When technology fails

We switch it off, wait a while and switch it back on. Sometimes we need a little switch off, not because we are made or upset, but because we need space from ourselves, our thoughts, and our work.

It’s something that has been on my mind recently, the constant desire to create, learn and produce, to the point where I am burnt out. My creativity is low, my thoughts of imposter syndrome are at their peak, and I wonder why I am even showing up.

But it dawned on me, perhaps I am just a piece of technology, fans whirring, overheating, and not functioning at full capacity. Maybe I need to unplug, rest, and come back revived.

By Chance I was forced into this, a major breakdown of my equipment left me unable to shoot, too demoralised to develop recipes and at a loss. So, being a proactive person, I took it upon myself to accomplish all the jobs that have been taking space in some corner of my mind. Those thoughts that pop up and you push back in favour of something you deem ‘more critical’ or ‘more beneficial’ but, in retrospect are subconsciously just another factor in your stressed state.

Over a day I managed to clear over 200 cookbooks to the charity shop that had been loved but no longer of use to me. This left space to clear out my props and sort them in a way that will benefit my workflow. I took time to sort through paperwork that had been piling up, including writing this very blog. And I can tell you, I feel freer, like a weight has been lifted.

The morose and guilt I had presumed would occur If I took a day away from developing, creating, and shooting just never came to fruition. Instead, I was rewarded with a feeling that I had achieved and was free to create without pushing the burden of a backlog of work to the corners of my mind.

So, If I can offer you anything, it is take time for YOU, 1 day for yourself will never impact your earnings sufficiently enough. Take a walk, socialise, clean a cupboard…. Just do the one thing that will make moving forward that bit easier.

No vehicle runs on empty, and we are just vehicles for our genes. We need fuel, and that comes in the form of nourishment, self-care, and time. We all deserve a little of that.

I would love to hear how you have ‘switched off’ so please send me a DM either here or Instagram. We are all in this together.

Hugs as always
Suze