Posted on November 10, 2020
During the first lockdown, I really struggled to be creative but eventually, I accepted it (as much as I could) because the pandemic was new and scary and I was just trying to take things day by day. The pandemic is, of course, still scary and disruptive, at the very least. But I’m back at university now and I need to be productive and creative and write songs so I thought I’d try and create a list of things that might help with that. And hopefully they’ll help you too. There may be a songwriting slant to these ideas but I do want to try and make sure that they’re applicable to as many creative disciplines as possible.
So hopefully some of these tips are somewhat helpful to all of us. Being creative and making art, as a career or for the sheer enjoyment, are more important than ever in these difficult times. So even when it gets hard, don’t give up. Try something new, look for inspiration elsewhere, or take a break. Do whatever you need to do to support your ability to create.
EXTRA NOTE: Here are several articles that I read while writing this post that I found to be really interesting and potentially useful resources: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
Category: covid-19 pandemic, emotions, music, research, tips Tagged: art, art form, challenges, collaboration, content, creative, creative block, creative process, creativity, goals, health, inspiration, learning, lockdown, lockdown 2020, mental health, physical health, prompts, schedule, setting goals, social media, songwriting, tips, tips for creativity
Posted on September 19, 2020
Back in June, I made a post about what had been my plans for the empty semester of my Masters and how I’d adjusted those plans according to the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. I was still hopeful that I could get a lot done in the time before my next semester started but the pandemic had a massive effect on my mental health and therefore my productivity so it took me a long time to gather myself enough to do anything even vaguely productive. So while, in pre-pandemic times, this list of completed goals probably would’ve felt disappointing, I’m trying to shed those expectations and be proud of what I’ve achieved considering the current circumstances.
MANAGED TO DO:
IN PROCESS:
COULDN’T DO:
DIDN’T MANAGE TO DO:
So, as I said at the beginning of the post, I’ve been trying to realign my expectations as to what has been possible during this time, based on the lockdown restrictions and my fluctuating mental state. With everything so uncertain, it was impossible to know what I’d achieve. Looking at this list now, I’m proud of myself. For the most part. And in the moments when I feel frustrated or disappointed, I acknowledge those feelings, let them have their space, and then try and let them go. I don’t always succeed but I try. Because, given everything going on, I think what I managed to do – especially looking back at how I was (or wasn’t) functioning at the beginning of lockdown – is something to be proud of. And when I can’t feel proud, I practice proud.
Now, on to the next semester.
Category: anxiety, chronic fatigue syndrome, covid-19 pandemic, depression, emotions, mental health, music, university, writing Tagged: anxiety, back to life, back to life music video, concert, concerts, coronavirus, covid-19, cowriting, decluttering, diary, diary writing, empty semester, film, friends, guitar, home studio, honest, honest ep, kalimba, learning, lockdown, lockdown 2020, masters, masters degree, masters part time, mental health, mental health awareness, mental illness, meteor shower, music theory, music video, new skills, obsessive compulsive disorder, ocd, online learning, pain, pandemic, pandemic 2020, performing, photo albums, photos, piano, production, reading, remote writing session, sara bareilles, semester, singersongwriter, singersongwriter life, skills, songwriting, swimming, tv, university, waitress the musical, zoom, zoom calls
Posted on June 7, 2020
Because of the way my course is organised for part time students, I now have a semester without classes while the full time students do their third semester. I’ve been looking forward to this, not just to take a bit of a break but to work on new music with the skills I’ve learned, return to hobbies I haven’t had the time or energy for while doing the course, and to just generally catch up with things, be productive, and get some long awaited projects done. Of course, everything changed with the pandemic and subsequent lockdown.
So my list is different now, depending on what is possible and what isn’t. I’d started collating this list – this post – before lockdown was announced and I’ve been reluctant to simply scrap it all just because it no longer fits with the future I’d expected. So I thought I’d post it anyway, just divided into different categories, for posterities sake if nothing else. I guess I just want to remember what I’d thought this summer would be like versus what it ends up being like.
Impossible:
Difficult or Different:
Still Possible:
I feel like it’s important to add an extra note to this one because, while all of these plans and activities are physically possible, they’re not necessarily possible. I’ve been seriously struggling with my mental health, especially with my anxiety and depression, and my creativity has taken a serious hit too. So, while I do want to do these things and they are within the rules of what’s allowed and technically possible, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to achieve them, or achieve as many of them as I would like.
Uncertain:
I truly have no idea what the next few months will look like (especially with the government making a mess of everything, especially the lockdown) so I don’t know how many of these things I’ll be able to accomplish. Each day is unknown and that’s both terrifying and exhausting. I think that, whether you’re a person with mental health problems or not, just getting through this period of time (and managing your health – physical, mental, and emotional) is achievement enough. So I guess, when the next semester starts, I’ll look back at this post and see what I managed to do while keeping that in mind.
Category: about me, book, covid-19 pandemic, emotions, holidays, mental health, music, university, writing Tagged: anxiety, bedroom, concentration, concert, coronavirus, covid-19, cowriting, creativity, decluttering, depression, diary, empty semester, focus, friends, gig, gigging, goals, guitar, holiday, home studio, honest, honest ep, journal, kalimba, learning, lockdown, masters degree, masters degree in songwriting, mental health awareness week, meteor shower, music theory, music video, music video shoot, online classes, online learning, pandemic, performing, photo albums, piano, plans, reading, recording studio, sara bareilles, singer, singersongwriter, skillshare, songwriter, songwriting, sorting, studio, studio space, summer holiday, swimming, taylor swift, the shires, waitress the musical, writers block, youtube
Hi! I’m Lauren Alex Hooper. Welcome to my little blog! I write about living with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as several mental health issues. I’m a singersongwriter (and currently studying for a Masters in songwriting) so I’ll probably write a bit about that too.
My first single, ‘Invisible,’ is now available on iTunes and Spotify, with all proceeds going to Young Minds.
I’m currently releasing my first EP, Honest, track by track and all five songs are now available on all major music platforms. However, there’s still more content to come…