5 ways to revitalise your creative life
Life is busy. So busy in fact that we seem to have split it into parts. We have our work life, social life and our love life to name a few. Each with its own set of demands and needs. One wouldn't be wrong in thinking that all these lives are a bit of a juggle. And yet, there is one ‘life’ we consistently forget about our creative life.
Who even heard of such a thing? And yet, our creative life is the generator of our inspiration, creativity and that special spark we all need in life. So why doesn’t it get better press? This article is an ode to the importance of a creative life well lived, plus a little 6-step exercise to revitalise your creative life at the end of the article. These simple steps will help you revitalize your creative life with ease.
Why is it so important?
When we were little, most of our lives were creative. Absolutely everything was done in a state of curiosity and play. Then slowly we all had to grow up, the to-do lists took over, and before we knew it, every hour of our lives was dedicated to being productive citizens who pay our taxes and sit in traffic jams.
Somewhere along the line, our creative lives took a back seat. It’s no mystery how this happened really. When life demands that everything we do be productive (even relaxation is productive and aspirational) our creative lives hardly ever make it to the to-do list. Is it making money? Is it feeding the kids or keeping the house clean? Is it keeping your bum tight? Nope. And just like that, our creative life, and with it, our inspiration and state of play end up in the bin. Losing touch with our has far-reaching consequences. This is how many of us find ourselves uninspired and depleted, bogged down by daily life and gently wondering to ourselves what the point of it all is, on late nights when everyone is in bed.
If life has lost its lustre chances, it's because you’ve lost your creative spark, inspiration and space to play. This usually means it's high time to invest in your creative life. Creating space for drawing and painting may not pay the bills, but it doesn’t have to. What matters is, that your creative life ignites a spark inside of you, that gives you energy that carries over to other parts of your life. Unlike many of our other ‘lives’, our creative life is where we recharge. In fact, our creative life gives us energy, instead of taking it. Creative energy is our fuel for life, and something we simply can’t do without. So get to it!
1. Find your thing
Having a creative life is all well and good, but what exactly is my creative thing, I hear you asking. You might already have a lively creative practice or maybe you’ve lost touch with your creativity lately and want to give new life. Finding your thing (again) is relevant to many stages of creativity. So, let’s dive in: Have you ever noticed that when you are drawing or playing with clay for an hour or so it feels like you’ve been on vacation? Yet when you scroll on social media or check your emails you blink and the evening is gone?
We experience time in wildly different and personal ways, and here lies a pretty big clue. The thing that makes you feel as if time has slowed down, and makes you feel relaxed and focused at the same time is your thing (sometimes you’ll have multiple).
My way of bending time has always been drawing and writing fiction. Incorporating something creative like drawing into your daily life will help slow down time and help you decompress from the grind and demands of fast passed life. This slowing of time is uniquely relaxing and gently creates the feeling that we have time to be creative. The question is, which things bend time for you? Is it drawing, or baking? Journaling or pottery? Now you know your thing(s), all you have to do is gently replace one time-consuming and anxiety-inducing habit (for instance social media time) and replace it with the things that make time slow down and seem abundant for you. You can even start with 15 mins a day, and then watch it grow.
2. Go back to the source
A lot of the students that follow my drawing courses, advanced or for beginners, are looking for a way to (re)connect with their creativity and voice. Most of them used to have an active creative life filled with storytelling, drawing and painting. Either at school, high school, art school or as artists. Then, life got in the way.
The things that sparked your inspiration and creativity as a child or young adult would most likely still enrich your life right now. Maybe it’s time to start giving that something a bit more space to reawaken and grow. You can do this by gently replacing habits that stress you out and steal your time with tiny pockets of time to be creative and relax. If you already know what your thing is, but you struggle with perfectionism or perhaps you are trying to make your creativity your side hustle and this is stressing you out a bit, then it can be a good idea to go back to the age of innocence too. You can do this by making small pockets of time that are designated for play and experimentation alone. If you struggle a little to create space and time in your life for your creative life then that’s very understandable, the world is full of devices and campaigns that have been designed to distract you continuously, so it’s perfectly natural to struggle. Luckily you can always count on a creative community to get you started and support your growth. If we work together professionally, go to the gym together, live together, and share our loves and losses together, then why would our creative lives be any different? The support of a creative community is there to support you and give a rhythm to your creative practice. If this sounds like you, maybe consider joining a creative community like The Winter Intensive that can get you in touch with your thing.
3. Get nerdy
Give yourself space and permission to be unapologetically nerdy, for no good reason at all. Are you obsessed with Stranger Things or a series of young adult books? Have you always collected family albums from the 50s? Do you know an alarming amount about serial killers from the 70s? Perfect! The things we sponge up for no apparent reason deserve our attention and respect. This is where our inspiration and sense of play like to hide.
Ever wondered how an artist can just hone in on one thing and run with it? Or how an artist can spend a lifetime drawing and painting 500 versions of the sunset over the house where they grew up? Permission to be nerdy, that's how. You may not know what your sunset is just yet, but give your nerdy interests space and you are sure to find out. You are allowed to try out many things before finding your personal sunset, in the meantime stay close to the things that light you up. You have permission to give your attention to the things you love. Need a nerdy buddy? If drawing is your thing, consider joining a creative accountability community like The Winter Intensive. They get it. If you’d like to start a little smaller, maybe a drawing night like Drink & Draw - Release Perfectionism Edition is something for you.
