When running a business or doing a job there are certain expectations. Things are supposed to be done a specific way at a time not at your leisure. It is stressful and typically not going to always be satisfying at a personal or creative level. That is why it is called work right? I don’t think so. I think that is a job.
You have to do work at a job, but work doesn’t have to be a job. Personal work can be something you choose to do that furthers you creatively, financially, or otherwise. Thinking about it like this is what takes weight off my shoulders when doing things for my photography business. It is all personal work right now and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
That isn’t to say it isn’t hard work sometimes. It also doesn’t mean I don’t try to create something as a product that sells. It is just my decision on whether to be motivated to do one thing or another at a given time. When I started this project of being more consistent with my writing for my blog I knew it wouldn’t be easy. I am very rusty at writing and doing so from a creative perspective is not exactly my forte. I have to work at improving it.
The same goes for managing this website or preparing for an art festival. It is work that I personally choose to do because I want to see myself grow and learn from it. Personal work makes me a better-rounded person. I don’t call this my job because it isn’t, it is my work!