Staying Passionate and Managing Time

“How can I maintain my passion, interest and growth in artistic things?

During the pandemic, there have been instances where one may have halted their creative journey with “artist's block”, causing a disinterest or loss in passion for the arts. There are a variety of reasons that can cause this. From a change in environment (for example: physically interacting less with the “outside world”, like during the pandemic), a fear of imperfections, or it could even be a problem that occurred out of the blue. Here are some ways one can peak their interest and gain their passion like before, as well as how to continuously improve in their work.

How to not lose your passion/stay interested (for art, drama and music):

1. Visit a museum - preferably with an artistic theme

Learn about the history of how something was made, gather inspiration by putting yourself in the artist’s shoes. Wonder if they can make an influence in your next piece, if you enjoy a certain style, if you think it’s time to change your mediums, etc.

1. Start with anything

There is no wrong way to go about this. On a piece of paper or on a canvas, just draw anything - like a line or a squiggle. Maybe start adding colours - wherever you want. Try building up from something simple and see where your mind takes you.

1. Watch your favourite movies

Some actors may forget why they pursue/continue acting. A good way of remembering your passion for acting is watching some of your favourite movies, analysing every bit of it - characters and their depth, movie genres, costumes and settings represented, etc.

1. Challenge yourself to recite a monologue

Get back into character, literally. Recall what it is like taking on a role. A challenge to see your range of capabilities in a multitude of aspects related to theatre.

1. Listen to other artists/genres

Figure out what different styles bring to the table. Maybe there are certain chord progressions on instruments used that you could experiment with (The second point can apply to experimentation, except start with a few simple notes, beats or lyrics).

How to keep improving:

• Accept criticism from others as this is how someone grows.

• Step out of your comfort zone with different styles of your artistic field. You may find more styles and techniques you’re good at.

• Learn from other fellow artists that you think are inspirational. Learn about how they got to where they are now.

• Remember that it’ll take time. Be patient with yourself and love what creative pieces you put out in the world.

How can I deal with excessive workload in class?

We all know how it feels to get so much work from several teachers at a time. Your head gets messy and so does your desk. Don’t worry, here are a few steps you can take to reduce your workload.

• Be systematic

  • Start by sorting your docs, material and resources. Create a drive for your documents, which will help organize the work you need to do.

• Create levels

  • Consider how important the work is by prioritizing your tasks, ranks in important jobs for which there are serious consequences. Then just work from there, don’t feel pressured to do all the work in one day.

• Increase capacity

  • One important way to decrease time wasted is to consider effective use of technology - which will manage your information better - this removes the burden of ‘remembering’ where things are stored.

• Take the initiative

  • Ask for help, if you are feeling overwhelmed, teachers should be able to help you! Asking for help is encouraged.

  • Make a to-do list, these are personally very useful, ticking them off will give you the motivation to keep going.

• Time management

  • Write down all your different tasks that you need to accomplish and give yourself a specific time to finish it.

• Communicate with others

  • Communication is key; working with others, splitting up the work could be more efficient!