Hi everyone. I am feeling like I’ve lost any direction after getting laid off earlier this year (was working as an analyst in telecom and very recently landed a much lower position in healthcare data entry due to necessity). I already have several hobbies but I am either burnt out on them or they have lost their luster (similar to how life has lost its luster for me this past 6 months).
I would really love to learn a new skill, preferably using my hands to create something while challenging my brain. I’m willing to take classes, study, practice, and buy some equipment required for the skill.
Please tell me about your skill/hobby that gives you purpose. I’ve kind of exhausted google search which always returns the same 20 or so craft suggestions like “make custom invitations for weddings”, and while that sounds good for someone, it may not be good for me.
Current hobbies: Music composition and gardening,
EDIT: trying to move away from hobbies that involve me sitting in front of a computer. I already do that way too much.
Does art interest you? I personally really love drawing!
I’ve never been particularly talented at visual arts like drawing and painting, my artistic talents mostly come in music. Which I’ve been doing for a long time and burnt out on. I do know you can develop a talent like drawing with enough time and effort, so its not totally out of the question.
I fondly remember a time where I could only draw stickmen. I’m sure if you spend time and effort, you can do pretty much anything! If you don’t mind me asking, have you shared your music anywhere?
Yeah, I’ve got a ton of music published, its all on Spotify/iTunes/etc. The name of my band is Giant Monsters on the Horizon. Been doing music for a long while. https://open.spotify.com/artist/4HmglWNfF7jAYQxbEjv9Xt?si=wKM8b_rATrSgx5WV7ITDdw
Holy cats - just bought Night City Redux on Bandcamp. Great stuff!
If you’re burnt out on music making, have you tried other ways of creating? Like if you’re used to a DAW, invest in hardware like a groovebox or a handheld tracker (my current love is the Dirtywave M8) or something. Try modular (but don’t, it’s expensive) or some weird boutique noise machine. Or dive into orchestral instruments and perfecting a classical music performance.
It could be a way to defamiliarise yourself and make music creation new again.
You are my favorite person, I appreciate you! :D
Seriously, thank you for supporting. I’ve worked with softsynths all my adult life, mainly Reason for production and arranging, Ableton for live shows. One of my bandmates is a gearhead, we’ve tried all kinds of his hardware including modular stuff, and it was just a learning curve that I was not really interested in. My music production time is really limited (One of my bandmates and his wife just adopted 2 kids out of foster care, and my other bandmate is a full time teacher), I only get about 4 hours a week to actually collaborate with them. Every time we’ve tried writing and creating with hardware, it just left us with getting nothing done during our once a week session. We stick with the softsynths we know and keep the train moving forward. So the balance struggle there is, do we take several sessions off to try something new? Or do we keep creating and being productive. Its tough.
Thank you for introducing me to a new (to me) band! Yeah, life can be kind of a roller coaster, and everyone’s interests ebb and flow (as you’ve discovered with yourself and your bandmates). Sadly we only have so much energy to roll with it, and I’m sorry you’re at a low energy area right now. Those suck, and it is VERY difficult to battle inertia and muscle back into the fray.
Art is kinda cruel in the way that it makes you choose - familiar and possibly uninspiring, or new and possibly a frustrating dead end. The reason I mentioned the M8 was largely due to its pocketability. It’s not much bigger than a large smartphone but it’s a whole production device with instant-on and a sensible design. Work on stuff during lunch, at the park, on the bus, etc. But there is a learning curve, so spending a lot of energy you might not have may get frustrating if it doesn’t click right away.
One thing you might try is suggesting gentle deadlines or challenges for yourself and your bandmates - like write a catchy 10-second jingle by the end of the week. Or parody the chorus of an existing song by the end of your next phone call. A deadline for something silly is easier to meet, and you all would have created something and had a little fun.
There are a lot of amazing people here suggesting different things you can do, and I notice a lot of their ideas are creative activities. I think you can land on any of those and find satisfaction. There’s no high like creation. No matter what, remember that things always change. If you’re at a low point, it can’t last forever, especially if you keep powering through it. You’ll come out ahead.