Have just had major surgery and I’m on a six week break from work.
Starting to feel like six weeks of Netflix will rot my brain, so I may sketch out some ideas for a cheap-eats blog.
It’s a great example of how you can use a formal project model like ADDIE to help you project manage yourself to actually complete a creative project.
So when I start out thinking about a creative project, I will often try to talk myself out of it. I think things like – ‘I won’t have time’, ‘I probably won’t do it long-term’, ‘I have endometriosis, I need to rest more.’ To be honest, all of these things are true, but. I still like to have a few creative outlets.
I think the more we can stop judging ourselves for half-formed ideas, the better.
It’s ok if you had a great idea and abandoned it halfway through because you changed your mind. In fact, if you get halfway through and decide it’s a bad idea – especially in a work project – please DO abandon it. Some projects just aren’t meant to be completed.
So, this food blog:
Even if it’s not something I do long-term, I love short projects and it would probably be helpful for me – if not also for you – to have all my favourite cheap nutritious recipes in one place.
INSPIRATION – Analysis/Design
I work in organisational learning and development so I follow ADDIE for any creative process for me at work (Analysis, Design, Development Implementation, Evaluation. We don’t really do that last evaluation bit in most organisations worldwide, shhhh)
I’ll start with where all my ideas start – inspiration.
I was inspired by this RNZ story about the cost of food in New Zealand.
I’ve noticed on the food channels I follow, even the fancy ones – there’s been a real shift to talking about affordable food.
It’s nice for the food industry to finally acknowledge the glory and wonder of the humble bean, but those of us who were vegetarian students 20 years ago know what a true food icon legumes are.
These days I’m an omnivore, but definitely eat a varied low inflammation diet, when I can afford salmon, mackerel or high-quality omega-3 supplements, my body will be happy for it.
I’m starting to learn more about pre-diabetes and inflammation, and how important protein is to peri-menopause. If these are topics that you’re also interested in, I highly recommend the ZOE blog, but avoid it if you have a history of eating disorders. It’s still written from the point of view of trying to sell you something (a device that measures your own metabolism and an app to tell you what to eat).
I love food science. I almost got a degree in food science, but graduated with an undergraduate degree in chemistry and psychology. Which is ESSENTIALLY food science but without the necessary papers to actually work in food science. In New Zealand, the dietician industry is heavily regulated*.
WRITING – Development/Implementation
Alright, so the next part of ADDIE and my creative process is WRITING, once I’ve kind of meandered down a few neurodivergent alleyways and convinced myself the idea could be a worthwhile use of my time.
Seriously, you could try skipping the writing part and spend way too long on the ‘blog design and creation’ part and miss out on all your inspiration.
When the muse knocks, you gotta answer.
You may be inspired to write at 5am, on the train to work or in a cafe with only your Notes app to help you. Wherever you write, it’s fine! Just write. If you’re privileged enough to have time and a space for regular creative spaces in your routine, that does not always correlate with actual inspiration.
Sometimes if you pretend you don’t want the muse, she will come. I have had so many great ideas gardening, going for a walk, staring at a candle or listening to music.
Other times, you need to just start creating. Sometimes sketching out ideas or cutting things out of magazines can help inspire creativity.
The other thing I recommend to inspire creativity is A HOLIDAY. Mixing up your usual vibe, going somewhere cute and artsy with a thriving creative community can really get the muse hanging out with ya. She’s a cool girl, she likes chill vibes. Get some sleep and eat some good cheap veges. She may come a-knockin.
So we meandered down a wee alleyway about thinking about how creativity works, then we start actually writing.
For this particular blog my thoughts were straight away – complex carbs (recently people have forgotten how great carbs are) in season vegetables and fruit, tofu/tempeh, lentils, cheap cuts of good quality meat.
Lots of recipes have vegetables and complex carbs as a back-bone, and meat can be added as a garnish. However some cheap and nutritious recipes use meat products in slow cooking for pretty tasty results.
The other thing I know a fair bit about is food science. So maybe we could include a bit about the science behind why food is so tasty, but in a succinct and informative way. Link to the Maynard reaction for example. So that idea would be more ‘Design’ in ADDIE but my creative process isn’t always linear (see aforementioned neurodiversity).
So that’s a start to a description of my creative process, I will write the rest in another post.
****Bit of life advice here, take it or leave it – please make sure you get dietician advice from an actual dietician, not a nutritionist. I can provide my reasons why I say that if you want to know, just ask.
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