Creative Blackout

I’ve been in a creative blackout for the past seven or so years of my life. This coincides with when I became a caregiver for my ailing Father as his health declined. Every day was spent battling the bureaucracy of health insurance companies and veterans disability benefits.

When he succumbed to his illness about a year ago I became even more withdrawn and went out of my way to experience only the bare necessities of life. The battleground scenery simply changed to probate court.

Sleep. Wake. Work. Eat. File paperwork. Stare at the television for hours on end. Repeat. Except on weekends. When more television replaced work.

But with the help of a new health regimen and the support of my lovely Miss I've been able to start pulling myself out of that blackout and back into society. I still have an unknown road ahead of me but I'm finally enjoying the journey again.

The Toolbox Fallacy

If only I had…well, just watch the video. I had thousands of "if only" excuses. And watching this video helped decimate all of them.

After years of procrastination and typing incoherent brainstorming ideas into Evernote I finally smacked Publish on my first real (albeit short) article in years. Rather than watching endless YouTube videos about creating things…I actually created something.

So thank you Ian Martin for the indirect creative inspiration!

Becoming a Morning Person by Necessity

My vanilla work schedule recently changed to waking up at 5:30 AM and getting home around 8:00 PM every weekday. So I was forced to become a morning person.

Now that the initial shock of showering before dawn has waned I'm finding that I rather enjoy the early start. Combined with the new health regimen I feel more energized throughout the day and wake organically a few minutes before my alarm goes off.

After having a month to become accustomed to my new routine I ran across Bryan Ye's How To Wake Up at 5 A.M. Every Day. It turns out that I was already implementing most of his suggestions!

Although going to bed before midnight is still a challenge.

In Hindsight

I probably should have recognized my depressive symptoms earlier. But I was so focused on my Father's degrading condition that I felt almost guilty if I was able to partake in the passions that he was no longer able to.

But you have to be healthy yourself before helping others. So be sure to put your oxygen mask on first before you actually need it.

KR, Reify.