@friendsfan367 @Rainydayz179 @Pegasus143 @rednenemon @aroseinbloom
Oh, thank you so much for joining me in this conversation! I hope that others will also share thoughts, insights, and experiences so we can explore some more!
You know how my siggy banner says, "discover, laugh, find company, reflect, gain perspective, get inspired, shift, feel not alone?" That's exactly what this conversation has helped me to do, and also to trust, open, and grow! :)
"Pegasus143;15010963" wrote:
@CathyTea I have so many interests that involve creative energy that I figured I should probably answer your questions. It won't really be separated out by question, so sorry about that.
The whole "balancing act" thing is something that I've had to do a lot of experimenting with. For me, this changes by season:
This seasonal conversation is SO useful to me! I really see this work project falling into seasons or phases, and my life tends to be really seasonal, too, so looking at this detailed description of your seasonal structures and flow helps so much!
"Pegasus143;15010963" wrote:
-Summer: There's no school, so that means I don't have that, or homework, or robotics, or orchestra. The funny thing is, I feel like my summer is more structured than the school year is since the only real constraints for when I have to do things are what time I have to get up and the times I have to eat at. I also make sure to set aside some time in the afternoon for whatever my mom and sister want me to do. Other than those things, I can do everything else pretty much whenever I want, which means that during times that I have more creative energy (such as after showering, between snack and supper) I can focus on writing or practicing violin (during the summer it's usually 3 times/week). I read peoples' updates in the morning and evening, as well as check tumblr and youtube in the evening. In the morning after breakfast I like to do very quick and easy things (checking the forums, downloading cc, posting links to any story updates that I scheduled for earlier that morning) since I'm still waking up. Since I'm more of a night owl, I will usually have longer sessions of video gaming in the evening/at night since I usually have a lot more ideas and energy for it during that time. At this point I'm trying to do 3 updates per week of three different things, since I'm able to give more time and energy towards gaming and writing.
Your daily structure sounds so similar to mine during vacations and weekends!
"Pegasus143;15010963" wrote:
-Fall: Because of school starting, everything gets a lot more chaotic. I try to do at least 1 update per week, sometimes 2 if I have a lot of time. I'm usually not able to get the 2+ hour sessions of gaming or writing that I like to have, so I have to adjust how I do things to accommodate for that (ex. if I have to get screenshots and write an update I'll do the screenshotting during shorter chunks of time that I have and use the longer chunk that I have on Friday evenings to write the update). I also use creative energy that I'm able to get off of schoolwork in order to fuel myself for things that I need to spend a longer amount of time on (ex. if I have to read a book for English that has a very creatively-moving passage, I'll read it over as "fuel" for a longer session of writing or practicing violin). Using these "fuel stops" helps me be more efficient and somehow keeps me a bit more focused. The beginning of the school year is better for me since you get gradually introduced into doing homework and robotics isn't in full swing yet.
This is so cool to me to read about your "fuel stops"--I do that, too, all the time, and I haven't heard anyone else describe it yet! For me, when I'm getting ready for garden time, a long cello practice, a yoga session, or even sleep, I will often do a "seeding time" first--I'll look through screenshots for an upcoming chapter, or I'll read an inspiring piece of SimLit, or I'll read something I'm working on integrating into my daily practice, and then, while I'm doing the activity, I can feel the ideas being seeded by what I've looked at or read. It's much the same process as your "fueling"... only it's seeding new ideas rather than drawing from others.
I do find at the office that I will often do "sharpening" activities (like play a quick game at Lumosity or do a project that demands attention) before engaging in a task that requires a sharp attention.
I am guessing that I'll really enjoy having an inspiring novel or twelve to read this year... maybe it's time for me to return to Austen!
This is such a cool idea, the "fuel stops," and I really love your description of them!
"Pegasus143;15010963" wrote:
-Winter: I try to have any ongoing seasons of things wrapped up by the 1st or 2nd week of January since that's when we have robotics kick-off. A lot of my time and creative energy go into that, so I have to use the little bits of time that I get throughout the school day a lot more efficiently. If I have any very specific ideas for a story, I make sure to write them down and keep them in a safe spot until Spring/Summer when I write again. Any creative energy that doesn't go into robotics ends up going into violin since winter is a pretty busy time of year for performances. I might end up doing 1-2 updates per month, if I'm lucky.
