Good morning. My brain is buzzing. I have too much creative energy. There are a thousand possible project ideas fighting for my attention all crammed in at the prow of my brain. They all want in the lifeboat NOW. How do I calm the situation? I want to save them all and make them real before they fade. This may seem a little brutal as far as metaphors go, but it’s a dog-eat-dog world in my brain, it’s every idea for itself. I only have so much electricity in there and they can't all come to fruition. It’s sad, but “cycle of life” sad rather than the weepy tragedy kind.
I appreciate your comment on ADHD when it comes to projects. I too struggle with this, I'm excited to start but not so excited to finish the project. I grow my ideas by constantly feeding my brain with content with great articles like this! As a perfectionist, I have to force myself to complete a project, even if I'm not in love with it. It's mindful grease that helps keep the creative brain cogs turning.
As a fellow profuse polymathic ADHD-having dog-based-song-writer I’ve rarely identified so much with someone talking about ideas. Mine swarm too, and I panic about catching them before they fade and making them real before some part of me decides they’re impossible. As for “good” ideas, you know, I think we have our inklings but that can really only be judged in hindsight. As a longtime consumer of the ideas of yours that do get to be real, I think they’re all pretty f*cking good.
Bags. I have tons of bags with it since crafts and have completed prototypes and my grandmother’s favorite thimble now mine, a treasure, and, which I can never find. Right now the bag is in my bedroom and filled with fabric to copy a skirt that I just bought and want many many more versions of. It’s the most basic thing. A rectangle of a wool blend. Sew a pocket on. Sew some Velcro on. A little bias tape around the edges et voilà. Or at least that’s how it goes in my head until it’s time to pull the sewing machine out. My sewing machine is an old Kenmore that I’ve had for almost as long as I have known my husband. I am not a seamstress. I can sew straight lines. I can manage elastic waist bands. I can hem. That’s it. The machine always starts out strong. Really happy to be out of its case, out of the closet, back in the world. But after an hour or so, it starts to get a little bitchy. Threads bunch up from the bobbin. I get bitchy. The machine goes back in the closet. The scraps go back into the bag and the bag goes into the back of the closet for a timeout.
I too have a MILLION project bags. I think your machine is just dying it needs to be serviced? Mine was doing that and I took it to the spa. It's a workhorse again.
If you live in Colorado and want to have a steady stream of work, become a sewing machine tech. Three shops all said 7 week minimum! I found the manual for my old dear and some videos.
I write them all down on paper and ignore my attempts to prune them initially or talk myself out of them. i just do a free form data dump then walk away. I come back to the list in a day and start jotting more details around each idea, filling out details, including spin off projects. Then, based on my time, money and excitement I start with one of them and keep the rest in an idea box for later. When i get more time and money, I go get an idea from the box.
This post came at such an apt time for me. I'm also experiencing that buzzing, to-the-lifeboats sensation of creative energy. I try to hand out life jackets to my ideas by making notes in various documents (it helps that most are text-based), before I dump them in the water, and then trusting that the good ideas will still be afloat and alive by the time I can come back for them. Sounds harsh maybe, but what else can one do? I'm already not sleeping enough, so. And money makes decisions for us too for sure. All of my visual art ideas are too expensive for me right now so those have to wait, but I do feel a little sad for tyem—some will surely die in concept form that might not have done so otherwise!
Just listened to the newest episode of Craig Finn's "That's How I Remember It" podcast with Lucinda Williams, and she mentioned that she used to kick herself for forgetting ideas until she realized that they come back. "They might be slightly different, but they come back" It was a comforting notion for my ADHD brain.... but then you have David Lynch saying, "For the love of god, write it fucking down and then take action!" So... maybe a little of both is needed.
It’s so comforting to hear one of my favorite artists talk about ADHD and their creative process/dread (lol) in terms that resonate so much with how I operate. Makes me feel less “insane” and lost in the sauce. Love you king Neko. 💖
Dear Sister From Another Mister, let me know when you figure it out. I got 99 unfinished projects and a bitch ain’t one. Right now the goal is: finish...something. Even if it’s a PB&J.
