A Creative Sabbatical (Creative Rehab)!
There are a few definitions for the word Rehab. The most common is “a course of treatment for drug or alcohol dependence, typically at a residential facility.” The definition that I will be speaking about is the following: “rehabilitate or restore.” That is exactly what I did for this past month. I took 30 days to move away from my normal routine and used the time to rehabilitate my creativity. So what did I do? I did exactly as I have written in the past. I moved away from current creative projects that I was working on including from my weekly blogs. I was trying to decide what I was going to write for the month of September and my mind went completely blank and continued to do so for a week.
As I have written in the past this stage can be very frustrating for an artist. So I decided to rejuvenate my brain, so I started looking and researching for new creative books and blogs to read.
In addition I decided to change out my personal daily routine, by including exercise and having a different kind of diet. This has helped me immensely. I didn’t realize how much I had completely burnt myself out! For the past few months I had been a part of a few great creative entities and traveling non-stop for the past 4 months. So not only was my creative mind exhausted but so was my body. So I had to pause for a moment to bring myself back.
Sometimes, that is exactly what we need to do. Pause, take a moment to get ourselves back into gear and refocus on the goals that we placed upon ourselves. Now even though I was taking a break from my normal routine, I did still take a moment each day and dedicated it to doing something creative. I just focused on something else completely new. Here is my impromptu idea for the week: This applies only if you are feeling a terrible case of creative block. Take a month to relax away from your creative projects and focus your mind on what is blocking you in the first place. For me because I was physically tried, my mind could not focus. Get to the root of the distraction or cause of the block. Then take 30 days to participate in new creative projects away from your current project that you were working on to help rejuvenate your creative brain.
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
-Aristotle