How Do YOU Create?

Motivation and the struggle to maintain it.

My TTRPG station during a Cairn solo-roleplaying session.

In Absentia

Lately, an awareness of each passing minute and a job that no longer sparks joy have wholly consumed my mind. Pair that with an intense desire to write about the stacks of video games, board games, and TTRPGs I still need to crack open and you have the perfect cocktail for decision paralysis, an unproductive, swirling mass of ideas and thoughts narrowly escaping my grasp. I find myself in a sort of limbo when I wake up and feel my departure for work barreling toward me, unable to move, floating in indecision. More than enough time to enter a creative flow, but a sense of dread and purposelessness looming overhead. Frankly, it’s been driving me mad. I am probably putting too much pressure on myself, but I want to utilize this Substack more than I currently do. I admire the writers that show up in my feed on a weekly basis, sometimes even daily, consistently outputting engaging content and thought-provoking sidebars on our favorite hobbies. I have always found discipline to be a particularly tough cat to wrangle. I fantasize about adhering to a schedule and waking up early with a hot cup of coffee, sitting down at my desk, looking over my notes and writing reviews and thoughts concerning whatever I’ve recently played. Maybe a chance encounter with an NPC willing to lend me aid in the post apocalyptic streets, courtesy of a solo-roleplaying session via Twilight 2000. Perhaps the credits roll for Final Fantasy VI and I get the opportunity to describe my experience with the game. At long last recording a playthrough of the solo board game Witchcraft, ideally while simultaneously avenging my own ass whooping from my first go at it. All of these goals and I find myself paralyzed by the sheer number of enjoyable, stimulating activities at my disposal, looking that gift horse directly in its damn mouth.

The Call for Help

Of course I realize the solution is, simply put, to start. Do anything. Why settle for zero accomplishments when I could glean a victory in the two paragraphs I manage to squeeze out about a game I haven’t booted up in over a week. It’s not the amount of progress I’d hoped for, but I can’t see the forest for the trees. This post was originally planned as a self-starting, “Five Ways to blah blah blah”, before I remembered the the best part of this platform… the community. Let’s open this up to anyone who might have an idea or two on how to stay motivated, start playing games (whether solo or in a group) and balance work/life/hobbies. Rather than post for the sake of not letting a month slip by without one, I genuinely want to engage with you all! My deepest gratitude for those that drop a pearl of wisdom.