The Jagged Lifestyle

Writing is, to borrow a turn of phrase from musician Tal Wilkenfeld, a ‘jagged lifestyle’. It isn't a straight line to your destination and there are high points and low points. Some very high, some very challenging. How do you sustain a creative career, especially at times of the year when work is quieter?

I this post I talked to CMCOSCA registered counsellor Dolina Munro in order to get advice on how creative writers can sustain themselves during challenging times.

In this post :

• The creative life can be a wonderful trade
• Why a jagged lifestyle is unavoidable
• Preparing for what you can't predict
• How creative workers can sustain themselves in winter
• Why rest matters for creative work
• Important markers for mental health
• Creativity as a way to regulate mood and energy
• Tried and tested creative interventions to improve wellbeing

The creative life can be a wonderful trade

At its best, it's a wonderful trade to be in. You get to work with amazing colleagues, stretch yourself, develop as an artist, travel. I loved working in television for this reason. When you're doing a documentary, you get to get very deep into a subject. People generously let you into their lives, feelings and memories. I remember when I worked on plays like Homers (Nick Hern Books - not an affiliate link) and I was a Beautiful Day, I would go to bed early so that the next day would arrive quicker. 

Why a jagged lifestyle is unavoidable

Of course, there are plenty of pressure points built into the nature creative work.  The balance between too much work and too little is always shifting. The notes process can be difficult. Knotty story issues. Bad reviews. Lack of commissioning opportunities. Getting paid.

The writer’s life seems to be full of black swan events. It is hard to make predictions about what will happen, difficult to map any kind of career path. A guest post from coach Sarah Fox looks in greater depth, into the kinds of issues freelancers face and how to frame positive responses to them.

Maybe Nassim Taleb’s advice in the book ‘The Black Swan’ is good – in the face of unpredictability the best approach is to :

focus on maximum tinkering and recognizing opportunities when they present themselves.

Preparing for what you can't predict

How best to go about the tinkering and the preparing? I guess just doing the work is the thing. Pitching ideas and trying to get projects off the ground is proactive. Working on developing your network of contacts is good. Continually working on your craft and learning is the centre of it, no matter what else is going on.

The investor Warren Buffet reads most of the day and acts seldomly. But when he has to act, he’s done the work. Leave any despair behind that you’re not ‘working’ and get ready for the next black swan event. the moment when someone says, ‘we were thinking of you for this project’. As Richard Feynaman said, "the work is the prize."

Another way to do the work is to get inspiration from others, mentors (living or not), people whose work excites you, and your peers. 

I think having the habit of a writing a reflective journal is key. It helps one spot patterns, think through writing, see changes over time and themes reappearing. I write about this in my post Uncovering Stories.

How creative workers can sustain themselves in winter

The winter months can be especially challenging. Work opportunities can naturally slow down over the festive season. Payment is slower and tax needs to be paid. So I asked the CMCOSCA registered counsellor Dolina Munro what advice she would give. How do we sustain ourselves when energy is at a low ebb?

Dolina framed the question as "How can those in the creative arts keep themselves sustained through the harshest months of the year?" She writes:

This time of year can be challenging for everyone, but for those who work creatively then resilience can be tested when energy is at a low ebb. The long dark days continue, work may dry up and the bills continue to come in.

One of the first things to come to terms with in the winter, is that we are not designed to do, produce or create at the same level as the rest of the year. Acceptance of our need to slow down, to listen to our body and respond to it is a healthy way to approach the winter months.

Why rest matters for creative work

Dolina says that for many people, doing is connected with productivity and creativity and that just ‘being’ is one of the hardest states to achieve. However, not being productive, resting and recharging are essential to our psychological and physical wellbeing and a much needed part of restoration. 

It is just as important for our bodies and minds to be as to do. How do you feel about doing nothing? If this feels counter intuitive, take it slowly but find small ways to be still. Helpful ways to embrace stillness include mindful body scans or meditations, listening to music without any other distractions, time out from screens at home and in nature and being present in the moment and listening to your surroundings. If your body had a voice, what would it be saying to you right now?

Important markers for mental health

Dolina explains that as well as listening to our bodies, it’s helpful to check in with ourselves and take stock of how we’re responding to our lives. She says that important markers to look out for in terms of our mental health connect to functioning.

How am I sleeping, eating, relating to others? Do I feel more irritated by people than usual, am I worrying or ruminating? The quality of our thoughts are symptomatic of how well we are doing mentally. If we tend towards anxiety and depression and become stuck in mental loops it can feel all-consuming and difficult to use our minds creatively.

An understanding of our brains can help us see why creativity may be thwarted when we are stuck in these emotional states.

It is interesting to understand what is happening in our brains when we feel down or anxious. When we are overwhelmed emotionally the right side of our brain is activated and the left side which helps us regulate and think rationally is offline. If we are feeling overwhelmed emotionally we often struggle to rationalise and analyse situations healthily and we might lash out or retreat.

Creativity as a way to regulate mood and energy

Dolina points out that one of the ways to help change our mood and energy is by bringing the left hand side of the brain online again by doing activities which create movement from one side of the brain to the other.

Some of the best interventions for left and right hand brain activities are creative. Creativity avoids intellectualising feelings and widens our focus. As it can include all of the senses, creativity is a route direct way to feeling better and can meet the unconscious part of ourselves.

Dolina says, to begin helping ourselves when energy is limited or our mindset is low, we need to consider which of our senses is most dominant.

Think about whether your dominant sense is visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory or gestatory. Take time to consider which senses seem most dominant and will have the strongest affect on your wellbeing and choose activities accordingly.

Tried and tested creative interventions to improve wellbeing

Here are three interventions which Dolina suggests trying - singing, drawing and motion. Dolian says, whilst it can be healing to be still and do less in the winter but we can still find simple ways to change our energy - emotions are meant to move.

Singing is a great activity for changing your energy. A song in the shower, whilst making food or in the car can change how you feel in that moment. The science behind this points to activation of the vagus nerve which is part of the parasympathetic nervous system. You might notice your mood changes when you sing, or that you get goosebumps, this is thanks to the nervous system awakening.

Drawing whilst listening to music is another activity which creates another instant change in energy. The bilateral stimulation activates both sides of the brain. Trauma memory is held in the creative brain on the right hand side so activities like drawing and letting the pen take a line whilst listening to music give a space between feelings and thoughts. This space allows for new thoughts and feelings – helping us to become unstuck.

Motion is part of emotion. Listen to a song and draw what you feel. Don’t overthink it. This is why dancing, tapping, stretching and exercise all allow energy to flow and become unstuck.

Dolina's advice, at a time of year when we feel less alive – is to lean into your inner world and get in touch with your mind, body and senses. Thanks to Dolina for her time in sharing her insights with us. Here is one final insight which I love.

If you’re feeling particularly stuck, draw your life story over a couple of pages. Notice the patterns or write a new chapter. Looking at how far you’ve come can help give perspective to the current situation you are in.