There's an insidious little effect that happens when you strike a chord with an audience or you go viral. You grow a voice in the back of your head that says "now make them happy again" and the "art" immediately switches from "something I do to get my message out" to "wait, what do The People want to hear though?". And THAT kills motivation, and creativity and any sort of momentum you had going on. So whenever you attract an audience, you have to be really careful to make sure you're still making art for the only reason that matters: cause YOU have things YOU want to say.

@@ToLiveCreatively Very true, but very difficult. Especially with how much our output is tied financially to whether or not we attract an audience. There probably is some truth to people recommending not making your art your job, but at the same time it'd be nice to be able to live off of doing something artistically/creatively fulfilling. I guess that's the dilemma though.

That's a perfect reframing of your mindset! And if you keep watering it and maintaining that mindset it's gonna help you so much with removing that "what if" blocker from when you try to work. Math...wow...the purest of sciences. I salute you

Oh yay! Learning how to relax is a lost art, I agree. And yeah I struggle with this all the time myself...looking at an empty page, trying to write for hours, when I could've just played a video game and ended up in the same place. So yeah, sometimes the right answer is to step as far away as possible from the task itself, and reorganize later.

Same tbh, it's really good for structuring my working days even.

Thank you hahaha! Strawberry shake is super easy to make! Frozen strawberries, some yogurt, some milk, and a bit of honey!

I hope some of what I said helps! Thanks for watching once again!

Thank you! I hope it's clearer

That is incredibly kind thank you! It gives me the motivation to keep going actually, cause you never know if those songs are actually connecting with anyone. Thank you so much for this.

Hey thank you so much for watching! So what I do is I have a 4 day program. I'll go on Monday and Tuesday, rest on Wednesday, go again on Thursday and Friday, and then I can have the weekend for myself. If I didn't walk the dog as much I'd probably do cardio on Wednesdays and maybe like Saturdays but honestly I already feel like I'm getting enough of that you know? For the usual gym time slot on Wednesdays I'll either work a little extra on my projects OR I'll do an "input day". A day in which I'll go to a museum or an expo or hang out with a friend, so that my creative output is enriched and changed

@@ToLiveCreatively Oh I absolutely love the idea of an input day! I'll definitely try to create a version of that for myself, thanks 😁

@@nyappy511 Give it a go! Last month I went to the city history museum and I found some miniatures there that I had a sudden urge to write a story about, so hey who knows what sort of inspiration lies just around the corner

Hey thank you so much! It was really fun to make this video tbh As for how the work block looks like...I'm gonna make my next video about that. In the meantime: usually what I do is I will set a goal for that block of time. That's all that matters. I can take breaks and I usually do. I also allow for "5 minute distractions" to take over sometimes. Like if I remember to do laundry or call the bank I'll do that and get back to working, because it doesn't really interrupt the flow that much. When I finish my goal, I will call it a day. Doesn't matter if it's 6pm or like 3pm. The goal is done, the day is done. Maybe I'll work on a few things here and there that have spilled over from past days, but other than that, I will move on to the reward portion of the day. Also if I DON'T finish the work I'll reassess why the next day. Maybe the task was too big and I need to cut it down, maybe I lacked a resource or a tool, or maybe I forgot to do a prep task that would make the actual task easier. And I'll course correct and do it better next time.

@@ToLiveCreatively Thanks! That’s a good way of doing that. I’ve run into the problem in the past of trying to schedule out my time to work but often feel like it’s too much or too little, so I’ll either feel finished but still feel that I should work on something, or worse I won’t feel finished and then I can’t relax afterwards. So it’s cool that you have a system for that sort of thing. Also, good to hear about breaks, though I’d still wonder how you decide to time those breaks and then move back into work, but you should save that for your video. I look forward to it!

I mean I AM 45 years old. It had to drop someday.

I'm so glad it helps! And thank you so much for taking the time to watch, it means a lot!

I'd love to hear some of what you've created. That's been my exact experience actually...thinking I needed to quit this one thing I loved because I was afraid or ashamed, only to discover this reality IS the only one I know and the only one I got, so I might as well be embarrassing in it. We only got this one shot.

Thanks I had an outside expert consulting 😉

Thank YOU for taking the time to watch it!

This is honestly exactly how I feel. And that lack of energy and time is a vicious cycle that sucks out more energy and time. I'm trying to find me way out of this myself.

here with you, glad this video struck the same chord. it's worth trying, at least worth trying to escape the dreary rhythm of the system

Thanks for watching man! And yeah this could apply to virtually anything you choose to do with your free time. Even the people you spend time with. There's a lesson to be learned everywhere.

