This month’s guest post, by Lindsey Wohlman is an exploration of a couple big ideas to help keep your creative mind in top form — by giving it a rest once in a while, and inviting it to work in new ways.
I remember seeing a reddit post in the LifeProTip subforum years ago. A rough summary of the headline was “the three hobbies everyone should have.”
One to make money, one to stay creative, one to stay in shape.
Now, fellow artist, I acknowledge if you’re reading this, you have two combined and neither should be called a hobby. The disrespect of it all!
For the sake of this contribution, I’m going to revise it to apply its wisdom for the working artist.
First, let’s ignore the making money hobby. You’re in the creative space to do that. If you have something supplementing your creative income with other work, then you’ve checked that box thoroughly. Anything more and the pursuit of money is likely to feed into burnout.
Instead, let’s focus on the creativity and movement hobbies. And before you feel the urge to argue your creativity-for-profit counts as creativity, I encourage you to continue reading.
Creative Play
A true creative hobby should have little to no overlap to the work you cultivate for profit. It should be an endeavor where you can make a mess and make something that you might not like.
Maybe it never sees the light of day. Ok! Maybe it’s hideous. Also ok! I have sketchbooks full of scribbles and half doodles, most I’ll never look at again. They served their purpose as a steppingstone to whatever I was focused on (or avoiding) at the time.
Giving yourself the space to create for creativity’s sake is the adult version of playing. By doing this, you give yourself the necessary space and grace. There’s few things one does in their day-to-day that comes with no consequence. Giving your mind the space to experiment is a powerful place to foster new ideas. I’d compare it to taking a shower and letting your mind wander. Both lead to those ‘aha!’ moments you didn’t know you needed.
Think about how you used to play as a child. You let your brain craft wild narratives and then you acted them out. The small version of you yelled from the top of the jungle gym about taking on pirate puppies with your team of swashbuckling submariner kitties to save springy seahorse from being kidnapped. All of this acted out on your imaginary spaceship merry-go-round alongside your newfound friend of 15 minutes. Together you would plot and world-build on the fly and contribute new plot twists, absurd as they may be.
Now? We have decades of shame hanging over our heads. We have that fear of judgement and the anxiety that simmers just below the surface. Whatever extra creative endeavor you do to cultivate your flow should be done so in a way that does not add to those thoughts and feelings.
If that means you paint horrendous portraits of your characters and then throw them away? Great. I’d go further and embrace low-risk materials like colored clays or cheap watercolors. I find the materials I played with as a child feel natural to me. My hands remember the texture even if I can’t remember what I made.
The key to this is to not use this as another channel for your negative self-talk to take up more headspace.
Not sure where to start? I can relate as I suffer from project paralysis when trying something different.
Instead of giving the cliché ‘do anything!’ line, I want to suggest a couple sources I’ve found that work.
The old school option that will ring a nostalgia bell is channeling Bob Ross. The ‘Joy of Painting’ episodes are available in multiple locations with many being free to watch. There are websites with episode guides and material lists so you can pick the piece that speaks to you. Additionally, countless artists have carried on in his style and have blogs and videos filled with helpful tips and tricks.
That said, I don’t advise going that deep if you need a distraction. Grab the basic colors and cheap brushes and go for it. His technique is basic in practice but produces good results in little time.
Note – My only addition to this suggestion is please read into the chemicals in oil painting supplies and how to use them safely. The ‘beat the dickens out of the brush’ cleaning techniques is not recommended. Skin contact from the cleaning solvents was a possible contributor to his illness.
On to a newer source of ideas – Tik Tok. After you finish rolling your eyes, hear me out.
Much like Bob Ross, the platform has encouraged light and digestible content. Artists have used this to create channels of fast and easy projects. Many are aimed at children. If that sounds easy to you, then we’re on the same page.
When I was laid off in 2023, I spent countless hours rewatching @andrea.nelson.art tutorials on pet portraits. I painted my friend’s pets, stranger’s pets, and my own. It brought joy to my days, and I shipped these to friends to spread joy to those around me.
