Most People in Creative Fields Aren’t Actually Creating
Due to workplace structure, nature of jobs and some unique creative struggles.
I cannot do a 9 to 5 in the generic sense.
Getting to work on time, 5 days a week and switching off during weekends. No, I don’t have a problem with waking up early but I can’t say the same about commuting to a job every single day of the week. I try to be imaginative in how I spend my one hour bus/train journey + walking to & fro to the bus stop but the inescapable fatigue makes it something that is just about tolerated. I’m sure driving isn’t any better. Commutes suck, period.
Most nine to fives — or sevens if you work in entertainment — don’t offer much variety in day to day tasks, which is hard if you value newness be it in the actual work or even structure. Any creative company with more than 10 employees tends to be structured like a regular company, so there’s an HR department making sure things don’t change unless they have to.
The ideal 9–5 seems to lie in the domain of creative setups like agencies where you have the rush of creativity along with a steady paycheck.
However, the truth is that enthusiastic ‘creatives’ end up working a job in a company in the creative domain, with a role that is anything but.
For a number of reasons. Fear, not just of whether you’re good enough but equally due to life pressures like stability, finance, the job market. And those that inch out are shaken by the baggage that comes with being a creator in whatever capacity — writer, director, composer.
For the actual creative work of giving birth to an idea and making it tangible, is a very messy and personal process. It’s not goal oriented in a quantitative way. The goal with a creator is honesty.
Struggle in the creative realm is not limited to the debate of selling out vs. creating something authentic. Or picking a steady income job vs. going freelance. It’s also about deciding which part of the creative process you want to dedicate yourself to and how badly you want it. That second part determines your route — if you will work your way up or sit it out and get comfortable with isolation and anxiety that comes with discovering your unique voice. I guess that’s why most people don’t create their best work fresh out of school in their early 20s.
What kept me confused for the longest time was the role of people.
The one reason I kept going back to creative workforce — office setup or a set. Institutions that guarantee meeting new people. Being in touch with fellow humans. Being part of a workforce, the bigger picture. Staying connected. Collaboration. Networking!
Being on set doesn’t appeal to me because unless you have the coveted role of DP or director — you’re spending hours standing around and I’d get so restless out of being so unstimulated. To do this 15 hours a day requires thick skin and a particular kind of personality. Preferably no (visible) personality. Lesser the emotion, better off for everybody. I genuinely admire those that work long hours on set with different crews, one schedule to another. Not only is it physically taxing but you absolutely must not let anything get to you in what is usually a chaotic, sometimes aggressive environment. There’s an indifference and it’s the unsaid rule. Boundaries in check. If you have to constantly express yourself, you won’t last. Really bad sets can feel like prison duty. Work, work, work, (get paid), go home.
The ‘creative’ or agency side is focused on facilitating and negotiating. People here express themselves but all the best getting substance out of any interaction. If success on set is determined by how stoic you can be, in an agency it’s about likability. Be easygoing, be gregarious, don’t offend anyone. Master the art of small talk and have a wish washy personality. The weather in SoCal barely changes so let’s appreciate the effort in discussing patriarchy in the film industry in the most vapid, vague, pointless manner. But the assistant in Hollywood is legendary for good reason. Unbelievable multi tasking, brazen commitment to the job and compartmentalizing. Great assistants amaze me with their dedication to duty, even if it means living on role self times ten. That could arguably require as much energy as lifting heavy equipment all day, imho.
Lesson I learned is: you need people skills to work, but not to create.
For fear of being labelled anti social, the sensation that accompanies interacting with people 10 hours a day is ignored — exhaustion. People can tire you with their needs and their judgment. It’s not a state of mind that allows thriving of creativity.
Work for the writer/director lies in the confines of the mind. The battle is with the self. A lot of unlearning involved. There is no place for anything but honesty, which obviously means reduced day to day interactions. A lot of internal probing, developing detachment and fostering unfettered thought. Staying strong when the ugly side of genius rears its head. Not fitting in.
Someone has to be alien to the chaos of creation for a vision to come alive.
