The Hubris of Creatives
Other than a few minor work-related tasks to deal with on Monday, I’m officially on break until January 2. This is the part of the calendar I can look forward to throughout the rest of the year. It provides me the time to put my day-job aside for longer than a weekend, allowing me the opportunities to spend time on projects I’ve neglected. Unfortunately, it’s this time of year that I fall for the hubris of creatives—believing free time can be dedicated solely to being creative.Every year, I go into this 10-day span with a laundry list of projects I want to work on—make progress on a novel, paint that outlined canvas on my easel, redesign my website. The latter is most often what I focus on, eating up a large chunk of time. Thankfully, I redesigned my website over Thanksgiving break, so I can focus on something else.
This year, I’m not going in with a laundry list. I am forcing myself to relax, hoping my mind won’t be preoccupied, allowing the creative inspiration to flow more naturally, rather than feel forced.
Earlier in the year, I went through a period when I worked for nearly three weeks straight with no break. The easel with a half-finished painting sat in my office. I decided to take a day off of all my responsibilities—my fiancée was even handling my morning chores like taking care of the chickens—so I can paint. Unfortunately, I forced myself to paint so much that when I sat down at the easel, I was exhausted, I was unhappy with every stroke. It was a terrible day off and I don’t want my holiday break to feel like this.
Julie Brunet, a friend and creative collaborator of mine, wrote a column back in August about how creatives can never relax during a vacation because we always want to focus on a craft we’ve set aside. “Could it be that our daily lives have become so intense, so busy and filled to the brim that we only unearth [artistic] spaces during our annual summer leave?”
Instead of forcing myself into a specific mindset or project, I’m keeping my plans open. If inspiration strikes, I’ll follow it. If it doesn’t, that’s okay too. At the very least, I’ll return on January 2 feeling rested—and maybe that’s the most creative gift I can give myself.