Movement
Moving on (pun intended), I have found activities where I exert myself brings me focus. When I’m panting and suffering in the present moment is the only time where the background noise of thoughts can’t to the surface. If they do, I’m likely to end up on my butt which makes for effective mental training.
Take hiking. If you’re on a new trail, you need to pay attention to directions and your surroundings. I say this as someone who got caught staring at her feet by a momma bear. My thoughts had distracted me, and she let me know that my difficulty being present had consequences.
Writer’s note – The bear was a once-in-a-lifetime encounter, but one I don’t recommend no matter how seasoned you are with the outdoors. Most of the public wildland access is minimally remote and generally safe for use. That said, it takes only small issues for your outing to go dangerously sideways. Even if it’s a local trailhead and a short hike, please pack a little more than you think you need or tell someone where you’re going. I do this even when I’m birdwatching.
Exertion can focus your brain. Unplugging from that stream of consciousness by forcing it to manage a protesting body forces your head to be in the present moment (I call it ‘present suck’ as opposed to ‘past suck’ which is what my brain serves in the form of rumination). This sounds counter-intuitive, but much like creative play and long showers, that is the magical place where ‘aha’ moments live. Giving your mind a task that takes up most of its attention also gives it room to open and make deep connections.
In the case of hiking, that added benefit of being outside in a beautiful environment cannot be overlooked.
Being Present and Accepting Discomfort
Hard exercise is where I’ve come to thrive mentally. My recent change in work has led to an increase in anxiety and difficulty unplugging from my work thoughts. Outside of sleep, I find that unplugging fully requires me to give my brain something more important to focus on. And when I’m three miles into a 6-plus mile run, it’s hard to think of much else.
There’s a place in a hard run that I call ‘the suck’, where the comfy groove has passed for the second time. I’m left knowing the rest of the run will be uncomfortable no matter what I do.
The options at this point are to walk or keep pushing. The walk is fine, but I know I’m avoiding discomfort and not improving the situation. But choosing to push through? That keeps the suck to a shorter timeframe.
I don’t like the suck and I train to reduce it, but that place is where my brain is forced to be present. No time to hash out fears or replay failures. Those pesky imposter thoughts? Can’t hear them over my labored breathing!
The other place I’ve managed to find this level of focus? Cold water therapy. (You thought I was going to say meditation, didn’t you?) Nope! Standing in cold water, be it a creek or in the shower can trigger the same fight-or-flight sensation.
While it’s not for everyone, cold water exposure shuts off that part of my brain that hinders creativity for a longer period. But I accept it’s not for everyone, so I’ll leave that soapbox to Wim Hof.
Resistance?
If you feel yourself resisting these ideas, it can be a sign that you need them more than you realize. Especially movement. Even a low impact activity like going for a walk has countless benefits beyond the mental considerations mentioned above.
Recently, I heard someone call their daily outings a ‘stupid mental health walk’. It was said in jest because the advice is everywhere. It works. It’s fun to make light of this truth especially since we all would prefer to get the same benefit from a day-long bed rot session.
Conclusion
I wrote 1500 words that can be summarized into two statements and four words in total.
Go Play.
Doodle and dabble and make a mess. Call them happy accidents or no-consequence creativity. When you’re done, pack it into a drawer to forget about it. Or just recycle it (I couldn’t ignore the hiss of my thoughts when I typed ‘throw it away’).
Go Outside.
Give your brainstem some tasks and keep it busy. Seek out the famed happy little trees. Consider activity at any level of exertion but consider hard activity if you need to keep an especially loud prefrontal cortex from misfiring.
Lindsey Wohlman grew up in a creative home. Her mother was part of the cast bronze community in Loveland, Colorado that saw an economic boom through the 90s. That influence carried her through college and into her marketing career. When she’s done telling product stories, she writes, paints, and creates to fill her cup and placate that flow of ideas her brain throws out in the middle of the night. You can see her work portfolio here.