Using Your Craft to Relax

A common reason to choose freelancing is to be able to make a living doing work we actually enjoy. In my case, I write. I’ve been writing short stories since early childhood and later got heavily into essay writing.

The journalism thing came around because it seemed like a decent way to get paid for stringing sentences together.

But one of the pitfalls of freelancing is the blurred distinction between work and life. When the desk is only a few feet away at all times, it’s tempting to be always on, always chasing the almighty dollar.

There’s also the problem with turning a passion into a profession: it gets harder to enjoy your hobby unless there’s money in it for you. I don’t know if this happens to anyone else but lately my motivation to do pretty much anything has been limited unless someone’s dangling a cheque in front of me.

For example, I write about video games because I love playing them but now I rarely feel like picking up a controller unless getting paid to write a review.

But pondering this led to a realization: It’s probably healthy to take a break from client projects and work on something that’s just for you. The following are some examples I thought up for different fields:

Graphic Designers: Draw a comic with no intention of publishing it, vent any stress or frustration through art. Since there’s no intention of showing it off, it could be obscene and offensive it doesn’t matter. Spend some time making cruel manipulations to images.

Programmers: Code something completely useless. A friend of mine who’s learning the fine art of coding wrote a Python script that dishes out insults at the user. Create a cheesy game using stock code, something easy but again, something that could provide release.

Photographers: What have you always wanted to shoot but no one ever wanted a picture of? Take random landscape shots, take pictures of your pets or other things you’re always told not to shoot. Go for a walk with a camera, if you’re out long enough you’re sure to run into one of those situations you wish you could’ve captured but never have a camera for…

Web Designers: Make a Wordpress template, just for the sake of doing it. It doesn’t have to be good, just fun. Try creating the ugliest website possible, just to have done it.

Writers: And for people like me, it’s time to remember why I do this in the first place. Short stories, possibly a short play, something to work on where it doesn’t matter if you get published and paid or not.

Anyone Else: First of all, apologies for not mentioning your field. But there must have been some spark that got you into it in the first place. Remember it and do something that reminds you why you started.

The point is, I’m sure we all chose our respective crafts for a reason and every now and then it’s nice to go back and remember why we did it. And with no client or audience involved, do it with no fear of criticism. Enjoy the weekend.

Tags: Balance

Robert Janelle |
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Robert Janelle is a ragged video game-addicted journalist in Canada with an affinity for all things paisley. Described as being rather loud and skittish, he generally can be found consuming caffeine in large doses, organizing (or re-organizing) things and playing with two annoying (but adorable) kittens.

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