Every creative has a wandering eye. We have a project in front of us, but all these ideas are brewing in our imagination, waiting to be tinkered with. So we’ll try a little something here and a little something there, dabbling in those ideas for that rush of new creation.
If creatives were a meme, we’d be the one where a guy is holding his girlfriend’s hand while checking out another woman going by.
We’re easily distracted. Easily lured. But that’s not always a bad thing. Dabbling can ignite excitement and get the juices flowing. We have to be careful not to cross over into distraction though. Ask yourself a few questions to make sure you’re not going beyond a fun tangent and into a full on detour.
What are you feeling creatively?
When you’re feeling yourself stray from your main body of work, it’s important to check in with your muse and see how she’s doing.
Are you:
Inspired?
Frustrated?
Stuck?
Energized?
If your diversion is coming from a place of excitement and joy, then that’s unlikely to be a destructive new direction. If you are seeking out something new because you can’t focus on your current project, you aren’t liking your “day job,” or you’re just running out of steam, you may be headed towards trouble. It’s okay to take breaks, but if you feel like you are doing this because you’re in an uncomfortable place with your creativity, you may want to put the new shiny object down until you’ve completed the task at hand.
How far are you diverting from your core work?
Now let’s have a little talk about proximity. If you are a writer and you take a break from your novel to write a short story, you might be doing an exercise that’s still beneficial to your career, even if it detracts from the main work. However, if you’re a writer who is suddenly trying to learn how to do graphic design so you can DIY your own book cover (one day when you finish it) then you might be barreling towards a distraction.
If you have a top creative goal, it’s okay to take a timeout, but if you find yourself swinging way outside the bounds of productivity, it’s time to have a chat about how far you’ve strayed. We all do it. It’s just important to be aware of how far you’ve gotten from your intended creative purpose.
How long are you dabbling for?
Are you dabbling for a day? Or has it been weeks? A decent-sized dabble shouldn’t take up massive chunks of time. It should be brief and contained. If it’s running wild, you need to start having a conversation with yourself about whether this is a fun little pause or a take off in a new direction. It’s okay to change your mind and pivot, but if your tinkering always turns into a new path, you might be using the fun newness as a way to avoid finishing anything. Look inside yourself and see if this is a pattern.
If a day or two of distance from your project is healthy for you, take that time. If it always turns into months of a new project, you might be in an unhealthy routine of pulling yourself away from completion.
Are you resting? Feuling your other hobbies?
A lot of times when we dabble, it’s because we need time away from our current efforts. It’s often in moments of burnout and agitation. But a lot of things can contribute to that feeling. It may not be your work causing that feeling, but you’re putting the blame on it.
Check in with your mental and physical health outside your core project. Ask yourself:
- Am I getting enough sleep?
- Am I eating foods that nourish my body and my brain?
- Am I getting exercise?
- Am I indulging in my hobbies that give me mental breaks?
- Am I leaning on bad habits in times of stress?
A lot of times we blame our creative projects for their own incompletion. When really, it’s us. It’s how we are taking care of our health and how we are cushioning our projects that lead us to avoid, dabble and distract ourselves.
Where’s procrastination at right now?
Just acknowledge it. Dabbling in creative work to distract from work is almost always tied to procrastination. How heavily are you feeling the need to avoid your main project? On a scale of one to “I’d rather pull my toenails off” how badly are you trying to get out of what you know you need to do?
How do you feel about the work you’re “dabbling” in at the end of the day?
Lastly, how does the dabbling make you feel once you’ve given your time to it rather than the work you “should” be doing? Do you feel renewed and exhilarated? Or do you feel guilty and ashamed?
If it’s the former, then maybe it was a healthy, much needed dive into a creative headspace. If you feel angry with yourself, it could have been a distraction that cost you needed hours for your true passion.
There is no need to deny yourself the joy of creative dabbling. Sometimes it can even lead to brilliant and wild new ideas and directions. You have to be able to identify when an indulgence has gone too far though so you don’t throw away what you truly want for a temporary thrill.