There’s a very specific kind of frustration I keep running into. Not the kind where I’m stuck or out of ideas. The opposite. I’ve got too many of them. It looks productive from the outside. Feels like I’m doing a lot. But if I’m honest, not much actually lands.
In sure it's no surprise, as an artist I’ve dealt with this as well. I’ve been trying to integrate my beliefs in a way that reduces this friction.
What has helped me is that when I have an idea I’m curious and excited about, I try to work it into a rough draft the same day. If it’s a good idea, it survives that process. If it wasn’t as strong as I first thought, that usually reveals itself because I can’t finish the rough draft in one sitting.
In those cases, sometimes the idea becomes smaller content, like a note. Other times, I save it, and it might make a cameo in a later piece.
This is basically my vetting process for ideas. If I can write a rough draft of an essay in one sitting, I know the idea has merit, and that it’s coming from a place of knowledge. If I can’t, the idea usually needs more time to mature.
The last 10% of a project is always the hardest. Not because it's difficult but because it's tedious and I'm burned out on it by then.
I totally know what you mean. All the novelty has worn off. 😇
This is the part where I absolutely cannot put the project down “for a while,” because deep down I know I’d never return to it.
I deal with the same and hoped you had an easy fix!
I wish I had, sorry…
But hey, look, a squirrel 🐿️
You mean the bird?
That too... And while I’m at it, I should probably start yet another journal or art project.
An expensive one, preferably. 😆
In sure it's no surprise, as an artist I’ve dealt with this as well. I’ve been trying to integrate my beliefs in a way that reduces this friction.
What has helped me is that when I have an idea I’m curious and excited about, I try to work it into a rough draft the same day. If it’s a good idea, it survives that process. If it wasn’t as strong as I first thought, that usually reveals itself because I can’t finish the rough draft in one sitting.
In those cases, sometimes the idea becomes smaller content, like a note. Other times, I save it, and it might make a cameo in a later piece.
This is basically my vetting process for ideas. If I can write a rough draft of an essay in one sitting, I know the idea has merit, and that it’s coming from a place of knowledge. If I can’t, the idea usually needs more time to mature.