Amazing life changes aren’t only allowed to start during the month of January. Your best creative life can start today.
I hope you know that. Logically it makes sense, but also we’re kind of conditioned to believe that January is the best “Monday” of the year to start thinking about how to get our stuff together for the rest of the year, right?
Kind of funny, if you ask me.
In today’s post… I’m going to tell you 5 ways you can get your footing and set up the best creative life starting at any point during the year!
5 Ways To Set Up Your Best Creative Life
1. Look at what all you have going on right now in your life.
There are great times in your life to shake things up and do something different or go all in an activity that you’ve never done before!
…And then there are times where you have to take an honest look at your life and get a few things in order BEFORE embarking on a life-changing creative adventure.
It might be a hard thing to hear but I’d rather you take this moment of reflection before you cause more stress than necessary by trying to be everywhere at once.
Taking care of your sanity is always number one!
2. Decide what you want to pursue!
If you didn’t already know, I am very much a planner and a goal achiever!
I love my check-lists and knowing what I’m getting myself into.
I also know my personality doesn’t jive well with starting 100 projects and never completing any of them. (we’re all wired differently)
You may be happy just playing with different ideas and enjoy the creativity in each moment more than the actual finished project.
You are the only one who can decide what you’re comfortable pursuing and what is going to bring your heart the most joy!
So when you’re trying to plan what you want to do… start to narrow it down by what sparks your interest but also what you have room for in your life, like we talked about above.
If you’re stretched thin by work and kids and just general busy life… You may find that a creative outlet is a good way to buy back some of your sanity points at the end of the day. That’s awesome!
Maybe start with a journal and some brand new markers or watercolors to doodle out some inspiring ideas instead of taking on your first hand stitched king size quilt project, you know?
Or if you have a little bit more time to give, look at taking a few creativity classes!
A few quick and super satisfying project tutorial ideas for you to check out:
- Cute Box Zipper Pouch Tutorial
- Easy Baby Quilt + FREE Pattern Download
- Making a Jelly Roll Rug: The 5 Mistakes I Made
- How To Create A Mitered Corner In Your Quilt Binding
3. Purposely book an appointment time with yourself
Schedule out time daily, weekly or at the very least a few times a month to pursue what it is you want more of in your life.
I can 99% guarantee that if you wait for those lazy afternoons or just pockets of free time in your life to show up… you’ll be waiting a very long time and see very little progress with your creative endeavors.
You have plan for it! Even if it takes marking off every Tuesday/Thursday evening on your calendar! Give yourself the time to focus without a lot of distraction around and the pressure of only having 5 minutes to yourself before something else pulls you away.
Which brings me to…
4. Do not let yourself cancel these appointments!
OK Ok… I know… things come up and schedules aren’t set in concrete and things DO shift around.
I’ve heard people use the phrase “You wouldn’t be a no-show to a doctor appointment you made or just bail on dinner plans with a client!”
It is easier to put the needs of others before our own when it comes to self-care or creative endeavors!
To live in the world we are in today, you have to be somewhat flexible to survive. (um hello, year 2020)
You don’t have to let go of flexibility to keep your creativity a priority!
If you have to shift things around, make sure that your time for yourself doesn’t get tossed out simply because it is the easiest thing to throw out.
Other things will always get in the way. There will always be someone else or something else that you can focus on.
Our attention is pulled in so many different directions via advertisements, social media, work, family matters, worldly news etc etc.
Work around it!
5. The perfect time to start focusing on your creativity is TODAY
(Or perhaps this weekend if you need to do a little shopping prep beforehand!)
If you’ve been waiting for things to be right to start focusing on your creative talents… You could be waiting for a long time. 🙄
I started quilting when my kids were very young. Being a really busy mom, I had this grand idea that things would get easier when they got older and I would have more time when they went off to school. I just had to make it through those hard years, right?
Well, guess what? My days still seemed to fill up quickly even with them gone most of the day when that time came… I just had a different set of responsibilities and expectations on myself than I did years before.
The best day to start your creative journey is today.
Like, we talked about earlier… now may not be the best time to start on that king-sized quilt project, but you can do SOMETHING creative that will still bring your heart joy TODAY!
YOU are the one who is in charge of your best creative life!
Here is a bonus tip!
Grace.
Grace is always something that you need to give yourself in every area of your life. 🥰
It isn’t always easy, and it isn’t something that is ever actually “done”. You have to always continue to pursue your best creative life and keep it as a priority in your life.
For further reading, I highly suggest the post below because I share a few more nuggets of my learning moments and what I have learned in pursuing my best creative life.