Filmmaking on Autopilot
Finding Presence in a Heavy Season
I’ve been having trouble focusing on work lately, and I’m not entirely sure what to do about it. I sit down to write or plan a shoot and realize halfway through that I haven’t been present for any of it. I’m going through the motions without actually engaging with the work, which is frustrating because this is supposed to be what I care about.
I’ve noticed it showing up in specific ways: opening the same script document five days in a row and closing it without writing anything new, or planning shoots I know I won’t actually schedule because committing to anything that far out feels impossible right now. I’m not avoiding the work exactly, I’m just not fully there when I’m doing it.
What’s been helping me when it works at all is showing up to work alongside someone else, not to collaborate on the same project but just to be in the same space while we’re both working on our own things. There’s something about knowing someone else is also trying to focus that makes it easier for me to actually focus, like the shared presence pulls me back into the moment even when I’d rather stay distracted.
I learnt that the only way to get a thing done is to start to do it, then keep on doing it, and finally you'll finish it, even if in the beginning you think you can't do it at all.
That’s why I’m hosting a Virtual Coworking Hour on Sunday, March 22nd at 4pm. It’s a coworking call where filmmakers bring whatever they’re working on and we all work in the same virtual room for an hour. No presentations, no networking, cameras optional. You can drop in and out, ask questions if you have them, or just work quietly on your own thing while other people do the same.
I’m not claiming this will solve everything because it won’t, but if you’ve been feeling stuck and you’re tired of trying to pull yourself out of it alone, this might help. It’s free, there’s no pressure to show up perfectly, and if nothing else it’s an hour where you’re not the only one trying to focus on something that feels hard to care about right now.