Creative laziness, panic attacks and the joy of doing nothing

Last weekend, I was lazy. I didn’t accomplish much of anything.

I thought about it. I really did.

But, nope.

I even opened up my apps and stared at blank screens and unfinished ideas for a while.

But the notes, and edits and words just never came. The action never actioned.

Was I just being lazy? (again)

Maybe.

But I think I was actually a bit burned out too.

So I gave that slight burnout exactly what it needed — a break. Nothingness.

This is a short rant on creative laziness, the importance of doing something and the value of doing nothing.

Momentary laziness is okay. It’s part of being human — and a carefree one at that. But when it turns into a habit, procrastination and inaction become normal.

This is no good for realizing visions.

And I’ve been down this path plenty before. Putting things off, claiming the timing wasn’t right, or that I needed more skills before I was fully “ready”.

That’s all BS.

Sure, I was dealing with other stuff too — like imposter syndrome, a persistent fear of failure (and a fear of success)…

But I was also being lazy. And I knew that.

So eventually, all my avoidance and inaction turned into a panic attack.

And then another.

And then some lingering stuff.

These were a while back now, and I never told anyone about them before. But damn, they sucked. Felt like a heart attack.

There’s a quote that sums up my personal cause:

I was creatively ambitious, but also creatively lazy. Eventually, this inadequate action caught up with me, perhaps subconsciously — but also consciously.

So I decided to stop waiting and putting things off.

I started looking awkward, sharing my stuff, putting myself out there and testing things.

I started looking dumb, owning my weaknesses and then working on them.

I started doing stuff and stopped being creatively lazy. And well, that solved my acute panic attacks.

It’s funny, because I didn’t achieve any external success or fancy metrics from sharing my stuff. It mostly went unnoticed. I used to think that would suck.

But the stress of not trying at all was far worse. I’ve realized I don’t care too much about vanity success. I have things I need to put out. If people like them, that’s awesome. If not, I’m good.

Now of course, all this doesn’t mean I never get lazy now. I definitely still have plenty of unremarkable days.

I still sometimes do nothing, even though I know I should.

But the ratio is far less. And as long as it doesn’t become a habit, I think that’s okay.

Because sometimes, that laziness is actually the start of some burnout. So I try to recognize these signs and take them as a hint to step away and simply do nothing.

Because doing nothing can sometimes be the most productive thing to do.

I often come back refreshed, with more clarity and quicker decision-making skills. It’s like spa days for the creative brain.

So enjoy your lazy days. But not too much — remember to take action too. Both are important for carefreeness.

(I don’t intend to minimize or reduce panic attacks, imposter syndromes and creative fears into some simple, trite solutions — this is simply my story with them)

• How I Manage Creative Burnout

• Avoiding Digital Fatigue

• How I Keep Going When I Want to Quit

• Mood Follows Actions (8 tips)

• Goodbye, Creative Imposter Syndrome