those of you with creative outlets of any sort: how do you make sure you finish what you start and actually share it, rather than starting 5 million could-have-been-somethings?

[ashedryden@xoxo.zone]

@oluOnline make small things lol. I knit, so hats vs sweaters. I also like paint by numbers that can be finished in a handful of sittings.

[moss@beige.party]

@oluOnline one view is that the creative outlet is for *you*, so any “finishing” is up to what satisfies *you*, and sharing might even be irrelevant. Any pressure to show the world what you’re doing can be discarded.

For some people sharing a completed project is part of their creative impulse, so they may not struggle with that as much.

[oluonline@social.lol]

@Ashedryden i think with writing/video projects i can rarely tell what i'm making is massive till i'm already far in lol.

but maybe i just can't make stuff like that quickly? thanks for replying, makes a lot of sense lol

[oluonline@social.lol]

@Moss yeah that makes a lot of sense, i defs feel like finishing and sharing is part of it for me sadly

[bgm@musicians.today]

@oluOnline
Doing things with deadlines is good for this sometimes! I make music, so things like #Songfight or #RPMChallenge have helped me see a project to completion when I do them on occasion. Currently I’m contributing to #DisquietJunto. The trade off is that you have to be more spontaneous and not be so precious or perfect about the result. Other than that, yeah, most of my stuff languishes away unfinished on a hard drive indefinitely.

[oluonline@social.lol]

@bgm yeah challenges have helped me get over the inertia a bit! sob at the languishing stuff and thanks for replying lol

[stefan@stefanbohacek.online]

@oluOnline Honestly, I kind of just started to worry less about finishing things. As long as I have fun!

[oluonline@social.lol]

@stefan i think you're pretty prolific!! i'm really glad you've found a balance

i think some categories of things i haven't finished in years and would actively enjoy finishing a few for the (potential!) feedback and sense of accomplishment lol

[grepfruit@mstdn.isometry.group]

@oluOnline I start a lot of projects and finish only a few of them, it seems to work well

[stefan@stefanbohacek.online]

@oluOnline

Ha, thank you!

I mean, I still have so many ideas and unfinished projects. To-do lists, Trello boards.

I guess I am just finally starting to accept that I can't do everything.

And I focus on the things I enjoy the most, and not worry too much about having something to show for it, if that makes sense.

But yeah, I definitely relate to wanting to get feedback.

If there is a piece of advice I'd share, and I don't know if this is relevant, but I'd say: you don't have to do it all by yourself.

Maybe some of these projects could be finished with a little help?

[darkwolf@hear-me.social]

@oluOnline I love film festivals, contests, challenges, and things like that, because it gives me a deadline and an audience. As long as it doesn't give too much pressure, and I don't have any expectations of "winning," I think that's a good way to get things done and be happy with what I'm doing.

My partner says I should do things to make myself happy, that I should be proud of what I can do, and not worry about whether or not other people like it. I think that's good advice, too.

[phillmv@hachyderm.io]

@oluOnline the zen path is to post the half finished stuff and move on

[sallystrange@eldritch.cafe]

@oluOnline if you figure it out, please let me know!

[idgs@mas.to]

@SallyStrange @oluOnline (Line forms here.)

[ireneista@adhd.irenes.space]

@oluOnline we talk to our friends about it as we're doing it to help kinda reinforce our enthusiasm and make it concrete in our mind. we're very grateful to everyone who participates in that.

[matildazq@mas.to]

@oluOnline

1. I take a songwriting class that has a weekly assignment
2. I committed to a "Write the Year" project starting in 2019. On Sunday nights, I post something on a wordpress blog and crosspost to facebook an mastodon
3. I try to keep an eye out for contests (I'm not great at this)

[quephird@tech.lgbt]

@oluOnline For my drawing, I make sure to spend a maximum of three or four hours at a time so I don’t burn out in one session. And of the next day, I’m not likin’ what I see from the previous day, I just take the day off and make sure to not think at all about my decision. And indeed, most of the time even after a week or so of inactivity, I will eventually return with full enthusiasm because I see the work in progress in a new light and complete it. There was one work I hadn’t touched in two years but still managed to finish it!

With my music, I struggle a little more because I haven’t been making anything in a few years. But nonetheless, I’m now working on my first DJ mix in well over two years AND ITS GOING TO BE AWESOME. And I’m now thinking about buying a new Eurorack module or two so that I can make some beats of my own!

[quephird@tech.lgbt]

@oluOnline I think the takeaway here is that artistic progress is often _punctuated_ not constant… _and that’s ok_. There are indeed artists who constantly produce, but you aren’t them! Your voice will eventually emerge at your own pace! The important thing is to _never_ see your art as a chore, but as a labor of love and true enjoyment, not something that needs to be managed like a corporate project… but that’s me.

[akkartik@merveilles.town]

@oluOnline The older I get the more fatalistic I tend to feel. We're all born with some level of advantage, starting all the way from being born humans, to a species without predators, with a K evolutionary strategy rather than r like an octopus or sea turtle. And we also have our crosses to bear. Everything I do doesn't seem to change those facts of life much. So I try to do what's truest to my nature, and ignore outcomes. Easier said than done, of course. Sorry I don't have anything more constructive.

[sharksonaplane@mastodon.sandwich.net]

@phillmv @oluOnline I always tell myself I am going to do this, and then: I do not do that. but it is good advice, lol!