I don't have as many good ideas as you do. But when I get one, I like to write it down and spend some time thinking about it. An outline is a great tool that lets me flesh out the idea and understand how it could develop. It also helps me stay close to the inspiration so I can go back to it later and remember why I thought it was promising. By the way, what is the drawing? A composter? A grill? Enquiring minds want to know.
A job interview for ideas is awesome! It’s like the ideas for how to handle the ideas triples the number of ideas, exacerbating the “problem.” What you need is an HR department to sort through the ideas and narrow down the ones that will lead to the desired results. Or maybe go for a run or do something physical and the standouts will reveal themselves.
I often fed and grew a lot of my writing ideas on evening walks. Mainly it was for short stories. Id cobble and compose in my head while traipsing the two mile route my current ration of story content. By return home id plop my ass in front of computer and type out a new couple of pages. Stop right there. Not push it. Go to sleep. Do same process the following day. Rarely do this when songsmithing. I prefer the yellow pad. Tactile scribbles and erasures and variable actual written takes are such a turn on to me. That visual evolution signifies momentum in those moments. Being alive. Living my bliss!
I had a friend I greatly adored at the time look at an unfinished piece of mine, and made it seem so simple. She said, “Just keep going”.
In that moment she made it seem so simple. In my mind I thought, “Yes! She is right. Just keep going.”
Reality always hits. Especially with us ADHD types. The dopamine fades away and somewhere in a tree over there, squirrels are born.
But, I remember the clarity that hit when she said that. There seemed to be a lot of reality in what she said. It was that simple. Because, that’s what you do to continue.
You keep going.
When I hit walls on projects that I know deeply I want to start or continue. I will turn on one of those trendy background noise playlists with the various frequencies, or take a walk and try my best to meditate on that moment with her.
That glimpse of where I fully understood that progress means overcoming my own hiccups and love for squirrels. And just move forward.
So, I guess my short answer is meditation. And allowing myself to check in. It helps with clarity on better decisions moving forward for me. Since distractions are my favorite thing.
I wish I knew how to fix this problem. I have the same thing happen all the time. I have to go with whichever idea seems most fully-formed and ready to go in the moment.
I appreciate your comment on ADHD when it comes to projects. I too struggle with this, I'm excited to start but not so excited to finish the project. I grow my ideas by constantly feeding my brain with content with great articles like this! As a perfectionist, I have to force myself to complete a project, even if I'm not in love with it. It's mindful grease that helps keep the creative brain cogs turning.
As a fellow profuse polymathic ADHD-having dog-based-song-writer I’ve rarely identified so much with someone talking about ideas. Mine swarm too, and I panic about catching them before they fade and making them real before some part of me decides they’re impossible. As for “good” ideas, you know, I think we have our inklings but that can really only be judged in hindsight. As a longtime consumer of the ideas of yours that do get to be real, I think they’re all pretty f*cking good.
Bags. I have tons of bags with it since crafts and have completed prototypes and my grandmother’s favorite thimble now mine, a treasure, and, which I can never find. Right now the bag is in my bedroom and filled with fabric to copy a skirt that I just bought and want many many more versions of. It’s the most basic thing. A rectangle of a wool blend. Sew a pocket on. Sew some Velcro on. A little bias tape around the edges et voilà. Or at least that’s how it goes in my head until it’s time to pull the sewing machine out. My sewing machine is an old Kenmore that I’ve had for almost as long as I have known my husband. I am not a seamstress. I can sew straight lines. I can manage elastic waist bands. I can hem. That’s it. The machine always starts out strong. Really happy to be out of its case, out of the closet, back in the world. But after an hour or so, it starts to get a little bitchy. Threads bunch up from the bobbin. I get bitchy. The machine goes back in the closet. The scraps go back into the bag and the bag goes into the back of the closet for a timeout.
I too have a MILLION project bags. I think your machine is just dying it needs to be serviced? Mine was doing that and I took it to the spa. It's a workhorse again.
If you live in Colorado and want to have a steady stream of work, become a sewing machine tech. Three shops all said 7 week minimum! I found the manual for my old dear and some videos.
DAMN!
Voice to text is not my friend.
