Welcome back, loves! This episode we thought we’d have a little chat about creative time – because it’s been coming up for us both after the writing retreat, talking about creative habits, and also talking about our creative spaces recently.
What we talk about
Having an epiphany on the same day (in different ways). Making time, spending time, dedicated time. Fitting creativity into the time you have available. The (sad) truth that we will never have endless uninterrupted creative time – life just doesn’t work like that – but this means prioritising our creative time and making it happen.
How creative time for yourself is different from when you’re being creative for your clients (very similarly to spaces, interestingly).
Expectations. Splitting time. The privilege of having a creative job or business, but having to then also make sure you have or make time for creating just for you. Filling the well.
Time blocking – and successes and struggles with that. Scheduling in time and routines for writing or your own creative joy.
Permission to have fluid “creative time” – it doesn’t have to be just producing the creative output. It can be input, thinking, doing something else that happens to inspire you.
Taking the pressure off and playing, and taking ourselves off the clock. Claiming chunks of time (stupid o clock for us is at both ends of the day!) to get that flow time in around life & its demands.
Finding (or accepting) when your own best creative time is, and working with that. Mindset shifting for how you’re using time.
How our phones fit in – they’re brilliant but they also mean that we are often operating on someone else’s schedule, so putting some boundaries in around that.
Using systems to keep track of time so you can fit in your creative time – this is very personal, different people love different things, but we rather like Notion, Clickup and LibraryThing (the last of which is specific to books, but that’s important and creative!).
Figuring out what works for you and your own rhythm – taking into account things like how much sleep you need, when you work best, any medications that impact you, commitments that are fixed and ones that are flexible – there’s no magic answer, only your own individual one.
Being gentle and flexible with yourself – and allowing for flex when things get in the way of even the best laid plans. Adjusting to who you live with so you can have some uninterrupted time around them & what they need. Making sure you’re meeting your own needs.
Prioritising yourself and your creativity in the same way as a partner might, or you might (or do) prioritise a partner, child, dog, etc. Being your own best friend.
Even five or ten minutes a week of your own time that is just for you is valid and precious and good. It’s ok to take that time, and it’s ok to just be and allow your creativity to blossom – you don’t have to be productive every moment.
We already have work – we shouldn’t be turning our creating-for-joy time into work as well.
And that… is our rambly yet wonderful summary of Creative Time. We’d love to know your thoughts – drop us a note and let us know what you think!