By Alex: 013

That old Ruth Burke quote ‘only boring people get bored’ plays on my mind a lot. I mean, not a lot, but I think on it pretty regularly.

I don’t feel like I am particularly boring, though I am sure some people would disagree, and I enjoy being in my world and the life that I have built. Yet I definitely get bored.

I get bored of checking Facebook every five minutes, Instagram every two minutes, and my email somewhere in between. I get bored of being in my own head, with the same flow of information and images always swirling around.

Being so immersed in social media and 24/7 news and updates is like being in a bubble, a self-perpetuating cycle that is so insular and unchanging that I often feel like I’m not updating anything at all.

This is truly deadly for someone that relies on their creativity to pay the rent and put food on the table. As a writer, sometimes I just feel numb and unable to come up with anything vaguely original or passably unique.

I think being stuck in an office will do this to you. It will definitely do it to me.

Fourteen months ago I was seconded from my agency role to a marketing department within a business, and for the first six months it was great. Excellent experience gained, interesting people met, and in-depth marketing knowledge on boarded.

But the nature of a professional organisation and brand is that once you know the ropes – brand tone, objectives, output etc. – there is no real challenge day to day anymore; especially when those with the power have no desire to do anything new or creative.

And here is the part where I start getting a little bit antsy.

Eight months further on and I am about ready to quit. Which is ridiculous of course, I know this. I know this is a rut and that it is almost entirely of my own making, but even that kind of awareness does not always help in getting out of it.

This is where freelance work comes in; my saviour from the drudgery. New projects every week or so, diverse clients, and a flexible work environment: now those are the kinds of things that inspire creative thinking, no, demand it.

Not to mention, the ever present impetus to work hard that only the fear of starvation and homelessness can bring.

That is a daily challenge, and having control of your own well-being; that is a kind of freedom that I crave more and more.