Caitlin’s Creative Business Bookshelf - Episode 3 :How to be more creative every day without feeling overwhelmed

Ever wondered if it’s possible to be more creative every day without adding even more things to your to do list? You’re not alone! I get asked this question a lot and see a lot of us creative business owners have problems with this.

So many of us want to be more creative, but we struggle with actually fitting our creative practices into our day to day lives. But the good news is that there are lots of ways you can fit creativity into a busy schedule without the overwhelm.

Here’s this week’s episode of Caitlin’s Creative Business Bookshelf where I share some tips on exactly how!

Work out what creativity practically looks like for you

When I say creativity, a lot comes up, right? It is a huge topic, and one that can be really difficult to pin down a definition for. Not to mention the wealth of activities that you can engage in to keep your creative well full.

So my first tip for you is to work out what it would mean to you to be more creative. What does it look like in purely practical terms? Does being more creative look like getting up half an hour earlier every day to journal? Would a successful creativity habit look like a certain activity a few times a week? Amazing, go for it!

It does help here to get nice and specific and will mean you’re less likely to give up once you know what you’re aiming for.

Block out time in your calendar

I won’t use the phrase ‘productivity hack’ very often, because to be honest, I think it gets tied up with a lot of unhealthy capitalistic notions of what productivity should mean.

But I digress! Now that you know what creativity in a practical sense looks like, we can start to block out time to actually do it. Does it mean you have to get up a bit earlier in the day? Is it something you can get the kids involved in? Is there a class you can go to?

Once you have put metaphorical skin in the game, it will make it so much easier to actually get the thing done.

If you’re neurodivergent or have a spicy brain and have specific things that work for you, do those! Whatever helps you to get shit done elsewhere, engage those activities here too. If you know what makes you productive in your business, you can absolutely apply it here too.

Be realistic about what you can do

This is really key. When we want to do more of any activity, we may get excited and let shiny object syndrome take over a little. Nothing wrong inherently with shiny object syndrome, but when it means we’re trying to pack our schedules full of stuff, it can work against us and eventually lead to feeling less creative and to the dreaded burnout too.

So I ask you to be gently realistic about what you can do and what you can fit in. The key to building any kind of creativity habit is to have that balance of dreaming big but also putting things in place so you actually do the thing. Self-compassion is absolutely key here, especially when we’re being realistic about what we can do. Think of it in terms of a consistent gym habit rather than doing the huge marathon once.

A friend reminded me once that actually, we cannot do every single creative project that we dream of doing. This was really helpful for me personally in working out what I actually prioritised and what wasn’t so important to me.

Give yourself what you need

I discussed blocking out time as it’s own separate tip earlier, just because I feel that one is especially important. Time of course is the most important element of fitting in your habits, whether it’s 10 minutes a day or 10 hours a week.

But tying in with this is to give yourself what you need, and I mean that in both a practical and emotional sense.

Practically…

Do you need people to leave you alone? Or on the other end of the scale, do you need a buddy to help you be accountable and do the work?

Do you actually have the tools you need if you’re doing something like knitting or? Are they to hand? Have you got somewhere you can work comfortably?

Do you need to switch your phone off? (I do this all the time - thank goodness for airplane mode!)

Emotionally…

Does your creative practice make you feel good?

Can you work somewhere comfortably?

Make sure you eat and hydrate regularly during your creative activities. (I say this as someone who gets sucked into flow and sometimes forgets both of those things!)

Know that creativity can look however you want it to look

Creativity does not have to look like flinging paint at a canvas. It can be in a gift we make for a friend, in a meal we cook for ourselves, in the book that we cannot stop reading.

As soon as we start to let go of the conventional notions of what creativity has to look like, the creativity begins to flow - ironic, eh?

I say this because I have seen plenty of people that feel they’re not doing creativity “right”, which can then lead them to stop doing the thing they love doing so much. I really don’t want that to happen to you, so please embrace your unique creative self-expression and fall in love with it.

I really hope these tips have helped you. And if you’re looking for more practical tips and pep talks to help you live your best creative life away from your business, you’re in the right place!

If you fancy diarising your creativity time, join Co-Creativity Club today - you’d be so welcome!