Tag: Creativity

Create a Little Every Day!

Last week I discussed the importance of scheduling time for creative pursuits. I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of the artwork that I have created recently. I have recently returned to my drawings after a very long time of not creating any of my own artwork. I love to draw beautiful things and lately roses are one of my favorite subjects. I draw very slowly. I can sit down and only draw a single leaf in the hour I have available. I didn’t draw for several years because I would start projects and never get the big blocks of time that I thought I needed to finish them. It has since occurred to me that even if I can only find a few hours a week that with persistence it will add up and eventually you have a finished project. Waiting to be not busy never happens and in the end you are left with nothing of your own to feel good about. So even if you can only find half an hour for yourself in a day, invest that time in a creative project and in time you will have a creation of your own!

This Illustration is the result of weeks of work an hour at a time.
Remember the little bits add up!

Finding time for Creativity

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