It’s paradoxical, but all my best creative ideas come to me when I’m too stressed or busy to pursue them. I remember being so confused by this during my first exam period, but excited too: I kept a notebook open next to my work and jotted down ideas all through my study day. It was a way to cope with my inevitable boredom at the long, monotonous hours of library drudgery. Two years later, and I’m still “blessed” with a surge of creativity right around the most stressful part of my year.
I know that many people work best under pressure, staying up all night to get an essay finished or cramming for an exam. I can’t work like that, personally: the mere idea of it stresses me out so much that it’s motivation to just get to work right now! That’s not to say that I don’t suffer from my fair share of procrastination. But I would much, much prefer to start as early as I can – that way I can try to stay healthy, and be able to take some time off, when I need to, so I don’t get burned out. And no, I’m not always able to do this, and yes, sometimes I have to stay up later than I’d like to finish things I didn’t start on time.
Last night, my brain wasn’t having any of it. I hadn’t cared for my body properly – I’d been eating strange meals, hadn’t gone for a run because it was pouring rain all day, hadn’t slept almost at all the previous night (probably also due to stress) – and so it was rebelling. I couldn’t concentrate, I was tired, bored, unfocused.. My sweet mama urged me to take a break, citing the oh-so-wise maxim: “an hour-and-a-half of solid work is worth 3 of half-hearted”. Amen, mama. So I decided to stop trying to force it.
I’ve discussed stress baking before, it’s one of the easiest ways to get out my heebeejeebees from sitting at a computer all day, inject some sense of home and comfort into my days, and feel more like myself again. It wasn’t an option the other night, because I’d been burning the candle at both ends and hadn’t made time for grocery shopping. Ergo, I had no eggs. Or soy milk. Or anything, really. So baking was out.
But like I said, my creativity tends to bubble up at inopportune times. I’ve had a hundred ideas since I started putting my head down to study last week. (One of them is already taking baby steps to realization and I’m. so. excited!) Last night, though, I decided to make a mini book. Just a simple collection of pretty papers, pictures, and words. Somehow it came together, fairly coherently. I didn’t know what I was making, I just started and it sort of found its own direction. I drew a lot of inspiration from Elise’s minibooks, and decided to just collect things that make me happy, and paste them in, just for the fun of it. I am thinking it of as my little love book, and I do love it (pictures below).
I realize 100% that this might not be anyone else’s idea of ideal creativity. I also believe that everyone could benefit from having some kind of creative outlet, especially during stressful times. Even if you do it only 10 minutes a day, doing something fun and creative could lift your spirits enough for another couple hours of hard work. Maybe you want to write, or compose music, or sketch, or throw paint at some paper, or make a fashion set on Polyvore, or choreograph a dance, or learn to knit on two pencils with some string (like I first did!). At the very least, keep a little notebook or Word document open nearby, to jot down all your inevitable, awesome ideas.
Happy exams! (It’s almost like Happy Hunger Games, right? Shudder.) Best of luck! May the odds be ever in your favour! xo.