Thanks man! And thanks for commenting! Finding the motivation to work on my creative projects is still a work in progress but I'm getting there.

Well thanks for taking the time to watch it!

I struggled for like a whole minute to settle on this analogy 😁

Hey you like what you like and it's funny how we think that somehow that isn't enough for...something? iono Thanks for watching!

I mean if it's not gaming it could be anything else that occupies your down time! Anything you're trying to learn would benefit from these basic ideas ✌🏼

Thank you so much for watching!

Thanks man! Thanks for taking the time. I have a different perspective on this, cause I don't know if one can define one hobby as "more meaningful" as another. I mean...maybe if your hobby is saving abandoned puppies, then ok yeah maybe that's a better use of your time than FIFA. But if you're playing, while at the same time giving time and energy to your job, your family, your SO...who's to say why that time isn't meaningfully invested?

I use two things basically: identify and pause. When I identify that something's crossed over, I pause the activity for a few days. I don't say "I'm never gonna do this again" cause that adds guilt to the process if ever I pick up the activity once again. As to how I identify it? Honestly? If I have a nightmare about it, it's time to take a step back. Also, I have a pretty strict bedtime, so if I miss it two nights in a row, it means I'm getting a little too into it.

but what do you use to identify it? What things do you look for to recognize you've crossed to unhealthiness?

Exactly what I said. If it messes up my sleep schedule or if I have nightmares about it then it's time to pause. Also when I notice chores and tasks piling up cause I'm no longer making time for those.

oops sorry, i just noticed i didn't read the whole message you wrote. Silly "read more" was not being loud enough for me to see it :)

😊😊😊

Thank you so much for watching, honestly.

Hahahaha thanks for the energy Spoon, this is what we do this for 😁

Thank you so much!

It's super difficult to make that mental change but it's worth it! Little by little is the only way to do it as well. Be kind to yourself and remember that relaxing is not a guilty pleasure, it's a necessity!

@@ToLiveCreatively Thank you!

Well you don't need to be as good. BTW if you have the means to get his Masterclass videos, I highly recommend it.

Funny you should mention that, I actually have a script for that right now, but I'm refining in mostly cause it's a lot of B-Roll where I'm cooking stuff, so I need to plan carefully. But it's coming!

@@ToLiveCreatively I am looking forward to it!!

This is quite honestly really high praise...I hope that this silly video will help you to reconnect with that creativity that you have inside you. Keep your hands busy with automatic tasks, I promise it works and also it ends up giving you a clean house which helps with mental clutter as well! Win win. Thank you for your words.

Thanks Spoon! Education definitely needs an overhaul. We're leaving a lot of kids behind mostly cause they don't fit into this neat "one size fits all" teaching method they devised...iono centuries ago?

Baymax is that you

It's the shame that'll get ya. But every small step towards your own internal recovery is progress. Huge progress even. Proud of you.

Tiny and achievable goals is such a smart way to frame it. That's exactly what we need tbh

Thanks for watching man, I'm just trying my best here

Hahahaha nah just another video with horrible jokes 😁

I love it when a plan comes together like this 😉

You're so welcome 😉

If anything I said helps then I'm super happy ☺️

Glad you enjoyed it!

The past few weeks he's definitely thought I've lost my mind

@@ToLiveCreatively😂

Don't get me wrong, doing work only to survive is a fine way to live and to live productively. But if you have an itch somewhere and you don't know why you feel so aimless than definitely asking these questions help. Try something new. New hobbies. Visit a new city. Change your scenery for a while. Changing your input modifies your output and you'd be surprised how much a visit to the local museum (for example) changes your perspective

Yeah that sums it up pretty good! I’ll keep you updated 😊

Please do. I'm invested now ☺️

Likewise actually. Keep going with the good work of thinking about who you are and what you want cause that's where the answers are! I hope 😁

Learning how to be by yourself and hang out with yourself is incredibly important. Cause then you'll only allow people in your life that actually ADD to it. Instead of looking for someone to "complete" you or fill the quiet spaces. I wish you luck in Italy. And if it doesn't work out with him, remember...it's Italy. There's a thousand things to see more interesting than boys 😁 My personal favorite is the stray cat shelter beneath the ruins of the site where they stabbed Julius Caesar. Torre Argentina I believe it's called, look it up if you're going to Rome!

Thank you so much. Thanks for taking the time to check these ramblings out

I'm sorry. Tbh it took me a few takes to get through that sequence in one piece.

Para atrás ni para tomar viada me dijo alguna vez un hombre sabio