Image via WikipediaThe ideas of "routine" and "creativity" may seem contradictory, but they are truly the necessary Yin and Yang of artistic balance.When I wrote my first book in 2007, I had no structure whatsoever in my writing schedule (if there was ever a schedule at all.) I learned very quickly that the only way I could make something from nothing, to weave together an array of ideas and form something as large as a book, was to set up a framework on which to build. That framework was constructed of time - the time I spent working versus the time I spent looking for time to work.
First, to escape the distractions of home, I made "appointments" with myself to go to a local coffee shop and write three nights a week. When I needed to pick up the pace, and working away from home five to seven nights each week just wouldn't work for the family, I began getting up an hour earlier in the mornings and made writing my first task of the day. Believe me, early rising was painful at first, but I managed to see my goal of a finished book as a higher priority than an extra hour of sleep.
In less than a month of working with that schedule, a funny thing happened - the writing just came to me. Because of a routine, creativity wasn't a struggle. I didn't have to squeeze it out, like blood from a stone, the way I did when I would try and write "when I had the time." I had developed a habit. I sat in my chair, flipped to a blank page, and I wrote. Three years and three books later, the same framework delivers every time.
Doing something every day is the simplest way to develop a positive habit that can propel you towards your creative goal. If you're an artist, draw or paint something small each day. If you're a knitter, stitch up a wee something every night after work. A writer? I bet you can guess - write something, even if it's just a paragraph, each day whether you feel like it or not.
I guarantee that in a few short weeks, whatever action you choose will become a painless part of your routine and you will feel great because of it!
I think it has inspired me to do other things, to set goals, to finish projects.. it really is a charged booster and I don't think people "get it" fully until they participate in it.
ReplyDeleteSecretly, I did start writing too.. I didn't set a word amount or page amount, but I started the writing. So, besides the trinket a day, I have writing a day, journaling a day, photography a day and setting new goals for myself.
I'm anxious for the writing to just come naturally.. I truly am.
Beth, you fill your life with happiness and a sense of accomplishment. That..completely.. rawks!
"...you fill your life with happiness and a sense of accomplishment."
ReplyDeleteLife is only so long - no time to waste!
Oddly enough a lot of the first half of Skull-A-Day was done by me getting up early and doing an hour of work before my work day began! Eventually the project developed in a way so that I could work on it during my work day, but I still like getting up early and doing personal work before client work now!
ReplyDeleteDoing personal work before doing work for anyone else does a strange thing to your day - it makes you feel like you own it :) That's a nice habit to have.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy getting up early to write now. I don't have to struggle with the worry or guilt of NOT having written anything all day! Ahh, sweet relief...
Beth Brown does it again!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the inner you ... Love the yin/Yang in your coffee.
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