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The blissful Zen of a good side project

joshcollinsworth.com

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Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#111

Post by sgarland »

mahoumaigo wrote: post #52
aaarrm wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the same, and it has kind of ruined me. No one I know thinks the ways I do. I keep wondering if it's just due to anxiety or a fear of death, or an inability to feel present or what. But I really wish I could figure this aspect of myself out so that I can relax and enjoy in a moment. Whenever I realize that I was lost a moment, I get anxious about what I should be doing with my time instead.

I'm also like this. Some part of me feels that any moment spent not honing a skill / advancing in some way is a wasted one. I know it's a bs perspective, but still I find myself taking it constantly. I do manage to force myself out of this way of thinking from time to time, but it requires conscious effort to do so. I imagine this forum has its fair share of people who fall for this "overachiever fallacy". I'd be cur…

I had that mindset, but then an overwhelming amount of personal and work stress made me change. Unfortunately, as I wrote in a comment further up, now I feel like I’m too far on the other side, where all I do after work is relax.

If anyone has suggestions on striking a balance, I’d love to hear them.

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#112

Post by Aerbil313 »

sgarland wrote: post #111
mahoumaigo wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also like this. Some part of me feels that any moment spent not honing a skill / advancing in some way is a wasted one. I know it's a bs perspective, but still I find myself taking it constantly. I do manage to force myself out of this way of thinking from time to time, but it requires conscious effort to do so. I imagine this forum has its fair share of people who fall for this "overachiever fallacy". I'd be cur…

I had that mindset, but then an overwhelming amount of personal and work stress made me change. Unfortunately, as I wrote in a comment further up, now I feel like I’m too far on the other side, where all I do after work is relax. If anyone has suggestions on striking a balance, I’d love to hear them.

I share the experience of all 4 parents of this comment. It turned out I had undiagnosed ADHD. After diagnosis all my life suddenly made sense. Before the diagnosis, my situation had progressed to a point I’d get burnout by just everyday life, let alone work. Everything was overwhelming. Treatment turned my life around.

Later, I found out I have autism too - many autistic people “mask” around other people, altering their behavior to hide autistic traits. This is another thing causing (temporary) burnout after being around people.

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#113

Post by grahar64 »

I like to have side projects that end in a blog post. So many people never share side projects because they are going for perfection and give up on the way, but if the end result is not code or a product I find it more enjoyable to work on. Like have a vision of what you want to explore and focus on that.

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#114

Post by theoreticalmal »

wonger_ wrote: post #49
keyle wrote: post #39

It's an interesting read. I'm in the complete opposite camp. I can't pick up a game controller for more than 5 minutes without feeling like I'm wasting time. This has lead to many, many side projects throughout the years, which I tend to like a zen garden[1]. Pruning, refining, improving, and sometimes rewriting. As soon as I work out the game mechanics of any game, I just see it as just content now, and there is not…

Yeah, I've noticed that when I have lots of stressors, I don't have any creative energy. I have to give myself permission to let go, that it's ok to forget about a side project. It's more important to focus on self-care and tackling irl problems at that point. But when life is good, it's hard to stop tinkering. Weekend-sized projects are the best. For me, it's an urge to create and see the core 20% come to life, not…

Oh wow! I’ve noticed a definitely cycle to my creativity as well definitely correlated with stress. I’ve never thought about hormonal changes. I’ve recently started taking lots vitamins and keeping track of my motivation via a spreadsheet each day. No conclusions yet, but I’m curious to see what will show up

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#116

Post by sgarland »

Aerbil313 wrote: post #112
sgarland wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had that mindset, but then an overwhelming amount of personal and work stress made me change. Unfortunately, as I wrote in a comment further up, now I feel like I’m too far on the other side, where all I do after work is relax. If anyone has suggestions on striking a balance, I’d love to hear them.

I share the experience of all 4 parents of this comment. It turned out I had undiagnosed ADHD. After diagnosis all my life suddenly made sense. Before the diagnosis, my situation had progressed to a point I’d get burnout by just everyday life, let alone work. Everything was overwhelming . Treatment turned my life around. Later, I found out I have autism too - many autistic people “mask” around other people, altering…

LOL yes. I have diagnosed and treated ADHD, and my therapist suspects (but it is currently undiagnosed) that I am autistic. Super fun times.

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#118

Post by m463 »

sgarland wrote: post #109
prox wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the hallmarks of people who get stressed, and especially people with burnout is that they don’t have any creative or any relaxive or active outlet anymore. They get kind of stuck in their stressloop. Say a people who enjoyed playing an instrument stops playing, etc. The best companies I worked allowed for a bit of game/social activity between work sessions.

My current problem is that I feel like I’m only barely managing to not completely burn out via relaxation at night. I used to have a ton of excitement over my side project, but for the past several months, I can’t muster the energy. I play a board game on Steam (Wingspan: 10/10 would recommend the physical and digital version) that has a soundtrack I like, and that’s about it. This keeps me sane, but I often find mys…

wingspan is on my wishlist.

I played this computer game "eliza" by zachtronics and it had this very interesting solitaire mini-game inside it. I liked it so much I bought the zachtronics solitaire collection. And wow, I would launch it "between things" for a moment and it could easily spin the clock forward an hour or more.

I had to delete it from my computer.

I think there are some things you have to just say no to and go through the pain of making yourself bored so something better will fill in.

I think wingspan may remain on my wishlist :)

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#119

Post by b0dhimind »

andai wrote: post #95

Ah yes, "blissful" Zen. That's the best kind! --- It reminds me of Yunmen, a monk who lived in China. He was born around 860 A.D. and he lived ninety years. His enlightenment story is a classic: One day, Yunmen went to visit Mujo. When Mujo heard Yunmen coming, he closed the door to his room. Yunmen knocked on the door. Mujo said, “Who is it?” Yunmen said, “It’s me.” Mujo said, “What do you want?” Yunmen said, “I’m n…

What's the meaning of this? Be spontaneous and give up on contriving so much

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#120

Post by irishloop »

> I think we exist to bring new things into existence. If you ask me, to the extent there is a meaning of life, that’s it. We exist to create. It lights us up in a way nothing else does, putting something new into our world—and in doing so, fundamentally changing it, in whatever way, however big or small.

I find this a rather strange, limited way of looking at our existence.

I believe there is joy in creating. I believe there is joy in just spending time with the people you love. I believe there is joy in exploring new places, people, ideas. I believe there is joy in being still and present.

We are always looking for some singular, defining thing in our lives. What does it all mean. It has to be for something.

But I disagree. It doesn't have to be for anything. It's enough to just do what brings you joy, to evolve and change, to treat others in kindness. The rest is just personal preferences.

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