Craft of Writing: Limitations and Difficulties.

 Dear Reader,

Limitations is something of a dirty word in our society. We are encouraged to "push past" them or "overcome" them. I have even indulged in using those expressions. But there are times, like what I am currently working through, where we can not push past or overcome our limitations. There are lots of ways we can be limited in life. Not enough time to work on our projects is a pretty common limitation. Not enough energy or mental capacity to work on our projects is tied with not enough time for the number one spot on most everyone's list of limitations that they're frustrated with.

As much as I encourage you to push past limits, it is important to respect hard limits. Trying to push past a hard limit will injure you. If you don't have enough time to work on your project, then you don't have enough time. There are only 24 hours in the day and you need to sleep for some of them to stay healthy. You also need to spend some time in recreation (and as much as you say that your creative work is recreation it is still a form of work). Schedules are a great way to work within your hard time limits. You may not get as much time in on the project as you would like, but a little done here and a little done there equates to great work over time.

There is also the factor of mental and emotional limits. If you have it the point where your brain is simply not functioning well enough for you to engage in creative work, all you're going to do is frustrate yourself and come away from the experience of doing that work feeling awful. I have days where my depression makes it very hard to keep writing and making things. It's awful and my guilt complex calls me lazy for taking days or even hours off from doing work. That's a mental habit that needs to be broken because when you're not well enough or focused enough to do the work, you need to rest. Rest is restorative and allows us to come back and attack problems in a new fashion.

Some days are great days and you will get a lot done on all your projects. Those are wonderful days but they are not the rule. Most days are going to be challenging in some fashion. You will have to decide if you have the energy, focus, or time to engage in your projects. There's no shame in saying "I can't do this right now." Honestly, that's been the hardest lesson for me to learn being disabled. That said, don't give up. Take a step back and a moment to recover and reorient yourself. Then re-engage your projects when you can within the limits you have tolerance for.

It may be that you are a fortunate so whose tolerance for various limits increases as you work. If you are not so fortunate and you are stuck within a smaller box than most people, don't give up. Every novel is written one page at a time. Every painting is done one brush stroke at a time. Do what you can, when you can. Don't worry about the rest because it will sort itself out in the wash.

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Addendum: If you are someone who is working on a deadline and you're struggling, that's alright too. Break your project into manageable chunks and work on it in stages. Remember for every hour of work, take fifteen minutes to take a break from it. This gives your brain and body an opportunity to recharge for the next work session. We are not machines and should not expect ourselves to push forward through everything life throws at us. ♥