Your Creative Intentions: The Monday Post ~ June 24, 2013
Commit, or recommit, to a regular creativity practice. Regularity — a daily practice, if possible — is key to staying 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. If appropriate, use time estimates to containerize your task, which can make a daunting project feel more accessible.
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 leverages the motivation of an accountability group. Join us!
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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/$11.98. Available for download here.
Studio Mothers: Life & Art 
Excellent work here! So helpful 🙂
When you have time, please do visit me at simplyvegetarian777@wordpress.com
The kids summer break are on. We are relocating to Ohio. At this point I am trying to keep the kids motivated for some active lifestyle, packing a bit everyday, posting on my blog and reading other bloggers. Blogging has given me more peace with myself.
Good for you, simplyveg! So good that you’ve found a creative practice that keeps you anchored. And I love your veg blog! A vegan myself 🙂
Good luck with the relo xo
Thanks Miranda :)).
The blogging world is amazing. We move so much but I am sure that t WordPress I am going to make some serious friends;)
Sonal
I love the idea of scheduling my own creativity! Blocking out a time of day is so smart! I do it for my clients, but not for myself.
I’d also love to hear about how you would suggest people who work creatively should create personal creative time. I design all day but still need to create for myself (instead of someone else).
Those of us lucky enough to create for a living (in my view) MUST still carve out time for ourselves….what do you think?
Absolutely, Vivian! One of the best things you can do is block out your creative time in your schedule (planner or calendar) and honor that time as you would an appointment with someone else. If you have young children, these windows are often in the evening (after the kids are in bed) or early morning (which has many advantages). Regularity helps a lot too — the force of habit does wonders to overcome resistance. Take a close look at how you’re spending your non-work hours….are you doing things that restore you and re-fill the well? Are there things you can cut down on (TV, internet) to free up more time for creative practice?
So many great ideas!!! Love this so much. I’m really looking forward to your next post.
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this 😉
I’m sure I could cut down on web surfing 😉 but more then removing anything, it’s really prioritizing, since I have “time” to help everyone. I should really be helping myself as well…its like exercising….”no time” is an excuse, right?
Dear Studio Mums – like you I believe all women are constantly creative. When we’re young we nurture our own personalities through fashion, music and self-expression. Then we create new ways of looking at the world in our workplaces. We often create a home from a shell or from dust. Sometimes we create gardens or advocate other ways to make a better world. Then – if we’re blessed by some miracle to create children – we create a place that is safe for them in turn to be creative – to sing and dance and paint and write. And if, by chance, they are able to one day do for themselves (as mine are blissfully now able to do) we often return to write and draw and paint and create things that the world can see and read – when what we’ve doing is being creative our whole lives.
Amen, Chas Spain! 😀
Thanks MIranda – I think it’s a great area you’re covering here – so important
The first week of school vacation! It’s hot and sunny here in MA, which is to say: perfect. With a bunch of 90+ days this week, I may have to cave and turn on the AC, however. The troops are getting cranky (the older ones, anyway).
Creating my practice manifesto for the week…more on that soon.
Daily writing practice streak: 194 days in a row of logging a minimum of 500 words daily in my WIP.
Last week’s creative/well-being intentions:
* Daily morning centering practice w/Morning Pages & intention journaling [yes]
* Daily writing practice [yes]
* Walk x2 [yes]
* Daily reading [yes]
* End-of-year “certificates” and tea party for kids (annual tradition) [no! still in progress — we didn’t have our usual tea party as we went to the beach instead. on deck for this week.]
This week’s creative/well-being intentions are another repeat:
* Daily morning centering practice w/Morning Pages & intention journaling
* Daily writing practice
* Walk x2 [still reducing expectations due to injury]
* Daily reading
* End-of-year “certificates” for kids
Last week’s FUN:
Beach! [yes! great day with friends]
This week’s FUN:
* Lots of trips to the pool (several towns over but worth the drive)
i have hit a wall with lessons and practices for two kids and gearing up to sending one to college and all the paperwork involved and activities and things. there is no me time, until i am collapsing exhausted at 11 at night.
taking pictures is about all i can manage. it keeps me going, but i am missing writing terribly, even if i am too pooped to think.
boys are going to their dad’s later and shorter than usual this summer. i think i need to set aside time i sneak out to the library a couple of times a week. but when without making sure the kids aren’t just zoning on tv and computer?