For many of us who toil away at the office all day, one of the best outlets for breaking up the monotony of daily life is to let our creative side shine. Unfortunately, this isn’t always easy. If you like to paint, draw, write, sing, play an instrument, or partake in any other creative endeavors, here are some practices that can help you find your creative flow.
Get Clutter Out of the Way
Mental and physical clutter have a way of stopping us from accomplishing anything. Find a method of decluttering your apartment to ensure the space you use for your creative outlet is free of, well, clutter by the time you sit down to write, craft, play music, or whatever it is you’re doing.
Challenge and Enjoy Yourself
The strategy of starting with something you know you can achieve works for some, but is not best for everyone. When you select your creative projects, place emphasis on work that is challenging yet enjoyable. When you achieve something challenging but you enjoy the experience, the sky really does start to feel like the limit of what you can achieve.
Set Time Limits
Until you really find your flow, stumbling blocks are going to be happen. It’s hard to temporarily abandon one part of a project you expect to be so simple, but learning how to do this can prove one of the most rewarding steps in finding your flow. Before you start a chapter in a novel or a verse in a song, decide how much time you want to spend. Unless you’re working as if divinely inspired when the alarm goes off, stop and move on to something else.
Make Time for Distractions
Distractions are unavoidable when you’re working on a creative project. Instead of trying to block them out, allow yourself five minutes to give in to a distraction. Don’t allow this to happen often, and it shouldn’t interfere too much with your creative flow.
When You’re Stuck, Keep Working
When you feel stuck it’s easy to just top working. It’s one of the easiest traps to fall into when trying to find your creative flow. When nothing comes to you, force yourself to write, try out new chords, or stitch new patterns. You probably won’t be satisfied with all of the results, but this will get you in the habit of continuously moving. Eventually, you might find yourself amazed that some of your best or favorite work is achieved at times you’re just “pressing on.”
Throw Expectations Out The Window
Expectations breed disappointment, especially early on in your attempts to find your creative flow. It’s important to let go of any expectations you have for yourself. Instead of focusing on results, focus on the creative process and see what comes of it.
Practice Regularly
As with success in most areas of your life, the key to thriving creatively is to practice frequently and with intention. Schedule regular blocks of time for your creative pursuits, and try not to let anything get in the way of these sessions.
Flow is difficult to achieve in any aspect of your life. Once you know the feeling of being immersed in productive flow, however, the bliss of the destination makes the journey worth it. Whether in your creative endeavors or elsewhere in your life you strive to achieve the awesome feeling of flow, we wish you productivity and success.
Have you found creative flow in your life? If you have tips that might help others, share in the comments.
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View All Posts by Jason Ernst