I was asked a question: do I and my readers tend to carve out time for their creativity.  The short answer is some people do carve out time regularly for creativity and some people don’t.

I myself have struggled with carving out time consistently over the years and it is only as I have worked on myself with a therapist to understand myself better that I gained insight into my ‘why’ or purpose. This has contributed to my ability to commit to being more regular. Understanding my creative rhythms has also been important. I realize I do best with short term projects or to break down larger projects into definable smaller goals.  I spent years observing my patterns of energy and patterns of sabotage. I am able to work with my personal shortcomings, understand my rhythms and flow of energy.

My school teachers required me to ‘practice drawing every day’ to improve my images and it was very beneficial, and they also said ‘practice your scales, arpeggios and exercises and your music will improve’ and that is true too. As an adult I sometimes I find I have too much on the go, my life feels chaotic and I need to identify the most important task, dream or reason and work on those. I know that ultimately if I don’t remain creative I will feel cut adrift. It’s not just about practicing; it’s about improving at my pace and allowing the creativity to feed my soul. “Renewal is the principle—and the process—that empowers us to move on an upward spiral of growth and change, of continuous improvement.” — Stephen R. Covey.  It is up to us how we renew our abilities; it is not a race. Slow and steady progress is a good way.

Here is my gallery showcasing me practicing folk art brushstrokes for my final tray I painted. I attended classes when my oldest was only months old. I had a hunger to be creative but I had no inspiration. Meeting with others helped me get out of my funk. I went on to designing my own table top image years later.

Some people have enormous focus because they know their purpose and their passions. Stephen Covey, in chapter two Begin with the end in mind of his book ‘7 habits of highly effective people’  encourages us to identify where we want to end up so that we know what direction to take. This includes where we want to be in the long run (long term goal) or a project or task (a short term goal). If we have a vision for where we are heading our passion helps us to stay focused. Even if our passion runs dry we can more easily avoid distractions and keep on going in the desired direction because we know where we are heading. It is much easier if we know our ‘why’ or purpose.   

I easily feel like there is a dreaded expectation from others to do things with commitment and regularity. It feels regimented or automated to me, like a harsh legalistic law, yet there is something to having a routine of some sort for practicing our trade, art or sport for improvement. Understanding our why and our goal can help us feel inspired to continue on. I know that I don’t succeed by giving up or tardily working on projects only when I felt like it. Commitment, regular time to practice, execution and courage to start over when I fail are all part of growth. This goes for anything in life.

At times I have found myself at the point of zero energy, zero action or zero motivation to the point where I feel condemned because I am not like everyone else who follows the rules and regulations and keep up with routines and daily planners. It can be soul destroying because we feel like we aren’t getting it right in the eyes of the world. But! Take heart! Start somewhere. What I have learnt to do, is, I follow my passion and energy. If there is no passion but we know we want to do something – commit to one day or two days a week; or once a month and try to do that regularly. Julia Cameron suggests an ‘artists’ date’ once a week or month (whatever feels right for you). That helped me get going. Grace and forgiveness is important for my creative practice.  

What I personally do is I write down all my inspirational ideas and I keep coming back to them. Each week I decide at the beginning of the week which I want to work on. I only plan one, two or at the most three for the week depending on the scale of them. I have blocks of time scheduled for writing, art and crafting. I can swap them around for flexibility. If they don’t get done I don’t beat myself up, I practice acceptance and letting go. A quote by Abraham Lincoln said: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” This is key. And I struggled to accept that sharpening (or practicing in my case) is not only okay – it is important. How we take time to sharpen our ax, is up to us. In a nut shell it is not only about improving our specific skills it is about seeing that we live a balanced life, balancing between physical, mental, social/emotional and the spiritual. Sharpening our tools is about getting rest, nutrition, exercise, social input, meditation, prayer, reading and working on our skills. It is growth in an upward direction as a whole person.

Do creative people tend to carve out time for their creativity? If they have careers that they are relying on or a deadline that needs regular time it is responsible to keep working at it. It all depends on one’s personality. Not all artists work like this. I don’t. I follow the flow of energy and interest, I harness my passion and I rest regularly, taking time to ‘fill my cup’ so that I don’t get exhausted or drained. I know that my creativity is my life-blood – it nurtures me, if I don’t do it I personally feel dried up and withered. I land up dissatisfied and empty as I have an intrinsic need or drive to be creative.  

Take care – wishing you a great weekend.