My number one tip for carving out time for creative activities, is to schedule it in and stick to your routine. If you just have a vague idea that at some point you will get something done, it probably won't get done anytime soon. By making an appointment with yourself, and writing it down in your calendar, appointment book, or entering it into your phone or scheduling system, you are more likely to stick to it and actually accomplish it. This works! Especially for those of us who juggle many demands on our time and competing priorities.
If you need to do something over a few sessions or on an ongoing basis, try to schedule multiple sessions at the start, or to set it up in your system as a recurring appointment. If you just do the creative activity once, then you may not go back to finish it. However if you schedule it in for the first of the month every month, or every weekday at 7:00am for 3 weeks, for example, then you are more likely to accomplish the task.
By having regular appointments at the same time every day or week, you can accomplish a task such as creating content, writing a book, creating an online course, painting, crafts, photography, or other.
Even just waking up one hour early and writing for an hour each weekday, will reap results in the longer term. Six months from now that will be120 hours that you will have spent working on your project. By doing it at the same time every day, you are establishing a routine that makes it become a habit, and much easier to stick with.
Take action: What are some times in your schedule where you can fit in an appointment to spend some time on one or more of the creative activities that are important to you and that make you feel more balanced and connected? The length of time and the way that you choose to spend it are up to you. Schedule it in now in your calendar or phone or whatever system you use for planning your time. For example: on June 25 in the morning I'm going to go on a hike in the countryside with my family. Or once a week on Friday nights at 8:00pm, I will have a bubble bath with aromatic oils and then write in my journal for 20 minutes. Schedule and establish your routine of creative activities, and you will enjoy the benefits!
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