary, and food is the last thing on your mind. You’ll be thanking your past self for the fully stocked refrigerator and one less thing to worry about.)
Rust Removal
Now it’s time to shake off the rust and get back to your creative endeavors. *Gulp*
This will feel scarier the longer you’ve been away. I know this personally — every week that’s slipped by without writing this blog has made the following week’s attempt more daunting…and therefore easier to justify avoiding 😬
Knowing that the rustier you get, the stiffer your attempts at getting the ball rolling again will be is useful information. This is why, if you can, James Clear’s “never miss twice” rule is a good one to stick to. You won’t get very rusty if you get back on the horse the next day and brush off the gap as a fluke. Longer breaks in habits become habit-forming in their own way and wreak havoc on our all-or-nothing brains.
But, Pobody’s Nerfect!
If you have, like me, been away from a regular practice for longer than one “missed” cycle, give yourself lots of grace in getting your stride back. I’m getting this post up on a Sunday rather than my usual Saturday schedule, but acknowledging that imperfect and done is better than perfect and pushed off for another week.
I’ve also been writing this piece in several shorter spurts of flow than my usual sit-downs where I can conjure a whole draft without breaking a sweat. Knowing my “stamina” isn’t what it once was, I can adjust my strategy for next week and start writing sooner in the week than Thursday, to give myself a longer on-ramp to finishing a post. As you get back into a creative project, give yourself a long on-ramp and anticipate (and accept) imperfection.
I’ve throughly released myself from the need for this week’s blog to be the most brilliant thing I’ve ever written, to somehow prove on my re-entry that I deserve to write or that my hiatus was a net-positive. Nope! In fact, this all might be a deeply meta mess! But it’s a start, and that’s all it needs to be. The snowball effect will take care of the rest.
If you, too, have been taking some time off this summer, I hope it has been restorative and fulfilling. And if you’re currently in the process of getting back into the swing of things or will be soon returning to your work as a creative, I’m here for you, cheering you on ❤️
These Are a Few of My Favorite Things (this week)
This is where I’m gonna be sharing assorted cool shit. It’s also a place for me to put you onto some of the coolest people I have the pleasure to know, pay it forward, and give folks their flowers. You can always scroll to this part if you’re a TL;DR type of person. I won’t judge.
Jammin’ On:
🏅 The Olympics
Dude, I am not a sports person, but…just watch them. It’s surprisingly emotional watching people work incredibly hard and achieving their dreams!!
Plus, you might find yourself having the best time a person can have: sitting on your couch judging people achieving superhuman feats you could only dream of attempting, because Ooh, that diver over-rotated on her entry. Big splash = bad!
🏳️🌈 National Anthem
If this movie is available near you, go see it!
Heartwarming ✅ Unabashedly queer ✅ Found family ✅ Coming of age ✅ Well-scripted and shot ✅ Stellar performances ✅
Trust me & just go, okay.
Crafting Connections
This is where I’m gonna leave you with a big ol’ question. Something to ponder, have a moment with your journal over, or to connect about with me & other creatives in the comments. To not only (hopefully) connect to one another, but to connect the dots between the seemingly unrelated, and connect to yourself in ways you may not have considered yet!
When you have been in a creative rut, or a prolonged period of “bed rotting”, what has brought you back to life, your projects, and routines?
Does anything signal to you that you might be entering a rut period?
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts & musings! 👇
xx
Kat
Resources & Ways to Work Together:
🔬 Courageous Creatives Lab - Courageous Creatives Lab is a home for actors to experiment regularly, applying the scientific method to their craft & career pain points. In this transformative 8-week group coaching program, you’ll get clear on your unique strengths and artistic POV so you can marry your craft & creative process to your career strategy. Feel solid in who you are & what you bring, and flexible as hell in how you bring it ✨ Get on our mailing list to be first to find out when the next cohort is happening!
✍🏻 The Aligned Actor 2024 Workbook - A free Notion workbook chock full o’ journaling prompts & thought exercises to get you honed in on your career desires for the upcoming year, and clear on what actions to take to bring that vision to life! Prepare to, as we like to say in the biz, get specific. Great to revisit for your quarterly reviews!
✨Audition With Intention✨ Notion Pack - The streamlined, customizable digital home for your acting career that cultivates a space for mindful metrics, regular reflection, and goal setting so you can chart your own course in the theatre industry.
⚔️ Side Quests - Move forward on your creative projects by giving yourself the gift of time to explore them from new angles. Side Quests are free Zoom meetings to fall down research rabbit holes, pull unexpected threads, and share your findings in community (inspired by this blog post if your memory needs jogging)— you never know what might inspire a new direction! Sign up here to RSVP for the next Side Quest.