This is so inspiring to me! It's neat to me to read these descriptions of how you manage to still find time for everything--I feel like I'm juggling about the same amount, and so reading your description both helps me to notice my own patterns and strategies for efficiency, inspiration, and enjoyment, and it inspires me to see the way that you give attention to all your activities, even when some of the get less attention. Really useful!
"Pegasus143;15010963" wrote:
-Spring: Once robotics and orchestra have gotten a bit less crazy, I'm able to focus on simming and writing a bit more. I try to do more simming than writing at this point to help get myself excited and inspired for the writing portion, and also to help with the very low fun motive coming out of winter. I might have 1 update per week at this point. Because of all the extra time that I end up with, I'll often get lazy and if I let myself I could spend an entire evening watching youtube, so I still have to be a bit more organized in order to make sure that I get everything done that actually needs to get done. Attempting to do a large English assignment or be ready for orchestra auditions in only a week isn't something that I want to do again. I also get really tempted to stay up late during this time since the days are starting to get longer, but I have to keep reminding myself that I can't do that or I'll be too tired to function properly for the next week.
Reading about valuing sleep is so inspiring and useful to me, too. I got into a habit last year of staying up late to fill up the fun meter Simming and such--recently, I've shifted that--really, from my body telling me it wanted more sleep--and I'm finding that it does make the next day so much more creative if I've had a full sleep. Plus, dreams!
"Pegasus143;15010963" wrote:
The value of simming: it provides a good way to get my fun level up during winter, but I usually only play non-story save files during this time to help avoid some of the frustration that happens with my story saves.
The value of Simlit: things happening during the school year need to be put at a higher priority than this, however if problems in my life or other thoughts in my head are preventing me from doing my best work, this is a very good way to vent and clear my head.
This is such a great way to look at it! For me, this year, my work project needs to be put at a higher priority than Simming and SimLit--doing a good job with this project will demand my best, so I've got to have that focus, attention, and energy available for it. I'm not going to be able to take a long lunch break to whip out a quick chapter or to daydream about my story while writing lines of code...
I very much appreciate what you say about using SimLit as a way to clear your head--I find that I can also often use Simming as a way of working through social confusion. Sometimes, when I'm having challenges understanding colleagues or bosses or when I feel that I am missing important social cues, a few hours of Simming help me to tune in to those cues that show us how others feel and also to remember or relearn some of the social rules for interacting... Not everyone acts and interacts every day as if we were sitting together on the Kindness Bench, and I somehow always end up assuming that that's where we are! So, playing Sims, especially Sims 3, where the Sims are SO picky about social rules, helps me to recalibrate to respect all the little niceties and distances that folks at the office feel comfortable with.
"Pegasus143;15010963" wrote:
I never try to completely step away from simming or writing, and I usually end up doing one or the other at least one a week. I'll also thing about it, come up with ideas, search for specific cc/mods/poses during my very small spare moments, and write scenes in longer moments, so I'm never completely "stepping away" from it.
This is very encouraging to me! I've been finding that one hour of game-play usually gives me enough material for two-to-four chapters, and I should be able to find an hour to play each week, and more likely two-to-four in separate sessions. Then, I can usually find little blocks of twenty minutes to an hour for some writing and organizing screenshots, so I should be able to keep my foot in it to some degree, even during busy seasons...
"Pegasus143;15010963" wrote:
How I imagine that this coming school year is going to be different: I have creative writing and psychology as classes this year, so I'm guessing that those will affect my simming/writing and vice-versa. I also have a lot of friends who are a year older than me who are going to be graduating at the end of the year, so I want to make time for them as well. The new strategies and things that I've learned about myself during my "experimental" sophomore year are going to come into play a lot more as well.
This sounds wonderful! It will be so neat to see the influence of both creative writing and psychology on your SimLit writing. It will also be interesting to see the ways that the themes of partings and farewells, growing up and growing older, and transitions come to play through your stories and games...
And one thing I've always found when I've established patterns that I've loved and that are useful to me is that it's interesting, through time, to see the ways that the patterns shift in order to remain useful.
Mackie, this was so useful to me! It's really helped me to see ways that I'll be able to keep involved with something I love while increasing the amount of attention that I devote to something else that I also love! Thanks!
(I also find it interesting that I can relate to so much of the way you create and use structure in your life! I wonder if it's a string-player's thing! :) For one thing, just making time for regular practice in our lives requires that create useful structures, and also, since we're always having to carefully tune our instruments, it gets us used to having to carefully tune our lives and energy each day, too! :) )
