How to Fit More Creativity Into Everyday Life

As a busy parent and/or working professional, it can be difficult to find time for creativity in your everyday life. We often view creative pursuits as secondary or side hobbies, when studies have shown that creativity is, in fact, pretty vital to our well-being. 

Whether it’s writing, painting, drawing, fiber arts, dance, music, or baking; engaging in creative endeavors can boost our mood, reduce anxiety and depression, and decrease symptoms of chronic disease. So if you’d like to up your creative quotient, here are a few ways to fit more creativity into your life, no matter your interests or time constraints.

Utilize the Margins of the Day

We often think that creative pursuits must be blocked into large chunks of time. By utilizing the little margin moments throughout the day, we may be surprised by how much more creativity we can fit in. Using a coffee break, a long call, a ride on public transit, or a waiting room to brainstorm, doodle, or craft is a great way to exercise our creativity muscles. If your particular creative endeavor is portable, carry it with you wherever you go! Famed author Neil Gaiman said, “I bought a notebook and put it by my bed, and before bed every night I would write 50 words of Coraline…I wrote [it] at 50 words a night.” No matter how slow our creative processes may seem, fitting them in, in however small a way, can produce beautiful things. 

Keep Your Hobbies Handy

In a similar vein, by having your projects within arms’ reach, it allows for a greater likelihood that you’ll create instead of consume. For example, keep a notepad with you to write or jot down ideas. Keep your crochet projects next to your bed to work on instead of surfing. If you’re into photography, pack your DSLR camera with you to practice with instead of just using your phone. Whatever your creative outlet of choice, keep it close!

Prioritize Your Creativity

If certain creative projects require more time or attention, give yourself the space and permission to work on them. Hire a babysitter or reserve regular blocks of time with a spouse, friend or family member to devote to your creativity. If you have the resources, book a crafting or writing retreat. Your interests and creative life are important too! 

Keep a Project Journal

Reflecting on creative goals or looking back at the process of creating can be both enjoyable and motivating. To see how far you’ve come or the creative hurdles that you overcame can inspire you to continue in the creative way. Journaling can also help you define your creative goals or help organize a list of projects you find inspiring and want to tackle next. This can cut down on creative indecision or paralysis by analysis and give you an immediate path to walk when the creativity sparks. 

Join a Creative Community

There are so many opportunities for connecting with like minded people nowadays. Whatever you’re interested in, there’s a forum, Facebook group, or social media account to give and get encouragement, have questions answered, and find inspiration. When used as a springboard or motivation rather than a distraction, this can be an excellent tool to increase creativity. In-person crafting clubs are also a great way to prioritize your time towards the creative.

Reduce Distractions

While this is a no-brainer, it is arguably the biggest hurdle to our creativity. Even when we block out time, we may find ourselves wanting to just scroll or watch a show instead. Try distraction-reducing apps or the Do Not Disturb phone function to block out screen-free times when you’re feeling fresh and ready to create. Require yourself to do one creative thing before you allow yourself to scroll. Post creativity quotes or goals somewhere public or visible to you to remind yourself of your goal to create more. These are small things that could help break up the automatic reflex to consume.

Keep It Simple

You do not need to write sonatas, paint a masterpiece, or design the next great monument of the world (though you certainly can!). If you start with less of an end product in mind and create more for the creative process itself, it may free you to create more and to create better. If you don’t feel like a particularly artistic person, that’s okay too! Even coloring in a coloring book, doodling, or listening to music have proven health benefits, and can unlock other doorways to creativity. 

Include Your Children

Oftentimes children can feel like a hindrance to creativity, and while certain creative endeavors do require more concentration than a rambunctious toddler may allow, there’s also an innate creative spark that exists in children. Tapping into your own childlike wonder and including them in your creative pursuits can foster an environment and create a culture of creativity in your home. As your children see how important (and fun!) creativity is, it can open more time for you to create in relative peace with them alongside you. The creative process does not need to be perfect or exactly how we imagined it in order for it to still be beneficial and enjoyable.

Hopefully these ideas help you tap into the innate human desire to create, and provide more opportunities to make that happen everyday! After all, it’s what you were made for.