Your Creative Intentions: The Monday Post ~ September 3, 2012
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
~Aristotle
This is the moment to deepen, or commit to, your regular creativity practice. Regularity — a daily practice, if at all possible — is one of the best ways to stay in touch with how you make meaning.
What are your plans for creative practice this week? Given the specifics of your schedule, decide on a realistic intention or practice plan — and ink that time in your calendar. The scheduling part is important, because as you know, if you try to “fit it in” around the edges, it generally won’t happen. An intention as simple as “I will write for 20 minutes every morning after breakfast” or “I will sketch a new still life on Wednesday evening” is what it’s all about.
Share your intentions or goals as a comment to this post, and let us know how things went with your creative plans for last week, if you posted to last week’s Monday Post. We use a broad brush in defining creativity, so don’t be shy. We also often include well-being practices that support creativity, such as exercise and journaling.
Putting your intentions on “paper” helps you get clear on what you want to do — and sharing those intentions with this community is a great way to leverage the motivation of an accountability group. Join us!
:::::::
If you’re an artist or writer with little ones, The Creative Mother’s Guide: Six Creative Practices for the Early Years is the essential survival guide written just for you. Concrete strategies for becoming more creative without adding stress and guilt. Filled with the wisdom of 13 insightful creative mothers; written by a certified creativity coach and mother of five. “Highly recommended.” ~Eric Maisel. 35 pages/$5.99. Available for download here.
Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
Both of my oldest have departed for college now — and with my daughter due to get her driver’s license in a couple of weeks, this school year is shaping up to be a major transition!
For the most part, last week I was able to maintain my morning practices while integrating the school routine into the picture — had to make some adjustments so that I have enough time to make my daughter breakfast. This week my youngest goes back to school (Wednesday) so we’ll see how things go with his school commute added to the mix.
Last week’s creative/well-being intentions:
* Daily morning centering practice w/Morning Pages and intention journaling [yes]
* Daily writing practice [yes]
* Complete installment of short story for “5PM Friday” accountability group [yes]
* Open Studio Groton projects; finish setting up fall workshops [yes]
* Yoga/walk/run x3 [yes]
* Reading [yes — but less than usual]
* Clean up art room [made just a small dent]
If the stars align:
* Weeding/gardening [assigned to an older son looking for $] [no]
* Project Life catch-up [no]
This week’s creative/well-being intentions:
* Daily morning centering practice w/Morning Pages and intention journaling
* Daily writing practice
* Complete installment of short story for “5PM Friday” weekly accountability group
* Read peer work for Thursday monthly nonfiction group
* Open Studio Groton projects; fliers and press releases
* Yoga/walk/run x3
* Reading
* Finish cleaning up art room
* Begin Project Life catch-up
so once again, as soon as i declare i need a break from the manuscript, the ideas come. now to find the time. IF i don’t start a new job at toots’s school this week (still waiting to here) one of my writing group and i are going to meet at the library on thurs for a couple of hours.
in the meantime, it’s back to school week. here’s what today looks like: http://musingsinmayhem.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/day-one-2012-2013/
time for me to start figuring out making the manuscript and the blog a habit again after this crazy summer. time to inject more humor in the manuscript.