Strategies for Fitting Creativity into a Busy Life
The struggle to find time for creative pursuits amidst the demands of work and family life is a common challenge many face.
We are constantly reading the acknowledgements of various books and the authors’ appreciation for their support over the months and years they were writing the book. You know what I mean, quotes such as:
I want to thank my family and my wife (or my husband, partner, etc.) for all the support over the years.
But what if you don’t have that support? What if your partner, family, and friends don’t value your creative endeavours? Then life gets tough, constantly juggling family and work life, with your creative life always seeming to take second place. Why? Well, because nobody but you take it seriously.
Disclosure. I use an AI assistant when writing. The assistant may suggest outlines, topics, or subtleties I had not thought of. The actual writing is all human me.
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Defining the Struggle
So how do you find time for these creative endeavours, be it writing or maybe you’re a YouTuber? It’s a struggle, and there is no question about it. Finding the time is like finding treasure.
As creatives, our mental health depends on our creativity. We judge the quality of our lives by what we create. Life might be easier if this were not the case, but we all have to live with the hand we are dealt.
All the writing advice, every single course, every blog and every podcast always advise creatives to find time to set aside time blocks where. No matter what, we should treat it as an appointment. We should then sit down and start writing. But life isn’t like that for most of us; finding this time is a constant problem for many creatives.
We know what we should be doing and want to do it. However, the pressures of family life and work responsibilities always take priority over our plans.
Perhaps this sounds like a good moan; I suppose, in a way, it is.
How do we find the time to find those moments where we can sit and create as we want and need to do? I’m still trying to find this balance, but I am trying to be realistic; I know I must accept things as they are. The trick, therefore, is to find workarounds.
Charting the Course: A Solopreneur Strategy for Life’s Many Hats
What is Micro-Creativity?
Micro-creativity is a simple concept; it’s about capturing the ideas that jump up at you on your commute, during a lunch break, or sitting on the toilet. For most of us, with a digital or physical notebook always at our sides, every idle moment becomes an opportunity.
Smartphone apps serve as digital notepads, waiting to catch our ideas. These tools ensure that when inspiration strikes—no matter how briefly—we’re ready to capture it.
Consider your daily routine. That quiet period early in the morning, the lull between meetings, or the wind-down time before bed can all be transformed into mini-creative sessions. The challenge is to shift our mindset from seeing creativity as something that can be sprinkled throughout our day.
Embracing micro-creativity also means redefining what it means to be productive in your creative endeavours. We must understand that a 15-minute brainstorming session, a few lines of dialogue, or a quick sketch are steps towards a larger goal and are significant achievements.
By making creativity a regular, accessible part of your day, you allow it to grow and become a normal part of your daily life. Micro-creativity is not just a method of finding time; it’s a practice of making every moment count.
Adaptability is Key
Of course, if you are lucky enough to treat creative time as a non-negotiable appointment, stop reading now. Many of us don’t have this option.
I’ve tried explaining and negotiating to be able to set aside creative time. It goes okay for a day or two, perhaps as much as a week, before it is forgotten, and I find myself back at square one.
The only way to be true to my creative self is to adapt. I take my laptop and sit, half watching the television with my partner while bashing away at the keyboard. I create outlines of ideas either in a note, a potential article in Ulysses, or a new text document in Scrivener, depending on the muse.
I’ll pick up one of these outlines for every’ session’ and refine it more. Depending on the subject matter, I’ll refine the item to be worked on as the week progresses. For example, this newsletter becomes a top priority towards the end of the week and into the weekend. At other times, my current long-form project has the monopoly of my available time.
My theory is that the more time I spend creating in the company of my family, the more normal it becomes for them—until it’s accepted as just part of the scenery. It seems to be working so far; fingers crossed.
Maintaining the Creative Mindset
I recently became resentful over the lack of support I felt I had earned for my creative work. Perhaps I was justified, but in reality, all this did was sap away all creative energy, turning it into awful negativity.
Fortunately, I caught on to the problem early, so managing to stop the dangerous thought processes from getting out of hand. I doubt that my wife even realised what was bubbling to the surface before I stamped on it.
This, I think, reflects the reality for many creatives. Maintaining a creative mindset becomes much more difficult if support (or at least understanding) is lacking. If we are not extremely careful, our reserves of creative energy can all too easily be drained without achieving anything worthwhile.
Instead, we must learn to live within our means. The time we can find amongst the hustle and bustle of daily family life needs to be cherished. If we are very fortunate, persisting with patience and remaining calm and true to our creative selves will, eventually, become accepted as part of the norm.
Using Tech Creatively
Use your smartphone, tablet, and computer to their maximum advantage. For example, I dictate into a Note on my iPhone, then copy and paste the text into the appropriate writing application on my MacBook.
The technology most of us have available these days is capable of doing much more than just scrolling through Facebook. Use what you have to the maximum benefit. The best part of all is it’s there already and free.
There’s no need to buy the latest phone or application; what you have already will do. You only need to use it thoughtfully.
Final Thoughts
All creative efforts, no matter how small, are significant and contribute to whatever project you are working on. We should celebrate our daily progress, including successfully integrating creative practices into our daily lives.
For those of you feeling unsupported by your nearest and dearest, know that there are many of us with similar problems. We are your support network and will always be here for you.
Until next time, be creative and enjoy life.
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I apologise to my readers for some of the spellings you may feel are incorrect. I was born and brought up in the United Kingdom, and this is the spelling I am comfortable with (Grammarly is happy with it anyway).