Are You Getting Enough Creative Time?
When was the last time you made space in your calendar for creative play? Right now during this Covid-19 quarantine, creativity and play are the two things I believe will get you through to the other side of the pandemic feeling excited and inspired about the next steps for your creative business. Accessing your innate creativity will guide you to your next best steps for keeping your business going during this unprecedented time of uncertainty. But creative play is also an end in itself and you should be allowing time to simply let your creative juices flow.
Spending just 15 minutes coloring, journaling, snapping photos of spring blooms, singing or walking outside in nature are all examples of ways to easily connect to your creativity.
If you follow my posts, you know I am a Certified Zentangle® Teacher and a tangling fool. Above are two recent tiles I created while sitting binge watching Picard with my husband after work. What I have discovered about tangling or painting is that when I am in the meditative creative space, I get really awesome new ideas about my business.
You might be thinking that you don’t have time in your schedule for play, what a silly waste of time at a time like this! I disagree. I think we all need moments of respite from the worry and anxiety and onslaught of news. We need a break from working at home and spending all our time on Zoom calls.
We need more time to breathe and to be!
Here’s a fun painting I recently completed that brought me so much joy and relaxation. And I painted it in about 15 minutes a day!
How would your business change if you devoted at least 15 minutes a day to play and being creative? How much of your time do you devote to playing with new ideas and not worrying about outcomes?
Remember that brainstorming and other creative activities are not goal-directed. One of the reasons you should devote a portion of your time to creativity is to simply keep the floodgates open and play with ideas. When you do, I guarantee you will see new ideas and possibilities in front of you that you didn’t see before.
I can hear you now saying, I don’t have time, I can’t dedicate a whole day to creative play, but what if you started with a few minutes here and there. Schedule some 15 to 30 minute chunks of time in your calendar for brainstorming, mindmapping or even just flipping through a favorite magazine to find images that spark your imagination!
I promise, this small amount of creative time can yield big results for your business and help you get unstuck with when you are trying to solve a problem or come up with a bright, shiny new idea!
I’d love to hear in the comments how you make time for creativity and what you love to create.
And if you are a creative who is feeling stuck and needing some inspiration and connection with other creatives, come and join us in our Facebook group: The Sisterhood of Unstoppable Artists and Creatives.
Minette, it’s funny. I have a half-written blog article written that shows SO much more of my creative side. I usually gravitate towards the marketing articles because they are so much more comfortable and familiar to write. Thank you for reminding us to take care of our creative sides. This is the stuff that really matters if we are creative people Great article, lady!! This is my first visit, but will definitely be back, again!
Hi Christi, I would love to see your more creative, juicy writing! Step out of that comfort zone and let us see more of you 🙂 So glad you stopped by today.
Minette, you are so right! And this is such an important subject. I know, when I’m working on a painting, I’m in some special place, away from anything normal except my relationship with the Divine. It gives me a microvacation from all my usual Stuff. Creating new recipes also puts me in a zone. I come back from these activities very refreshed. Thanks for making these points!
Ohhh, love that concept of a microvacation, Kebba and love that you paint, too. Making art is a wonderful way of connecting to the divine!
Hey Minette
Can I just yell “WOOTWOOT”?! LOL I agree 100%. I believe it is supremely important – for our own sanity – to just create without a purpose. Funnily, your purpose will become clear as you create…and this creation will be one of your proudest moments! Did I make any sense? 😛 For instance, I once wrote an article penned “Just Write” at the gym in 30 minutes. I had no intention of publishing it – it was just meant to be some innocent rambling, but, to date, that article has gotten the most FB shares for me! LOL
When you channel your heart into creative pursuits, profits will follow. But, most importantly, your happiness is ensured.
Thank you so much for this reminder, sweets #HUGSSS
Kitto
PS: “Content marketing” has nearly killed ‘creative writing’. Why has writing become so robotic anyway? Everything is now SEO-optimized, format-driven and influencer-targeted. *sigh*
I will have to go search out your Just Write, post, Krithika! Interesting about content marketing killing creative writing… I wonder what Seth Godin would say.
Minette, I love this post! I only recently found out about zentangle, and I’m hooked. I actually wrote a blog post about what I learned about life from zentangling – you might enjoy it 🙂 I think this is so crucial, even for just living. Creativity shakes the dust off our souls and gives us a fresh perspective on just about everything. Thanks for the thoughtful post and I love your tangles, so lovely!!
Thanks, Sherri, I would love to see your post about Zentangle! I will go check it out and I really like how your phrase, “Creativity dusts off our souls and gives a fresh perspective…” So true!
Thank you for your creative and much needed inspirations!
Thank you Armida!
Very interesting
I believe in play and creativity. Nothing goes as well in my life if I am not actively seeking them (and experiencing them!) both on a regular basis. Thanks for this post!
Thanks for stopping by my fellow creative!! Great to see you here Julie.