Balance

As a passionate and motivated individual, I find it difficult to do anything other than work. I don't mean as in a day-job, which also takes up a large portion of my life, but something I enjoy. 'Work' is a loose term for this, it's something that I aspire to be a full-time lifestyle which pays my bills, but is at the same time something I want to do with every fiber of my being.

I hope that other people can feel this way about something, it's truly amazing. In my case, it's filmmaking, and all that is digital and involving creativity. I love everything about it and every single day I complete, at the least, one step towards fulfilling my dream of being a filmmaker.

At times though, this gets to be a bit too much. When it starts to take over every aspect of your life is where you need to come to some sort of compromise. An example of this is when I'm trying to wind down and relax, I'll be watching a film and tear apart the film to learn ways to improve my craft. When I watch YouTube videos in the morning for some entertainment, I'll watch filmmakers who inspire me. It's small activities like this that add up to my goal taking up my life. I've started recently trying to come up with different ways to distract myself from my long-term aspirations

When you find something that you're passionate about, taking some downtime and finding something external to do as a hobby to relax.

Here are some ideas of what activities can occupy your time when you don't want to think about your passion, work, or long-term goal:

1. Exercise

I know, this comes up on every single guide on how to improve your life. But the reality is, it works. It doesn't matter how you do it, or to what intensity. Any form of exercise from walking in the park to interval sprinting helps to heal and clear the mind. I'm guilty of not exercising enough, but when I do it helps me tremendously, so I aim to get on top of it.

2. Reading

There's nothing better than escaping the realities of the world than reading a fantastic novel. Fiction is my favorite when it comes to literature, it allows you to truly delve into another dimension and ignore worries that loom around everyday life — escapism at it's finest. Grab your favourite novel (or find one) and a nice cup of tea, coffee, or fruit infusion, play some instrumental music, and relax!

3. Part-time Work (A Day Job)

I'm aware that this is a strange one, but working a part-time job is a good way to get away from what you find may be overtaking your life. Something mundane that most people don't enjoy but work it to pay the bills. I find that my current part-time job helps me to escape the stresses of university life and freelancing. When I'm working there I don't have to constantly worry about failure or burning myself out — it often helps me to clear my mind and think about new ideas within my passion, without actually doing it at the same time, which helps dramatically.

4. Music

I adore everything about music, yet I've never tried properly creating it. I think this is why it helps — I'm not thinking about how I can implement it into my own work, I just enjoy it. I listen to music for the majority of my day and the effect it has on your emotions is incredible. I find classical and instrumental music helps me the most to relax (Ludovico Einaudi is one of my favourites), and often fast-paced, upbeat music helps me to get in the mood for exercise or other non-relaxation-based activities.

5. Explore

Going outside and just walking somewhere, whether alone or accompanied by someone, is one of my favourite hobbies. Trying out a new coffee shop, walking through shopping centers or having a look in a bookstore are a few of what I like to do when I go exploring. As a less urban method of exploration, finding a woods to look around and venture in is also a great non-work-related activity. Being within nature is fulfilling and a seeing a variety of plants and animals is also great. I'll sometimes do this to do some photography, but if I want it to be away from my craft, then I'll just enjoy the views and exploration. Through exploring my home city (Liverpool) I've actually managed to gain contacts and clients that lead on to job opportunities which are also a bonus, so you never know what might happen or who you'll bump in to.

There are many different ways that you can distract yourself from taking the next step towards your goals (in a self-improving, none-procrastinating way). It's all down to what is best for you, and finding something new that you enjoy doing for fun. Go and try something that you've never done before!