I just had covid! Even with 3 doses of vaccine, I found that covid hasn’t exactly gone away here in France. I had to figure out how to stay creative during the isolation period. This is how I supported myself creativity during covid as a writer and a fashion designer.
It’s cold and it’s confinement here in Paris. About an hour earlier the sun was blasting through my 3rd floor flat and I bathed in a summertime memory in Brittany on the terrace. Instead of the people bundled high in their belongings they were in decorated in bouquets and market vegetables and ready to be festive. Sigh. Yep, and just like that, the clouds shewed away my remaining glow. I looked through the wrought iron balcony gated swirls. The pigeons didn’t even stick around, the last two cracking on a walnut casing at the primer (market for just fruits and veggies) downstairs.
It’s back as I would have imagined, a November fall day to be while stuck indoors.
Honestly I shouldn’t say it like that. Even before confinement I worked from home. Just at the moment you actually do want to go to the 14th arrondissement, you can’t. And most of the time, I never have a yearning to take a voyage to the 14th, 47 min by metro…so very far away from me.
I will say that my tribes have been helping to keep me sane. Tribes are small groups of people who support me and what I do. Well, if you ask them that, they may not understand it in the same way. They are the people in my world or who I choose to be in my world, who have similar goals and objectives as me; same energy level or positivity; and who are great at giving me honest and authentic feedback. I love them. Some I know really well like for 5 years and others I see randomly online every couple of months and none of them are family. As I work on my business, I find I’m not alone and it’s easy to be “not-perfect” with them. Phew! Being honest and vulnerability is work but with them, I’m in a safe space. So who’s in these groups and how did I find them? The deal is that everything is free, organized and perfectly random.
Virtual Co-working
I have a couple virtual co-working groups I really appreciate: a writing group out of London I found on meet-up.com. It was a Shut Up and Write group but they operate under a new name now. It’s the same precept. They keep me accountable for my once a week blog or daily pages. I just reserve a spot and boom…a working session awaiting for me to be productive. Once a week I join a creative group out of Berlin that I adore. How fun to work “along side” inspirationals from photographers, mindfulness coaches to sculptors and film directors. It’s a small group so we all get to know each other and our projects every 15 min on top of the hour. Then we begin a focused work session for 45 min and repeat. It’s super productive because you choose which part of a project you tackle for a small period of time. It forces you to commit to it without biting off more than you can finish before sessions end. It’s motivating to have these quick wins of productivity in a supportive environment.
Places to Find Creative Colleagues
Your usual social facebook groups, friends you don’t know that well but are whatsapp friends
Bumble biz. Yes, Bumble is a dating app but they also have a business connections group! Choose specific mindsets and skillsets you need. Kinda like choosing a romantic partner.
Internations.org. It’s a paid site but….$5 a month will not break the bank! Multiple groups and great business minded creatives.
Ask a friend for a recommended list of people you guys “kinda have in common”. Choose those with the skill sets you are looking for.
Creating Colleagues
I work alone. I don’t have partners nor a company. So instead, I created a colleague. Don’t worry, it’s not in the Frankenstein sense but a friend who is a designer and illustrator, who has similar goals. One day we decided to support our work with a little partnership! We hold each other accountable for our goals, dreams and in return we give each other open and honest feedback about our projects. We have a network of people we know and can help each other advance.
I usually connect with her once or twice a week either online (before confinement, at a cafe) to exchange goals for the week. Since she was not available this week, I opted for an additional co-working session…spontaneous style. We ask each other key pieces of information and organize our 2 hour sessions like this:
How was your week (personal stuff)
How did you do on xyz (project or goal)
What could you have done differently or what would have been useful to have gotten it completed?
What do you need from me to help you next week?
What do you want to have done next?
Is your goal for next week realistic?
We write everything down for the person and specifically ask about certain pieces of information. If there is a big project like a website or portfolio production, we sometimes allocate one entire session of feedback and advice per person. Its nice support.
So you might say, oh well, they know each other so its easier. I don’t know people like that. Glad you asked.
How to choose your colleagues?
Choose someone you don’t know well. We are not here to search for best friends
Choose someone who has a personality you get along with
Choose someone who has a strength you need.
Choose someone you admire in some aspect.
Choose someone who is accountable. No flakes!
I belong to a creative expat group on facebook and I organized a quick co-working session yesterday. Who knew the two people that actually showed up were going to be the partners I needed this week, giving me great feedback!? It was a little website critique and a lot of listening to blog ideas. And I, in turn, was able to give them feedback as well. The learning? Everything happens for a reason and sharing and giving is goooood.
There are tons of events online to connect with people these days but I find I am still quite a solo person and I like working alone, one on one or in very small groups. In case the choices above are not available to you, check out these ideas DIY and quite formal:
Random Virtual Happy Hours: DIY it with a group of very random people in your life and invite them to a Google hangout, Jitsi or Facebook video chat. It doesn’t have to be formal with a zoom account either. These are people you met one time and always said, sure one day we’ll do something….but never did. Don’t worry, they will be mostly strangers. Perhaps you will make it a theme under creativity or travel lovers. See what happens!
Focusmate is an online accountability session with an actual person over video for 50 min. Of course you pay for this so try apps to help with your productivity like Social Pomodoro. Work for short 25 min sessions with no distractions thanks so some handy tech.
I will try Cave Day just to have something different to do today for an hour. Though its paid, sometimes they sponsor these free sessions called: Get Sh*t Done in The Cave: Deep Work Remote Session. They talk about “flow,” the science of productivity, and all of the distractions that get in the way. They do a deep work sprint, where they claim you “get more done in 20 minutes than you have in most entire mornings.” I’ll let you know how it goes.
If there are DIY methods you’ve learned and would like to share, let us know!