Looking forward to learning more about your work and your approach to making work. I really enjoyed the medium piece.
“So what happens when we, as artists, spend years of study in a medium or craft and then it is lost to us?”
Is a question I actively meditating on and struggling with. I was a longform writer and performer, and I am still in the messy process of finding new ways to create from inside the straitjacket of this disease. So glad to encounter your art and writing.
Thank you! It's a very disconcerting situation to have to switch one's practice so drastically. I have all sorts of ways I've integrated pacing techniques into my creative practice and am happy to share if you ever want to talk about that.
Yes, very disconcerting! Especially when creativity is a big part of our self-concept, community life, etc. I’m actively struggling with pacing and creative practice, and I’d love to hear about techniques and strategies that have worked for you. It’s very kind of you to offer to share!
I’ve managed to train myself to go into flow states very quickly through practice and the use of timers. Also, finding a restorative creative practice has been key.
I use a modified pomodoro method for most cognitive or active tasks. I started with 5 minutes of activity and 20 minutes of restoration and slowly added or subtracted minutes as I felt able to. Even 5 minutes of writing added up together over the course of a few weeks feeds me.
Do you have a wearable tracker of any sort? I use HRV to let me know when I can increase activities and that has made a big difference too.
That’s fascinating. It’s actually really helpful and heartening to hear that your body and mind have adapted to new ways of working, and learned to enter flow states very quickly. I also think finding restorative practices is going to be important for me. This process…is not easy 😂
Right now I use a pretty simple Fitbit to track my vitals, and I use one of those phone camera lens apps to check HRV during the day,. Do you mind sharing what kind of wearable you use? I think it’s probably time to invest in something a little more high tech.
Thanks so much for sharing! Very much appreciated ❤️
Finding restorative activities is absolutely key to flourishing in my experience! Well worth the work. For sure not easy, especially if you, like me, were a really active person before!
I use an Oura ring since it gives me an overnight HRV measurement and some excellent other data. I have different routines written down for different Oura ring readiness scores/HRV since I've found pacing needs to be long term as well as in the moment.
If you decided to get an Oura ring, they keep giving me referral coupons for $50 off so I can absolutely sent you one!
Thank you for this. I've been so sick that nothing but aggressive rest and meditation have been restorative, but I think I've reached a point where I can find activities that aren't depleting. The possibility hadn't even crossed my mind, so I very much appreciate meeting you and encountering your work and ideas on this right now! I'm going to start experimenting with more hands-on arts and crafts, and listening to music. Is there anything else that has worked well for you? (And yes, I was quite an active person before. It's a huge paradigm shift.)
It makes a lot of sense to have different routines for different HRV measures. Pacing is a beast. It has been so hard for me, partly because of logistics, and partly because it requries a certain amount of (difficult) acceptance of reality. I will check out the Oura ring! Sending solidarity along the bits and bytes <3
Radical rest is so necessary sometimes! When I first got sick I wasn’t able to do much of anything and even shaved my head because washing my hair was too depleting. Meditation is absolutely a boon at those times.
I would recommend you start restorative activities very slowly and cautiously and use timers so you don’t overdo it. I’m going to be posting here next week about getting back into music and how difficult it was because of hyperacusis. I still have to be a bit careful listening to music but headphones and very relaxing music is how I started out. Brian Eno’s Music for airports was one of my favourites at that time. Do let me know how you get on with hand work. I think it takes some experimenting before one finds something that clicks. I find sketching pretty relaxing aside from embroidery. And I also do visible mending (sashiko and darning mostly).
Pacing is a beast. It takes so much awareness and discipline. Timers take a lot of the guesswork out of it for me.
Looking forward to learning more about your work and your approach to making work. I really enjoyed the medium piece.
“So what happens when we, as artists, spend years of study in a medium or craft and then it is lost to us?”
Is a question I actively meditating on and struggling with. I was a longform writer and performer, and I am still in the messy process of finding new ways to create from inside the straitjacket of this disease. So glad to encounter your art and writing.
Thank you! It's a very disconcerting situation to have to switch one's practice so drastically. I have all sorts of ways I've integrated pacing techniques into my creative practice and am happy to share if you ever want to talk about that.
Yes, very disconcerting! Especially when creativity is a big part of our self-concept, community life, etc. I’m actively struggling with pacing and creative practice, and I’d love to hear about techniques and strategies that have worked for you. It’s very kind of you to offer to share!
I’ve managed to train myself to go into flow states very quickly through practice and the use of timers. Also, finding a restorative creative practice has been key.
I use a modified pomodoro method for most cognitive or active tasks. I started with 5 minutes of activity and 20 minutes of restoration and slowly added or subtracted minutes as I felt able to. Even 5 minutes of writing added up together over the course of a few weeks feeds me.
Do you have a wearable tracker of any sort? I use HRV to let me know when I can increase activities and that has made a big difference too.
That’s fascinating. It’s actually really helpful and heartening to hear that your body and mind have adapted to new ways of working, and learned to enter flow states very quickly. I also think finding restorative practices is going to be important for me. This process…is not easy 😂
Right now I use a pretty simple Fitbit to track my vitals, and I use one of those phone camera lens apps to check HRV during the day,. Do you mind sharing what kind of wearable you use? I think it’s probably time to invest in something a little more high tech.
Thanks so much for sharing! Very much appreciated ❤️
Finding restorative activities is absolutely key to flourishing in my experience! Well worth the work. For sure not easy, especially if you, like me, were a really active person before!
I use an Oura ring since it gives me an overnight HRV measurement and some excellent other data. I have different routines written down for different Oura ring readiness scores/HRV since I've found pacing needs to be long term as well as in the moment.
If you decided to get an Oura ring, they keep giving me referral coupons for $50 off so I can absolutely sent you one!
Thank you for this. I've been so sick that nothing but aggressive rest and meditation have been restorative, but I think I've reached a point where I can find activities that aren't depleting. The possibility hadn't even crossed my mind, so I very much appreciate meeting you and encountering your work and ideas on this right now! I'm going to start experimenting with more hands-on arts and crafts, and listening to music. Is there anything else that has worked well for you? (And yes, I was quite an active person before. It's a huge paradigm shift.)
It makes a lot of sense to have different routines for different HRV measures. Pacing is a beast. It has been so hard for me, partly because of logistics, and partly because it requries a certain amount of (difficult) acceptance of reality. I will check out the Oura ring! Sending solidarity along the bits and bytes <3
Radical rest is so necessary sometimes! When I first got sick I wasn’t able to do much of anything and even shaved my head because washing my hair was too depleting. Meditation is absolutely a boon at those times.
I would recommend you start restorative activities very slowly and cautiously and use timers so you don’t overdo it. I’m going to be posting here next week about getting back into music and how difficult it was because of hyperacusis. I still have to be a bit careful listening to music but headphones and very relaxing music is how I started out. Brian Eno’s Music for airports was one of my favourites at that time. Do let me know how you get on with hand work. I think it takes some experimenting before one finds something that clicks. I find sketching pretty relaxing aside from embroidery. And I also do visible mending (sashiko and darning mostly).
Pacing is a beast. It takes so much awareness and discipline. Timers take a lot of the guesswork out of it for me.