Too much work, not enough play

It's been a challenging summer

The title of this post is a common theme amongst all of us that still work for a living. For those of us that are self-employed artists, however, it might appear to be easier - we make our own hours. Yet it can be challenging to carve out time to play - to de-stress, workout, connect with friends, family, and simply relax.And that’s what I have been trying to do lately. In the heart of the hottest days of summer, I am having a slight meltdown when it comes to working. I just want to play - to hike and photograph and swim and not work - yet alas, that isn’t possible. Or is it? Who decides my schedule?

I am of German/Austrian background, way back, coming from a line of hard-working people. I swear, the work ethic is genetic. My father was always working - at the plant, or in the yard. He ‘rested’ briefly after lunch when he got older, but mostly his break came in the evening, after dinner. He did find some time during the year to take us on vacation, only when the plant closed; and he did go backpacking about twice a year with either us kids or with some friends. But mostly he ‘stuck’ to a work schedule of some sort. His example was to always be busy working on something.

I have finally realized just how much an impact his life had on me. When I shifted into a career as a photographer, I took that work ethic with me. In some ways, it was a good thing - it kept me focused on making that career work. But I soon realized that I was working so hard to make things happen in the business, to the detriment of playing, which included creating new photographs. That was a recipe for burnout in an artistic career. I know, I was on the borderline of that risk.

You might be wondering just how someone who is living on the road full time, traveling and exploring, can be stuck in a ‘too much work’ mode. You might be thinking that I am out there everyday, making photographs, hiking, swimming, going to concerts, etc.. Yet the truth is, that more days than not this summer, I have been at work, in the van ‘office’, editing, writing, publishing, making cold calls, planning workshops, setting up presentations, writing these posts, etc., just as if I had an office in my house.

The image below is a metaphor for this. Feeling chained to the ‘desk’, yet the creativity is striving to burst out!

Ivy growing through holes in a chained door

My life on the road seems idyllic to some, and I truly love it for all the adventures we’ve had and for those to come. Yet it still requires me to work. My ebooks and books won’t write themselves, after all. And now, I’m building a new website and very excited about it, but the work, oh, the work, to get all my images that were once on another site uploaded to this new one with necessary changes to the images is requiring huge amounts of time!

In spite of all this work, I know I have to take breaks to fill up the well of inspiration and to relax. Proof came recently when a library book I was waiting on for over 9 weeks finally came up ready to borrow. I read the entire book in a day! It was a good book, but still…it showed me how much I needed to get away from all the editing and other business stuff.

It can be easy to convince myself to work just a little harder, a little longer, and then it’s nighttime and the walk I planned, the hour by the creek I had intended, has slipped through my hands. (ah yes, but you edited 20 more images, my mind tells you)

To be honest, late Spring and Summer so far have been a visual challenge. I did several presentations, spent some wonderful time with my family that was unplanned yet great, and then when we were heading north to Vancouver Island, Jed realized his driver’s license was needing renewal and he had to go in person. Yikes! That meant heading southward to at least over the border into California again. Bye bye northwest…We met up with our friend and did some night photography for a few days, and did chores (laundry, grocery shopping) and it was so so hot! Even though we ended up in great places here and there, the conditions weren’t right (no clouds, too many clouds, foliage looking dry, either too early or a little too late for the peak of wildflowers, etc. And then the onslaught of summer fire season (again) has changed our plans yet again. Sigh.

It’s easy to resign yourself to things not working the way you intended, and getting stuck in to the work load. Yet if I am to ‘walk my talk’, I know that there are photographs to be made wherever we are. I just have to walk out the door of the van and find them. It’s as simple as convincing myself that the work I have piling up can wait another half day while I go out into a meadow or along a beach and photograph for a few hours. And then the phone rings...

What is the lesson here then? That play stimulates the brain, and creates inspiration, that play relaxes us, lowers our cortisol; that play is simply the inner child needing some time in the open. That when we insist on time for creative play, which includes photography, that good things come from it. That is how we can become an even better photographer, by allowing ourselves time for play.

There in lies my goal for the remainder of the summer. In spite of being miserably hot (at 6,000 feet it’s high 80’s right now) I will persevere, and find the time to play more while still working. There is light at the end of the tunnel, ha ha!

Lava tube in Lava Beds National Monument

Thanks for being here! And although I need a break, and I’ll get it, I am still at work creating some nice benefits for all my paid subscribers, here! Coming soon…

Cheers!