4. Find community
Hardly anything flourishes in isolation. Nope, not trees, humans or artists. Even if you enjoy personal projects or having a solo space to work on your art, there is always the need for the community to share with and be inspired by. One of the oldest and most useless myths about art is the myth of the lone artist in the attic (eye roll).
Working in utter isolation might have worked for a few monks in the past, but with so many full and demanding lives on the go next to our creative life, we simply don’t have the time to be hanging out in the attic for years, in fact a lot of us may find that spending day’s, months or even years in the attic alone is not that fun. Thankfully, your creative life is not an endurance test or an opportunity to prove your mental stamina. Your creative life is allowed to be full of joy, pleasure and ease.
So, repeat after me: I do not have to do it alone! If you want to make space for your creative life, then go back to the source and get nerdy with your interests, then add the support of a creative community that is doing exactly the same thing! Join a Facebook group, join a drawing course for beginners or an advanced drawing course, online or offline. Find yourself a creative community to give you inspiration and accountability. Nothing beats finding a new community with the same interests as you. If drawing it your thing and you are mid-level do advances, you might love The Winter Intensive.
5. Treat yourself, big time.
That's right, treat yourself to some new art materials on your day off. Most importantly, treat yourself to time. Get that book because you love the cover. Tell your friends to get you new inks and colours for your birthday or ask for that nerdy T-shirt (even if you’ll only wear it to bed). Take a moment to have a solo coffee and read a book about other artists and their experiences. Invest in your creative life and fill it with things you find interesting and beautiful. Allow your creative spark to grow and give you energy. It will change you.
Revitalize your creative life - 6 step exercise
So, how do we put all this into practice? Our practical brains love clear instructions, so, grab a pen and paper and let’s get started with a 2-week exercise that will help you get back into a creative flow and back in touch with your creative life.
Identify the habit you would like to replace: which of your habits that you currently have are taking up more energy and focus than they give you (think social media time, worrying about work when you are not at work or maybe helping others out of a feeling of obligation when you really don’t feel like it). Write down which habit they are and why you think engage in them.
Calculate how much time you spend on this habit (the honest version): How much time are you spending on these habits? You might be engaging in these habits while doing other things, like getting to work, sitting on the toilet or lying in bed, that doesn’t matter, they can still be replaced regardless of the location. After you have identified these habits, calculate exactly how much time you spend on them a week (you might want to check your phone to see how much time you really spend on screen). Write this down.
Prepare for more creativity in your life: During week 1 I want you to invest 1/4 of the time you spend on the old habit and replace it with something that sparks your creativity. You may think that you can’t possibly be creative during that time, as you might be traveling, in bed or having a shower. Worry not, there are many ways to be creative, the key is to come prepared. So, prepare for more creativity in your life, I would like to invite you to treat yourself to that cute notebook and set of pencils to take on the train or perhaps treat yourself to that nerdy fantasy audiobook that sparks your imagination to listen to in the car and shower, maybe you want to play with clay with your kid after work. Whatever it is, make sure that you have something enjoyable and creative at the ready to swap with your energy-zapping habit.
Week 1: habit die hard, and you are most likely subconsciously attached to your energy-zapping habit, you might even feel like you have to engage in this habit to get things done. Chances are this is just a ruse. You can step away from social media for a little, trust me. So, you’ve prepared by getting yourself something creative to be busy with and identified the habit you would like to swap out. You know exactly how much time you spend on it a week, and per day. Now I want you to set a timer for 1/4 of the total time a day. Example: you spend 1 hour travelling to work both ways each day and always look at upsetting news stories and work emails for most of that time, which leaves you stressed by the time you get to work or energy zapped and crabby when you get home. For week 1 I want you to do the following: When you get in the train to and from work I want you to set a timer for 15 minutes. You are going to spend the first 15 minutes drawing, listening to a book or even watching an inspiring documentary you picked out beforehand on your phone. Now turn your phone to silent, no emails, no texts, no work, no stress for 15 mins. Once the time hits 15 minutes you are free to go back to your news reels as usual, and to check your phone but can also continue if you like. Your habit may be different than this example but the principle is the same. The key is to start with the thing creative thing you want to replace this habit for. After doing this for a week, I want you to write down how this makes you feel.
Week 2: During this week I want you to continue with the exercise but now spend 1/2 of the total time you spent on the old habit on something creative. At the end of the two weeks, write down how you have been feeling overall. Don’t worry if you miss a day here and there, habits are hard to break, simply lovingly guide yourself back to what you want to invest you time into again and keep going.
Close the exercise: Close the exercise by looking back at what you wrote down, how the habit made you feel and why you think you engaged in it, read how you felt after a week and two weeks of this exercise. Most likely, by now, the creative ball will be rolling again, and some space and spark will have returned to your daily life. Perhaps you find you have a little more time and space and you thought. if this is the case, keep going, keep replacing habits that give you nothing with things that bring you joy and creativity. Creativity is like a seed, when watered even a little it will grow.
I’d love to know how you experienced this exercise and if you liked it. I’d love to hear your experience, thoughts and comments, please send me a message below and let me know how it went for you, I’d love to hear from you.