Stress and Creativity

[przed]

So, apparently I'm not good at the whole writing thing when I'm stressed.

Once the already promised Christmas stories were done, I only managed to write one measly 300 word piece whilst I was in the ranks of the unemployed. I was hoping I could do much better than that.

On the other hand, in the one week since I've been back working full time, I'm almost 2,000 words into a brand new piece.

Clearly my writing brain enjoys the security of being employed.

My vidding brain, not so much. I managed to complete two vids while I was off, one of them in less than three weeks from start to finish. This is epic, since the last time I finished a vid was March 2008! (I went back and checked, and was shocked, shocked I tell you, that it was so long ago.) Mind you, I've always known that I could vid when I was a brain-damaged, sleep-deprived zombie. Being stressed about the job situation probably put me into a similar state.

On the job front, things are going well so far. I've done two small projects (a Word template for their admin. assistants, and revisions to documentation for a new application) and both have gone over well. I am having to adjust to their work culture, though. They're really into meetings and talking about doing stuff before actually doing it. I'm more the type to just get stuck into a project. I'm sure I'll get used to the new environment.

Comments

[sooguy.livejournal.com]

Funny how visual creative is okay when stressed, but writing is not.

I know what you mean about the passage of time. I look at stuff that I feel like I wrote yesterday and realize its been 5 years since I wrote it.

Good luck at settling into the new job. How's the commute?

[saintvic.livejournal.com]

So, apparently I'm not good at the whole writing thing when I'm stressed.
I can understand that, when I am stressed about something all my energy goes into that whether I want it to or not really.

Fantastic news about the job and how things are going ♥.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

I'm more familiar with this problem that I really care to think about. It's been almost 9 weeks since I've posted anything and I only write short stories. Why does this feel like saying, "forgive me father, it's been 9 weeks since my last confession?" *g*

2,000 words? Yay! *twirls you*

I'm glad to hear that the new job is going well but "Eeeek!" to a meeting culture. I used to calculate how much of my working week was spent in meetings but it got depressing, so I stopped doing it.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I think it comes down to the fact that the two forms are using different cognitive faculties. The vidding uses a lot of pattern recognition formulation stuff, but not the language centres so much. So if I'm kinda loopy and brain dead, I might not be able to string a coherent sentence together, but I can put together the visual jigsaw puzzle that a vid ultimately is.

The commute for the new job is awesome. It's at Bay & Davenport, so it's a straight shot on the subway, and then a five minute work north. I've been getting in way early, which my new boss has assured me also means that I can leave equally way early.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I was deluding myself that I was handling the stress okay, but the creative output does not lie. The vidding thing was an interesting surprise. I got way more vids done while stressed and unemployed than while happily employed. Of course, vidding is a hobby that benefits from long stretches of time, such as you only get whilst unemployed once you have a kidlet. I suspect the vid production is heading for another major drop downwards.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I imagine having your OH unemployed is as stressful as being there yourself. Plus, it sounds like your job is on the wacky side too. Here's hoping you get your mojo back.

That 2,000 words. It's all for you, baby. Stay tuned and you'll see what I mean. (I'm hoping I can get the sucker done in a few more days, and then all will be revealed.)

As to a meeting culture, yeah, it's going to be a change. In my old job, I never went to a meeting that I didn't call and didn't run. I got very efficient at finding out what people's needs were and filling them (oh, that sounds rather dirty, doesn't it?) without a lot of blather surrounding it. I suspect I'm going to be learning some patience.

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

It is oddly stressful. He's not good at being out of work which I guess I should be grateful for *g* and he's putting such a lot of effort in to not being depressed around me as he knows my job is very stressful right now that his effort is stressing me out too. It's not that I don't appreciate it but we're usually more direct with each other than that.

We have meetings about meetings that will meet to decide on further meetings. All in the name of inclusion but really it's a dog and pony show.

On the bright side though... 2,000 words, for me? *dances* *twirls you*