How to Make Time to Be Creative

“You don’t find time to be creative, you make time for it.” I had never heard this advice before until I heard Becky Higgins mention it on social media. Her comment made me think about how I could use that advice for my own life. After my daughter turned one, I realized that I was missing the creative part of my life.  I wanted to bring it back, but didn’t know how I would find the time.

But her advice is true! You don’t find the time, you MAKE the time. No matter if it’s scrapbooking, crafting, or doing other creative things. It’s all about choosing to prioritize your passion and making time for it in your life. That also doesn’t mean that you need to carve out hours every day to pursue your passions. It can be as quick as 15 minutes to practice that passion.

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Where can you make time to be creative?

Are you able to get up a little earlier or stay up a little later? What about during lunch or naptime? Or during a break at work or on your lunch hour? How about swapping out TV time for creative time?

All of these times are good options that work for some people. With your own schedule, there are different possibilities to make the time. But I know what you are thinking about right now. Even if I could make that extra time a priority, I really don’t want to sacrifice what I’m currently doing. Then I have to say to you, this creative passion isn’t a priority for you. Is what you are doing now throughout your entire day all of your top priorities? Would your creative passion come above any one of those things you do every day?

This was the case for me as I tried to “find” the time. I didn’t want to change my schedule or stop doing some of the useless things in my daily routine. Instead, I kept looking at my schedule to find a time where I wasn’t already doing something. But that’s exactly why I could never “find” the time. It was nowhere to be found, so I had to make the time to fit it into my life.

Evaluate your schedule to make time to be creative

I looked over my schedule again, but instead of trying to find an open time, I looked for things that weren’t a priority for me. My go to time was the evenings when I usually was unwinding after a long day. For me, that meant TV time and vegging out on the couch. Although that time of night was important to my sanity, I had to actively decide to sacrifice doing it. When I thought about it, watching TV didn’t bring me joy and would not be something I would prioritize over being creative.

Taking the time to think about my schedule and all that I do during the day really helped. I was able to step back away from the daily routine and see where I could replace mindless activities with things I wanted to accomplish.

As simple and silly as it sounds, this was a lightbulb moment for me.  I can continue to mindlessly watch TV every night after my daughter goes to bed. Or, I can do something for me that is fun! Plus, it also stops me from making excuses for not having enough time to accomplish my goals. Those projects that I’ve always wanted to do will continue to be a future wish list item, unless I prioritized doing it.

Prioritize your creative habits

So I swapped out that TV time and started working on things I had been putting off for a long time. I found myself now spending time painting, learning new art skills, scrapbooking, working on new Pinterest projects, and organizing my craft supplies. It made me happy to get back into being creative. And you’ll never guess… I didn’t end up missing the mindless TV time I was wasting!

That little bit of time I carved out of each day, no matter how quick, has helped revive the creative spirit that I missed. I may not be churning out projects or trying elaborate Pinterest projects like I used to, but I’m accomplishing things that I have been wanting to try for a long time.

It’s up to you to make time to be creative!

I want to know more about your struggles with crafting and how you overcame them. Maybe you haven’t yet and this post will inspire you to make the time to be creative. Or maybe you need a little bit of inspiration on ways you can bring creativity back into your life.  We all need that little push and reminder that life comes in seasons and schedules change, but it is always up to us to prioritize our passions in our daily lives.

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If you’ve never thought I meant it before, I mean it now the most – go out and lead your best creative life today 🙂
Julie

Blog Header Photo by Eric Rothermel on Unsplash