June 16, 2004

"How to survive creative burnout" as told by some guy who worked at Microsoft for near to a decade. Some useful advice that I already pay mild attention to. Some of this stuff works way better than "GET HIGH, MAN!"
posted by The Sacred and Profane 20 years ago
  • I'm taking advice on how to avoid creative burnout from a guy that worked at microshaft, now? Wouldn't that be just rip someone else's code & ideas off, change it so it's not anywhere near as good & full of bugs, then pretend it's my own? His advice: Vary your projects. Take time off. Have a laugh. Travel. Sleep & excercise... MY GOD WHAT A GENIUS!! Paging Doctor Sarcasmo... telephone call for Doctor Sarcasmo...
  • Yeah, these seem like common-sense solutions... but let's face it, how often do we remember to perform these activities to help recharge ourselves? As a teacher and professional musician I suffer from occasional burnout, ususally from working too hard (right now I'm down to 3 jobs). This article has some excellent reminders on ways we can deal with stress.
  • Thanks S&P, this was a timely and (surprisingly) well-written reminder. And the bit about screaming "papaya" cracked me up.
  • On preview, what the_bone said. I particularily like the photos on the page - does anyone have any idea where/what that building is?
  • ... you're all the same people, aren't you?
  • That's, "Sarcastro", or "El Jefe" if you must. And yeah, Microsoft's capacity for creativity is about equal to the Sahara's capacity for growing a rainforest. Ok, well their marketing department is creative. If only in ways to fleece you of your hard-earned cash-ola by telling you the innovation they ripped whole cloth from someone else is completely theirs. /rant
  • *hands Nostrildamus a martini and a plate of cheese* It's okay, we get confused sometimes too.
  • The day you begin avoiding work, deadlines materialize instead of approaching, and you stare at your screen/sheet of paper for half an hour without even caring anymore, it's time to gon on vacation, exhaust yourself with whatever physical activity you prefer, and avoid any remotely work-related action. Of course, since that's impossible 90% of the time for most mortals, just try for the physical part, some movies, and hands-on occupation; painting your walls, fixing plumbing, helping with a loved one's garden, trying your hand at a creative activity in a completely opposite style of what you're used/trained to do. Check out children's art, microphotography, medieval engravings, mosaics... If all else fails, well, there's always drugs.
  • by telling you the innovation they ripped whole cloth from someone else is completely theirs My first serious computer ran CPM+.
  • >does anyone have any idea where/what that building is? It's in Vienna, and named the Hundertwasser House. Here's another picture of it, from another angle. And here you can find more about the architect, Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
  • Sometimes the common sense solutions are the ones hardest to fine. Some of us, like myself, like to look for the complex answers first. I'm glad most people found the link enjoyable. Sure, Microsoft might not be a bastion of artistic merit, but I'm sure those guys work pretty hard to keep their evil empire running. I'm sure even Soviets suffered burnout during the Cold War.
  • Not groundbreaking true, but definitely a good thing to be reminded of. I mean common sense isn't nearly as common as any of us would like. I especially like screaming "papaya!"--though I don't think that's a normal word in most people's conversations. Well, unless they work at a place that makes smoothies. One time when I was at a theatrical boot camp, I used to pause in my rush between buildings to look out at the Long Island Sound for a few sustained seconds and made sure I was breathing. It did wonders. Most of my peers smoked. (-: -BG Hmm, I wonder if the burnout the Soviet designers suffered was deemed "the people's burnout" ?
  • 1) Treat yourself. If you don't, nobody else will. 2) Trust yourself. It will always come back. 3) Tell people about it. They're feeling it too. 4) Did I mention "Treat Yourself"?
  • This article reminded me of a time in high school when I was riding the subway and some guy started shouting out "Papaya!!" at the top of his lungs. No, really! Its been a weird catch phrase amongst my friends who were present for years since then. I wonder if the article author is the same guy?
  • My money's on a cult, i count dots. An insidious cult of the papaya! We must get to the bottom of it! (The mystery of the cult that is, not the papaya).
  • Quickly! To the errr...ummm...monkeycave?
  • Can't we torture some defenseless kitties first?