Why Side Quests Are Necessary for Creative Professionals
You’re uninspired. Burnt out. Suffering from office chair-back and desk-hips. Sound familiar, creative professionals?
But you should feel lucky, right? You get to make a living (or a dupe of one, at least) off your creativity. “Look at me, Dad! Turns out that degree wasn’t a total waste of your hard-earned savings and my student loans.” Problem is, somewhere along the way we’ve traded our creative whimsy for limiting client briefs, tight deadlines, and surface-level slop that doesn’t make people feel anything.
I want to talk about how detrimental that really is for the creative professionals, and how it’s ruining the innovation, imagination, and creative work that makes humanity great.
The state of the creative industry
With my contacts still in the corporate world, I’m catching wind of uncertain times for creative professionals and agencies. Clients are tightening their budgets because they’re more cautious of spending money on creative that isn’t guaranteed to bring a high ROI (even though creative is not a black-and-white deliverable like accounting, they set the same unrealistic expectations).
There’s constant restructuring with a hiring and firing cycle that would send any creative into a tizzy. So even higher up executives don’t have the job security they need to catch their breath for a beat before they’re handed off to the next agency in trouble.
And from what I hear in my online community, the freelancer economy ain’t much better for creative professionals! All of my successful and long-performing colleagues say they’ve seen a significant drop in inquiries and revenue, with a big mention being AI or clients just not having the funds to invest in help. When you rely on a creative industry that relies on a rather cyclical revenue income stream… what do you when there’s no money coming to you or from you?
The dopamine hunt
When we were growing up, we had arts and crafts to create entire worlds with our hands. Time outside to run, make up stories, and get our exercise in. Low-stim shows like Arthur, Sesame Street, and Babar that helped us learn and grow.
But now with digital media that gives us instant gratification in a swipe, we’re dopamine addicts. Dopamine Nation author Dr. Anna Lembke put it perfectly: we have fun at our fingertips, “but the data shows we’re less happy”.
According to a World Happiness Report, global depression rates have been climbing significantly in the past 30 years, and people in high-income countries have become unhappier over the past decade or so.
Is it any wonder that creatives—who usually have an insanely high screen time between their work computers and their phone that they keep hitting every 5 minutes for a dopamine hit—aren’t as satisfied with their work?
We need to get back into doing things that engage our minds, bodies, and souls. Enter: the slow-paced side quest.
The beauty of the slow-paced side quest
A multi-hyphenate LOVES a side quest, because it’s another vehicle that takes our imagination and creativity to new places. Some may call it flighty, but I call it ✨multitasking✨. And in an age where everything is fast-paced and go-go-go and impossibly fast deadlines, we need acts of enjoyment that allow us to take a beat to soak in the splendor.
Having low stimulation, slow paced pastimes helps us:
- Improve our focus and attention span (which social media apps like TikTok have RUINED)
- Process information, learn at our own pace, and actually soak in the material instead of just letting it go in one ear and out the other
- Be more creative, because there’s less sensory overload and more mental space to think, imagine, and interact with what we’re doing
- Self soothe, regulate our emotions, and feel calm
- Improve our social skills—many of these activities can be communal or foster feelings of kindness, empathy, and friendship that the cold hard device in your hand can’t
Slow-pace side quests worth taking:
It doesn’t matter what your creative calling is, these hobbies are a great way to get those neurons fired up again:
Creative, hands-on hobbies
- Reading physical books, magazines, newspaper articles, and even Substack posts from your fave creatives can refuel your dreamer engine
- Crafts like sewing, carpentry, drawing or painting, doing an adults colouring book, rug making, pottery, or making jewelry can give your busy hands a place to create
- Solving puzzles, doing crossword puzzles, playing Scrabble, board games or card games, or games like chess can be good food for the brain without overstimulating yourself
- Take up a instrument—I, myself, am going to harness the energy of my middle school band days and rent an alto saxophone to relearn the jazzy horn
Head outdoors
- Join a run club, go on nature walks like those Aunties who dominate the park, or just get some sun on your face
- Become a plant parent and start gardening
- Go camping, go on a road trip to star watch, or go to your nearest park and see what shapes you can make out in the clouds
Consume slow media
- Watch TV & indie movies that get your creative juices flowing like The Chef Show; Everything, Everywhere, All At Once; Sinners; James Gunn’s Superman; Silo, etc.
- Stream music, podcasts, audio books, and YouTube channels without doing anything else, to keep yourself free from distractions
- Watch expansive documentaries that you engage with instead of just reacting to it
Accounts to follow for inspiration
I’m constantly finding new people to follow online that make me feel recharged rather than depleted digitally—so if you can think of anyone who inspires you, please comment below so we can keep an open channel of creative sustenance.
Here are my favourite creators and accounts to follow:
An LA-based intellectual creative with offering a smart, scroll-worthy mix of cultural commentary, philosophy, and wellness reminders for creative people who overanalyze everything and call it self-care.
Their photography is next-level. My introduction to their work—a shoot for Playboy—may actually have altered my brain chemistry.
Otherwise known as @thebestmarketingnewsletter
This account provides a comprehensive round-up of social media news and insights to help marketers keep up with industry changes—but, like, in a cool way
An artist, designer, and author who, if anything, is a visual reminder that your creativity can be different things, and create & sustain your dream life
Social and Substack commentary on culture, marketing, and sociology that makes me feel smarter and cooler
Or @learncopywritingnow on TikTok
She helps me learn how to LEARN… better! Also, a lot of new copy things that make me feel like I still have a LONG way to go to be considered an expert in this field
Wrapping It Up
This isn’t supposed to be fearmongering, and I don’t want beginner creative professionals to lose heart. This blog post came after an entire year of pushing myself to reach a standard that simply isn’t for me. It seemed like I *should * aspire to reach that level, and be like others around me. But I’m at my best, and create my best work, when I’m just me. And when I go outside, touch grass, consume slow media, and use my hands, that’s when I’m most inspired.
And I encourage you to do the same. So go to that live show! Take that workshop! Listen to that urge to rent a guitar and learn how to play!
But whatever you do, don’t forget to stretch your hip flexors. Seriously, how long we stay seated every day is going to bite us in the ass one day.
