In our hectic world it seems as if there is often little
time for cultivating creativity. Creative pursuits are often viewed as less
important because they seem akin to play. Who has time for play when there is
so much work to be done?
Unless we make creativity an intentional act it will be
easily put aside for life’s many demands. Creativity requires being able to
step aside from life’s demands to clear a moment to live in the present and
think of nothing else the but the project at hand. In this way it is akin to
meditation and it seems to me that it must also be beneficial to our mental
health in some similar way.
Probably the simplest way to schedule creativity into our
day is to wake up a half hour to an hour earlier and make our creative time an
intentional act first thing in the morning before all of life’s other demands
get in the way. There is something
really lovely about the idea of having time when your mind is fresh, and the
house is still quiet to engage in your creative project. You can then use this experience to set a
positive tone for the rest of your day.
However, if you are like me and not a morning person waking
up early is more easily said than done. This leaves no other option but to
actually develop a schedule of sorts and clear some “me time” in it for
creativity. This time must be made a priority in your daily life. I group this time in my daily schedule among
the things I do to stay sane and happy. For me these things are drawing,
exercise, and taking time to commune with God through prayer and scripture
study. I also try to schedule in time to
go outdoors since sunshine is good for you and it never hurts to take the time
to notice God’s creations in the world around us.
This schedule can be something as simple as a to do list. I
like Microsoft To-Do which comes free with Office. If you want something that
is more detailed, and goal oriented a dot journal is an intriguing idea. I’m currently reading a book on how to create
and use a dot journal; Dot Journaling—A Practical Guide by Rachel Wilkerson
Miller. I like the idea of dot journaling because it has the capacity to tie
our life’s goals to our monthly, weekly, and daily schedules. Being goal
oriented is supposed to be one of the most important things a person can do to
maintain direction and cultivate success in life. Besides this many people end up using dot
journaling as a creative outlet which is intriguing to me.
In conclusion, I hope you will take some time to make
creativity an intentional act and a consistent part of your daily life. Let me know in the comments below what you do
to make time for creative pursuits your life.
References
Christensen, T. (2017, October 3). What to do when there’s no time for creativity. Retrieved from Creative Something: https://creativesomething.net/post/166024531480/what-to-do-when-theres-no-time-for-creativity
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
