“It can be hard to deal with creative stress. But know this, when you are stressed you are only going to be reactive and not productive. Take some time off… recharge and get back on track like you never left”– Michael Awurumibe Dubby FOUNDER and CEO of ARTEASY NIGERIA
Ever imagined what it feels like to be a business owner at this time? Or a creative whose task is to imagine beyond the continuous provocations that come with existing in a country like Nigeria?
We all thought things would be preferable after the lockdown. But really more than 365 days after, the dawn of each day reveals new emotional nervousness or physical frustration.
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The strain from coronavirus intrusion into our normal lives coupled with the several months of lockdown is still hidden somewhere in our bodies. Then there is the pressure from meeting deadlines, reaching piled-up goals, and profits, and completing projects in what seems to be the most challenging period of every Nigerian, Millennial, or Generation Z’s life.
Creative stress is not escapable. Nevertheless to be or remain successful as an art/creative entrepreneur high in demand, handling stress cannot be overlooked or taken lightly. As it can result or add to setbacks and complications you have to manage.
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Below are tested and trusted tips on how to deal with creative stress:
Who/What Stresses You?
There is an indigenous Yoruba saying that you cannot defeat an enemy you cannot identify. You can not deal with or overcome that which you don’t know or are not aware of.
Therefore, the first tip to dealing with creative stress is singling out the things/the people in your artistic life/creative career in particular responsible for stressing you. When doing these, you have to be as specific as specific can be: PINPOINT them.
Make a random creative stress list of everything or everyone who makes you nervous. Don’t hold back or be sentimental about this. If your biggest paying collector is the cause of your creative stress, write it down.
Afterward, rearrange the list numbering it 1-10 with the most stressful who/what at the top and the least at the bottom.
Basically, making a creative stress list is an action that establishes what or who is the origin of your stress. The process of writing it down is therapeutic as it helps you reduce the pain or tightness you feel because what you are doing is being honest with yourself which most creatives don’t do when it comes to the issue of stress.
Once you identify who or what, it becomes easy to think through how to patch the holes. Do you distance yourself from creative stress initiating co-workers? Or do you come up with a simpler creative process?
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“I pray, read a book, and get well-deserved rest. After this, I wake up refreshed“– Abolarinwa Adegunloye COO and CO-FOUNDER of ARTEASY NIGERIA
Review and Do.
You might not have observed, but sometimes just imagining the scary tasks or impossible installation deadlines you have to meet up with can lead to creative stress.
The tension then tends to increase if after being reminded and recalling the things you have to do, you procrastinate or fail to attend to them in line with how urgent they are.
Hence, it is important to set a suitable time for analyzing the things you have to do and setting notices for the people you have to meet or work anything out with. After this, you must actually create time to do them once and delay them any longer.
Deputize Some of The Creative Work.
Nigerian creatives are usually guilty when it comes to paying others to execute certain parts of their required creative process. A typical Nigerian creative wants to chop alone. And you know what they say about chopping alone? Google it!
You can’t be successful at dealing with creative stress if you are always eager to (want to) do everything yourself. Especially when you have lots of creative work to do.
You need to get (extra) supporting hands to lessen the strain you put on your mental and physical self. Sometimes an artist has to share his/her creative work with a carpenter, engineer, or architect.
Sometimes a writer has to seek the help of a graphics designer or photographer in getting befitting images for image-restricted write-ups.
For example, employ a driver to save you energy and time which allows you to do more work and achieve abundant results including profits that you would not have had if you were driving yourself around to all the meetings you have.
You could order rides instead of having to hop on public transport and experience the extra difficulty that brings which can only add to the stress you are trying to manage.
Get studio assistants, freelancers, or even entrust a task to another willing colleague. Rather than clogging everything on your already filled up physical or mental state at the time. At other times, family members would be glad to help if you can not afford to outsource or trust outsiders.
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Work From a Conducive Creative Space.
This might be the fourth on the list but it can not be sidelined. Most remote creatives are erring in working in an unconducive environment.
As they say, the little things matter a lot. Therefore, occupy your workplace with appropriate fittings, proper interior decorations, standard equipment, and facilities that make your work process easy and you: relaxed.
At least spend on the tools and furniture that are crucial to the accomplishment of your creative aim.
If your graphics drawing tablet keeps traumatizing you, change it. If your brushes and tools, and crafting supplies are causing you great distress, buy another.
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Is the lighting poor? Fix it. How satisfactory is the ventilation? Is your working environment clumsy, noisy, and untidy?
“I sleep when I can. I work out at the gym. But sleeping most times helps my brain reset and puts me in the right mode.”– Michael Awurumibe Dubby FOUNDER CEO of Arteasy Nigeria
Ideal sleeping and Healthy Eating Habits.
You can’t avoid creative stress if you are all work and not enough sleep. The importance of sleep for a creative person can not be overemphasized.
Creatives renew their creativity and revive their energy through quality slumber. It might seem like there is much more work you can do with the hours you should be sleeping.
Nonetheless, if you break down how many hours would you be able to work at all? Sleep is that altar where creatives get the fresh spirit, strategy, and solution to execute those worrisome projects or troubling issues.
Following immediately is healthy eating habits which include eating at the right time. And eating lots of fruits.
Exercise and Try New Habits.
If you create from your convenience, it is important that you leave the house at least once a day to get fresh air. Exercise is also crucial to helping you deal with stress.
Sometimes you have to be around people if you always work alone. If you are hardly alone, try enjoying your own company or exercising without a crowd.
Stress is not all doom for the body. It can be useful in balancing your mental and physical reply to new situations, challenges, and tasks.
Although, at the initial point when creative stress sets in or at a period when it has become too much for you to handle, you need to know how to deal with that tension.
Hence why this article had to come up.