USING ROUTINES TO STAY INSPIRED

What? Doesn’t inspiration just come when you feel inspired? Isn’t that the definition of inspired? Not if it’s your job. Or if you want it to be your job. You can’t just sit around and wait until you feel inspired enough to go to work. I use routine to STAY inspired. I love that romantic vision of artists drinking cocktails, listening to music, and throwing paint around. It sounds fun. 

But I’d get nothing accomplished.

It is my routine that helps me make my best work. I struggle with it, as many creatives do. Or maybe it’s just me. But I’m happiest with a routine. I feel better when I am at the studio at the same time very day. Or most days. If you have a creative business, you know that there are all kinds of other tasks besides making art. Every day isn’t creative. But to have a creative business, the creativity needs to come first. If I don’t paint, then there is no need to do any of the other work.

Which makes creative time even more important.

The power of routine is that establishing habits reframes the mind. Those habits jumpstart the brain and mark the beginning of the creative process. Your mind goes on autopilot. Like brushing your teeth. Figure out a routine that works for you, and it will remind your hands to how to make things. I have no evidence to the science behind this, it just works for me.

Starting Your Day with a Routine.

Personally, here is my idea of the perfect routine to stay inspired. I don’t do it every day, but I ideally I’d like to and it works when I do.

I have to let you in on a secret. I don’t set an alarm anymore. It’s luxurious. And I love it. I still wake up at about the same time every morning. I work the same number of hours, get the work done, but my schedule is more fluid than it used to be when I had kids in school or worked a corporate job.

I love starting my day with coffee, a devotional, and writing three pages in my journal as suggested in ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron. I write five things I’m thankful for. Shower, go to the gym or walk my dog, eat avocado toast or a green smoothie. 

The first 30 minutes of my morning grounds me and allows me to be more deliberate about my day. I need the quiet time and I feel a little off if I don’t get it. It helps my creativity, and when I get in the studio, I’m focused. My brain and my body know it’s time to go to work.

Scheduling Creative Time.

I schedule creative time on my calendar. I try to schedule appointments on Fridays or Mondays or late in the afternoon. I leave three mornings a week intentionally empty so that the creative process has time to take over. Like in a painting, white space is important. I realize this is different for everyone, especially moms with small kids or those of you with other jobs. Try scheduling even an hour of white space with no specific obligation other than to create something. Make it the same time every day, or even every week. Turn on some music or a podcast and being your creative routine.

Routine Warm-Ups.

Creativity needs a warm up, just like when you exercise. I warm up by painting small paintings on paper. Or play with another medium I don’t consider my ‘work’ such as drawing. Often, it’s just 15 minutes.

Every day isn’t creative, but it’s cumulative. Using routine to stay inspired jumpstarts my creativity. It’s about making better art, being present, and enjoying the process. Like exercise, I always feel so much better afterward.

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