insight from commenting- the barrier to productivity created by laureldom

[elegentry]

I just wrote this as a comment on Celsa's post about lack of time. I am posting it on it's own because I think the section underlined really is a problem for me. I need to think about that and what I might do about it:


"personally I have less time for SCA projects than I did a few years ago. I blame 4 things
- LJ and email at home
- work being more hours and more exhausting
- buying a house and getting into gardening.
- um, and being a costume laurel.

I too get a lot of sewing etc done on trains and at events. I just haven't been travelling on trains or going to many events lately. Well I did in the UK recently but I was patchworking rather than doing SCA stuff. La.

The big problem is as a costume laurel, I feel that every single thing I produce for the SCA has to be as perfectly authentic as possible. This is really exhausting and does not allow for much in the way of pure creativity. Hence my drift into patchwork, quilting and back to street clothes. So I still make things that take ages but they are not SCA relevant. For example, the star quilt (was posted if you remember) I finished about 6mths ago that took around a year of my creative output. I do second the notion that really intense/complex/lengthy things can get done if you do 20min of it every day or so."

later:
-hmm. Does this translate as nothing I do can realistically be good enough and is therefore pointless? or that I make too many decisions at work and have too few decisions left for costuming? Or that I need more creative outlets more than I need costumes? Or that I am sick of changing shape so nothing fits? or that I miss the game how I/we used to play it? Or that other stuff is more important right now?

Way too much self analysis for a Monday night. My head hurts and I'm going to bed. Probably the most sensible thing I have written all night.

Comments

[mousicles.livejournal.com]

I think it is the time versus reward thing. You've always been a perfectionist, it just that as time goes on, you know more and you always want to do better with the next project. I look back at past triumphs and wonder what I was thinking, but at the time they were amazing (and our good stuff still looks good)

But when you don't go to many events and in my case, quite often only half the event, there is no point in making something cunning to swan about in with friends.

Plus we all hang out together without the need for an SCA event to bring us together so the need for frocks is diminished.

Do whatever interests you? Anything else will just seem like hard work. When an idea comes along that inspires you, it will be fun and not work.

And don't feel guilty about keeping up the laurel appearances. Only you are going to notice.