picking up an old project: a strange form of artblock

[xixxii]

when i put down a project for a long time, picking it up again becomes really hard! i get this weird feeling of DREAD about it that's hard to shake off and stops me from working on it! i get preemptively stuck/blocked before i've even tried. even if i want to work on it and feel motivated and have ideas!    
i have a lot of things i'd like to do - writing and crafts and other projects - that i keep avoiding due to this weird block. i guess i'm worried that i'll ruin it somehow, or it won't be fun any more, or i'll be worse than i was before...

if you ever get this feeling, or any other odd specific types of artblock, what do you do to get over it? i would love to get some tips!

[BlazingCobaltX]

Because fiction writing is not something I do for work, I give myself the freedom to work just when I feel inspired to do so. This is probably not the best advice for productivity, but I chose to not pressure myself to make something I'll only be partially satisfied with.

In general, you probably need to take a lot of time to completely get into the project again. Read or look it through, remember your original intentions, and only get to work when you feel some flow or ideas returning. But you need to let yourself take the time to ease into the project again.

[rhenn]

I definitely get this!

With personal projects, sometimes restarting (assuming it's not too big) has helped me, provided the project isn't too big. Otherwise, I just move on to the next one; sometimes I come back to stuff but I try not to stress if I don't. It's all good practice at all, and unfinished work is still more than no work!

I also try to have multiple things on the go at once, though that's more with uni than art/hobbies. That way, if I feel myself getting sick of something I can work on other stuff until I'm ready to face it again.

In terms of a feeling of dread... it's probably not the same but I had a period of about 2 years where I straight up couldn't draw. I'd sit down at my tablet or with a sketchbook and just... nothing. Even if I'd been thinking about drawing something all day, as soon as I tried something in my brain just said "no!!"
...I think that was burnout? Lol

I think maybe seeing if you can prevent it by figuring out the source of the dread might help you? Like if you're worrying about not creating something the "wrong" way, or if you're working on a big project and that's looming over you. It's something I struggled with, and getting out of that headspace really helped me, though it takes a lot of work. I think just focus on making the stuff that makes you happy, and don't feel afraid to take a break from it if you need to.

[Gans]

But ideas have to ripe to get them more polished. The details of worlds... the plots. I'm 99% sure, that all holes can be patched later. Isn't it hard to get it all complete and right at the very first try?

In the case of programming code, well you certainly have it easier if your documentation was good. Comments between the programming lines help a lot to get back after years of absence.

I'd rather see the chances of having a second look on a project after a long time. Though the conclusion could also be to abandon the project, as time moved on, to not get clogged up. As time is limited, choice is unavoidable.

[moonunions]

yeesh i definitely understand and suffer from the same type of dread 

usually forcing myself to step back from a project for a while helps me miss it enough to start it up again. i also agree that figuring out the reason you're feeling dread is a good step in the right direction. maybe write out your thoughts/feelings in a doc to see if anything stands out?