Antidotes to Chronic Content Fatigue Syndrome

For a while now, I’ve mostly been promoting things here. Books. Classes. Products. I’m a lackluster marketer, I know, but needs must when creating has become a job. Or at least that’s what I told myself. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been feeling the effects of what I’m calling Chronic Content Fatigue Syndrome (CCFS). The weariness isn’t just from my own consumption of too much internet-ness, but also from constantly producing for others to consume. Or not even producing content but thinking about producing content for others.

So I’ve decided to go old school. The whole reason I started this blog was because I just wanted to record the things I made and my thoughts about them, to have a centralized way of annotating my bumbling progress, to shake my fists at mistakes and learn to accept them, to rejoice in incremental improvements. My main audience was me (and my mom). I wasn’t trying to sell anything and I certainly didn’t think anyone would ever take notice. OF COURSE I hoped that someone in the publishing industry might gamble on me and let me publish a book or two, but everyone told me that I was a pipe dreamer. I, too, thought I was a pipe dreamer. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that 13 years since the inception of this online journal of mine that I would be working on my 13th book.

But back to going old school. I have found that the best antidote for Chronic Content Fatigue Syndrome is to engage in real life. To get reacquainted with nature, to talk to people face-to-face in the same room without a screen between us, to make things simply because I want to, without the running mental commentary on how best to showcase them online.

And that’s what I’ve been doing. Living IRL, if you will.

Once I stopped putting pressure on myself to make things that the vast unknown folks of the interwebs might find interesting, my creative energy blossomed.

For example, I sewed a bunch of knit tops using my slopers. They’re almost all batwing tops because that’s what I like to wear. Next, I made a pair of leggings to replace one that was unsalvageable and revisited the excellent Persephone Pants. I improved upon the pair I had made before (I messed up the button flap on my first pair). I didn’t bother with the belt loops again and I also omitted the pockets this time because my pocket bags kept inching out of the pocket opening for my first pair. I love them all.

Then I suddenly had an urge to make dish scrubbies. I was inspired no doubt by the dollar store strawberry-shaped scrubby that my mom gave me for Christmas. It was awesome. The flexibility allowed for tricky nooks and crannies and it cleared away even the most stubborn caked on food.

 

So I made a simpler acrylic/polyester version. And it was awesome, too!

Unfortunately (or fortunately) I got lost in a Google-labyrinth about the microplastics nightmare and immediately stopped using them. I had some extra hemp cords lying around, so I thought it might be fun to knit somewhat more eco-friendly dish scrubbies.

Now on a roll, I remembered I had some burlap and wool batting and tried to sew some jute scrubbies:

Turns out they fall apart right away. The hemp scrubbies take a long time to dry, so that’s not ideal either. They’re still a work in progress…

Anyway. I’ve been feeling less fatigued and am definitely spending less time using my devices. I have a coffee date with a friend next week, and I’ve been enjoying extra long daily morning walks. CCFS busting at its finest!