The world today is a very fast paced and busy one. You’re most likely juggling your long to-do list at work, family obligations, chores at home, and social events, and you may have little to no personal time throughout the day. As a result of this busy state of being, some activities lose their place on your priority list — including many of the creative things YOU love to do! Creative activities are not only something you do for fun (in your “free time”), but creative activities can also be beneficial for your mental health, personal satisfaction and self-expression as well.
An example of a creative activity would be, painting, writing, music-making, new hobbies etc., and engaging in these kinds of activities can provide you with reflective time; avenues for learning and exploring; ways to cope with feelings; and experiences that might relieve stress, solve problems and produce a sense of accomplishment, which can translate into other areas of your life.
Elucidate Your Creative Priorities
Before finding time for creativity, first determine what type of creative activities energize you, inspire you and are fun for you. Different people experience different types of creative activities. Therefore, it is important to find the activities that excite you so you have a better understanding of when you can establish your own creative goals. Instead of writing a huge paragraph, create a specific creative goal such as today “I will write 500 words of my novel 3 days a week” or “I will spend 30 minutes on sketches every morning.”
Assessing Your Current Schedule
After coming up with an idea for what you want to focus on, it is also important to objectively see where you spend your time. A lot of us do not realise how much time we spend on boring activities, commuting to and from work, or doing things that are not productive (e.g. on social media). If you keep track of all the activities you do in a week, you may realise how much time you have available to do creative things. There may be 30 minutes in the morning before anyone gets up, at lunch or after the kids are in bed that you could use for doing something creative. You should not wait for free time to create; rather, you should create by making good choices about your available time.
Overcoming Guilt Around Creative Time
One of the biggest challenges that you face if you want to give priority to your creativity is the problem of guilt. It is very easy to consider activities such as painting, writing, or composing music as a luxury if you have other things that you need to do. But the fact is that spending time on your creative activities is not a luxury. Participating in activities that make you happy and expressing yourself creatively is one of the ways that helps to revitalize your energy and focus so that you can give priority to other aspects of your life. You can overcome the guilt of pursuing your creativity by considering it as a form of self-care.
Starting Small and Building Consistency
Working on a creative project does not require large blocks (uninterrupted) of time to advance your creative journey. For the most part, you will be able to use your creative impulses in short sessions (10 to 15 minutes per day in the beginning) to be effective. As time passes by, these recurring bursts of creativity will result in immense gains from your creative endeavor. It will be the key to your success. Although, at times, large bursts of creativity may seem intimidating to you, it is essential that you find a way to have smaller bursts of creativity.
Scheduling Creative Time
An efficient way of incorporating creativity into your life is through planned schedule. Allocating time early in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening to your creative projects gives you solid commitments for your creative time, therefore giving you a mentally easier time deciding when to participate in a creative activity and establishing a reliable routine by consistently working at a creative project.
Creating a Supportive Environment
The setting you find yourself in has a significant impact on your creativity. A particular space in which to create (even if only a bulky place in a well-organized area) tells your brain, "These are the conditions under which I will be focused and productive." A creative experience will be more engaging and successful if there are fewer distractions; tools are set up for use; and there are objects in that space that inspire creativity (artwork, books, music). The quality of the environment you are in will ultimately help you transition from your usual responsibilities to your artist's mode quickly and easily.
Integrating Creativity Into Daily Life
When trying to find time to be creative with large blocks of time for creative purposes look to include creation into the everyday. An example would be to listen to a podcast about story telling during commuting times whether driving to or from work or working out to music. Also, include your family members in your creative activities. Remember, and you should give yourself as long as you can be uninterrupted in creating; however, including creativity in your daily life will allow to have a continued passion about creating.
Overcoming Perfectionism
For some people, perfectionism is an obstacle to creative action when they are busy because they don't believe they will have adequate time to complete something successfully. This can lead to feeling discouraged about not being able to "do it right". The goal, then, should be on progress rather than trying to achieve perfection. Even if something is created with flaws, there is still a benefit to it. The way to achieve these things is by creating small, measurable goals that will show progress in producing creative work. Creating small and measurable goal will eliminate the possibility of creativity causing stress and will, therefore) make it enjoyable.
Final Thoughts
If you want to add creativity to your busy life, instead of just waiting for an opportunity, you have to choose wisely. By understanding that creativity is incredible for your well-being as well as others' and your own, prioritising your creative activity over all else, planning time for creativity and creating an environment that supports creativity, anyone can include creative activities within their busy schedule. Creativity will be present in your everyday life if you take small, consistent actions to implement creativity in your daily routines, if you remain open-minded and flexible, and if you approach creativity as a way to experience joy, express yourself, grow personally, etc.