@ Squa – Completely agree that the whole issue of evaluation can be very stressful. I’ve written a few pieces about giving (and receiving) feedback on creative work, so you might like to have a look at the Feedback category for this site: http://www.wishfulthinking.co.uk/category/feedback/

Many thanks for this important post…I found it reflected my experience too, although with a different kind of creative endeavour, the environmental & sustainability activism work I have been involved in since 1993.

All of the same things in terms of personal responsibility apply to anyone involved in social change work, but in the case of social change activitsts [like writers, artists] it can also often be unpaid with no one making you do anything but yourself [too much intrinsic motivation?!]. I recall the 1996 conference of environment groups in Australia included a session on burnout, how to survive when a campaign you have invested blood, sweat and tears in fails etc.

I spent five years working voluntarily 10am – 6pm with an environment NGO [minus University contact hours] and did indeed end up trashing my health. But it wasn’t for fear of losing my job, since my work was voluntary. It was work that was [and still is] so important and interesting to me on a personal level that my health took a major blow. I did it again about five years later when I took on more extracurricular work of this nature while working full time [and then foolishly doing other community work like organising school reunions, one of which was attended by 700 people!].

There were benefits from all my efforts in terms of contacts and learning and travel opportunities, and the work I did also very much contributed to my now being in a paid work role that I love, that is aligned with my values and where I am earning good money.

I will continue to do the voluntary work I am committed to, but need to get better at maintaining the delicate balance of doing work that is personally important to me and sustaining mySELF! 24-7 digital connection has made it even harder to create boundaries and tell yourself ‘I’ll just do x…’.

Cheers from Australia,
Sharon

PS: Your readers might be interested in these links:

http://www.gohomeontimeday.org.au
http://www.timeday.org

A while back I wrote an e-book called Time Management for Creative People and several people had a go at me in the comments for daring to suggest that a little more organisation and structure can actually be good for creativity. But since then the e-book has been downloaded over 80,000 times and led to me running lots of workshops on the subject – attended by creatives of all descriptions, who have been VERY hungry to learn.

So my experience suggests that – although we love the image of the wild, unfettered creative soul – there’s also a great demand for order and structure among creatives. But it has to be the right kind of structure – not imposed from above, but growing out of the demands of the work itself.

I once interviewed some contemporary poets about their working habits. It was interesting to see a spectrum emerge, of order vs chaos. E.g. Susan Wicks described a very orderly working routine, while Paul Farley said he could never write when he wanted to, and had to be ‘mugged’ by a poem when he was in the middle of doing something else.

I think most of us are somewhere on that spectrum between structure and improvisation. Some people might say that that’s the nature of creativity itself.

I’m no psychologist so this theory could be rubbish.

They get rewarded for short crunching, but more importantly they get rewarded for figuring out how to get rid of crunch hours on our projects.

Great approach to management, looking at the bigger picture and getting the priorities right. Thanks for sharing.

@jportfolio –

Unfortunately, financial reasons keep these individuals in these situations, and it’s a cycle that leads to burnout. It takes a giant leap of faith and dedication for a creative individual in a bad situation to change it themselves.

Too true. Burnout can lead to learned helplessness, where you don’t see the options available. Glad to hear you found the courage to make the leap, and things worked out (eventually).

@ BF Smoody – Relax, it’s not a Rorschach test!

@ Mary K – Good summary of issues and options, thanks. Only problem with 2 is if the supervisor himself/herself is under pressure to meet unrealistic deadlines, in which case s/he can at best be a buffer between senior management and the team.

1. Many people never get out of the procrastination mode—doing all-nighters for school work sets the stage for future endeavors. Many of these people will mistakenly tell you they do their best work under pressure.
2. Neglecting work/personal balance. Most people work to live, not the other way around. Harmony between these two competing demands makes a better employee.
3. Un- or under-developed people (soft) skills. When your work or academic history focuses on a product and does not touch on ancillary topics like leadership, human resources, or basic supervisory techniques, you end up having monsters for supervisors.
Solutions:
1. Eliminate fear of failure. In fact, jump right into it! Strive to fail. Then continue on. The pursuite of perfection has lost more fantastic ideas than it creates.
2. A good supervisor will be aware of milestones and deadlines. S/he can keep staff on track, notify senior management of slippages and problems and advocate effectively for his/her staff to create that exceptional work environment that fosters creativity and happiness.