I write them all down on paper and ignore my attempts to prune them initially or talk myself out of them. i just do a free form data dump then walk away. I come back to the list in a day and start jotting more details around each idea, filling out details, including spin off projects. Then, based on my time, money and excitement I start with one of them and keep the rest in an idea box for later. When i get more time and money, I go get an idea from the box.
I loved this glimpse of the creative stew where those great songs start! In my experience, the best ideas talk back.
This post came at such an apt time for me. I'm also experiencing that buzzing, to-the-lifeboats sensation of creative energy. I try to hand out life jackets to my ideas by making notes in various documents (it helps that most are text-based), before I dump them in the water, and then trusting that the good ideas will still be afloat and alive by the time I can come back for them. Sounds harsh maybe, but what else can one do? I'm already not sleeping enough, so. And money makes decisions for us too for sure. All of my visual art ideas are too expensive for me right now so those have to wait, but I do feel a little sad for tyem—some will surely die in concept form that might not have done so otherwise!
Just listened to the newest episode of Craig Finn's "That's How I Remember It" podcast with Lucinda Williams, and she mentioned that she used to kick herself for forgetting ideas until she realized that they come back. "They might be slightly different, but they come back" It was a comforting notion for my ADHD brain.... but then you have David Lynch saying, "For the love of god, write it fucking down and then take action!" So... maybe a little of both is needed.
It’s so comforting to hear one of my favorite artists talk about ADHD and their creative process/dread (lol) in terms that resonate so much with how I operate. Makes me feel less “insane” and lost in the sauce. Love you king Neko. 💖
I know you’re not really asking our opinion, but musical please.
Dear Sister From Another Mister, let me know when you figure it out. I got 99 unfinished projects and a bitch ain’t one. Right now the goal is: finish...something. Even if it’s a PB&J.
I don't have as many good ideas as you do. But when I get one, I like to write it down and spend some time thinking about it. An outline is a great tool that lets me flesh out the idea and understand how it could develop. It also helps me stay close to the inspiration so I can go back to it later and remember why I thought it was promising. By the way, what is the drawing? A composter? A grill? Enquiring minds want to know.
The drawing is of an industrial sink that already exists. It was just so sad I thought it would be funny to include it :)
I love how it’s drawn without regard to the graph paper. It’s like coloring outside the lines.
yeah, that's kinda the chef's kiss
I’m reminded of Brando as Kurtz but instead of whispering “the horror...the horror” he whispers “the lists...the lists.”
😂😂😂
A job interview for ideas is awesome! It’s like the ideas for how to handle the ideas triples the number of ideas, exacerbating the “problem.” What you need is an HR department to sort through the ideas and narrow down the ones that will lead to the desired results. Or maybe go for a run or do something physical and the standouts will reveal themselves.
I often fed and grew a lot of my writing ideas on evening walks. Mainly it was for short stories. Id cobble and compose in my head while traipsing the two mile route my current ration of story content. By return home id plop my ass in front of computer and type out a new couple of pages. Stop right there. Not push it. Go to sleep. Do same process the following day. Rarely do this when songsmithing. I prefer the yellow pad. Tactile scribbles and erasures and variable actual written takes are such a turn on to me. That visual evolution signifies momentum in those moments. Being alive. Living my bliss!
I had a friend I greatly adored at the time look at an unfinished piece of mine, and made it seem so simple. She said, “Just keep going”.
In that moment she made it seem so simple. In my mind I thought, “Yes! She is right. Just keep going.”
Reality always hits. Especially with us ADHD types. The dopamine fades away and somewhere in a tree over there, squirrels are born.
But, I remember the clarity that hit when she said that. There seemed to be a lot of reality in what she said. It was that simple. Because, that’s what you do to continue.
You keep going.
When I hit walls on projects that I know deeply I want to start or continue. I will turn on one of those trendy background noise playlists with the various frequencies, or take a walk and try my best to meditate on that moment with her.
That glimpse of where I fully understood that progress means overcoming my own hiccups and love for squirrels. And just move forward.
So, I guess my short answer is meditation. And allowing myself to check in. It helps with clarity on better decisions moving forward for me. Since distractions are my favorite thing.
I wish I knew how to fix this problem. I have the same thing happen all the time. I have to go with whichever idea seems most fully-formed and ready to go in the moment.