Work soft, play hard
Your weekly fodder
“Researchers from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York tracked 355 adults over 13 days and found that while creative activity boosts positive emotions, meaning, and engagement in the moment, professional creatives were more likely to feel negative emotions the next day. The effect was less pronounced among casual creators, who often carried those positive feelings into the following morning.”
I came across this snippet about heavy creative output leading to lower moods the following day, which I found so interesting because I have sometimes experienced this phenomenon. I’ll have a banger of a day and I’m excited to keep going the next day, but then all my momentum stalls. According to this snippet, “professional” creatives were more likely to feel negative emotions the next day, whereas “casual” creators often carried those positive feelings in the following morning. What’s the difference between professional and casual creators? For me, it’s a matter of tying my finances, success, and value to my art. The more I feel urgency to create for the sake of survival, the harder it is to create from a joyful place. My best art comes from operating in a free, casual mindset. This seems to support the idea that keeping creativity casual is a good thing. Work soft, play hard. Do you also experience this?
If you enjoy this post, please share it with friends! Or feel free to click the ❤️ button so more people can discover Mel’s Notebook on Substack. Thank you!!! 🙏
As to your question, yes! But rarely. I have the luxury of being a more or less full time writer but also retired, not living from this work that I do. But there are natural rhythms to creating, and an extra intensive day may be followed by a more "quiet" day, with focus upon integration or further plans. With love, Maria
What an interesting piece of research. I’ve experienced this phenomenon for sure. Thanks for sharing.