The Access Review: Adventures in Procrastinating

Daisy Brookes / Ekko Cosplay

Is it just me or is the air thick with procrastination? It’s the convention off season and kicking yourself back in to gear to start working on cosplays can be an absolute nightmare if, like me, you have a talent for procrastinating.

I love cosplay, and have a fair few amazing costumes I’m really excited to start working on but for some reason I just can’t bring myself to begin. I have everything I need to make my Frozen 2 Anna Travelling outfit but instead of actually making it I’ve walked in to my craft room about 10 times this week, shuffles the fabric about and walked right back out. Why can’t I make myself get to it? I’m even using writing this piece to help me procrastinate. What’s wrong with me?

So why not run with this procrastination brain to see if I can figure out what it is that makes me put off working on cosplay and what I can do to make myself get back in to the swing of cosplay in time for con season to kick off. Whenever that may be!

At the time of writing this, my next con was supposed to be Birmingham MCM at the end of March, with my next new costume debut being at Cosxpo in April. I had roughly 6 weeks to get my self in gear and get Anna (Frozen 2) done! Obviously all those timings are out of the window now but procrastination is still very much happening, probably even more so! So most of this still makes sense, even if the world doesn’t.

However in this period I was also due a huge, life altering operation.

After 10 years of putting it off, I’ve finally decided to have my hip replaced. And while it has been delayed by the current situation, I’m hoping that getting this crossed off will help my day to day life improve, and that in turn will help me enjoy things more, including cosplay. It means I’ll be out of action for a while and a little slower on my feet during recovery, and even though I don’t imagine sewing to be all that strenuous, I won’t be up for my usual con crunching.

So why is it I still can’t seem to bring myself to start? Even without the extra pressures to get things finished in time, I still feel most folk suffer with the urge to procrastinate after the off season. A lot of the time I feel it’s because we’ve forgotten then fun of it and it can seem like a task to start up. How do we spark the interest again? I’m going to give a few different things a go and report back to see if they work!

Pretty in Pink!

First up, I tried my favourite cosplay related thing that doesn’t require actually making costumes- make up tests!

I feel make up tests are a great way to get yourself invested in a new project. Nothing like throwing together the look to get you amped up! I decided to go with Persephone from Lore Olympus, a costume I’m doing with a group at MCM! (When the ExCel is back to normal).

I adored painting myself pink, it got me really excited to source bits for it. I’m hoping that if I do a new make up test for Anna next it’ll get me wanting to start on the costume.

The next thing I tried might be considered further procrastinating but I decided to reorganise my craft room.

Last year all my craft stuff was dotted about my house but after my little sister moved out, I turned my spare room in to crafting room (living the dream). I organised all my fabrics by project and cleaned up everything. A clean space to start a fresh year in will hopefully spur me on to work and keep up a clear and organised work ethic.

Nothing like a nice space to get your head on right and ready to go.

Catwalk show at home? Why not!

Whilst doing this I realised one of the contributors to me procrastinating so much is that during the time between Cons, I’ve found myself feeling very self conscious with my body again. Since my last stoma op I’ve gained quite a bit of weight and just haven’t felt the best about myself.

I hoped that maybe trying on some of my old favourite costumes would help me feel a little more in the mood for a new project. Whilst it worked with some, it did also make me realise some of my older costumes don’t really fit right now and that was a little upsetting. Trying to not let it get me down, I powered through until I felt good in one of my costumes, which did boost me a little.

To keep the positives rolling I also realised one of the things that always makes me excited for cosplay is working with a group. I’ve planned a couple of crafting days with friends online, working with others boosts moral and helps encourage you to carry on, it’s less of a stress forcing yourself when others are also around you excited and eager to work on things with you.

Positive breeds more positive.

Surrounding myself with kind and encouraging people has really helped, even if it’s only digitally at the moment. Speaking out about feeling like you've lost interest or spark has shown me that near everyone has times when they feel the same about their hobby.

It’s easy to get stuck in the repetition of it. We all need to hear reassurance sometimes and other people reminding you what it is you love about your hobby can get you back on track with it all.

Doing all these things did kind of work, I feel way more excited and ready to start on things. However it also made me realise that I’ve been putting far too much pressure on myself to keep up with constant new projects and content. You have ups and downs in all aspects of life and punishing yourself because you’re not feeling in the mood to work on your cosplays doesn’t mean you’re a failure. You just need to take it all at your own pace, a hobby should be fun, not anxiety inducing.

It’s good to take time off. Instead of punishing myself for procrastinating, I’m letting myself come to terms with the fact that no one is amped up for working on things 24/7. Not wanting to work on something doesn’t mean you’ve fallen out of love with it. I know that cosplay will remain a very important part of my life, and I’m going to try to work on letting myself take time off without feeling guilty or stressed about the next deadline. A hobby is a hobby for a reason after all. So here’s to a future of cosplay with as little stress as possible.