How to Make Time for Creativity When Life Is Busy
There’s a particular kind of cupboard many of us know well.
Inside are some lovely pens, a half-finished project, perhaps a craft kit we were excited about. Things we fully intended to use when life became a little less busy.
And there they stay.
If you’re wondering how to make time for creativity, start by making the next step smaller: choose one thing to try, prepare what you need, and give it a specific place in your week.
You don’t need an entire free afternoon to begin. You need a way of starting that fits the life you actually have.
Find out what’s getting in the way and how to make time for creativity
“I haven’t got time” can mean several different things.
Perhaps your days really are full. Perhaps you have a little time but no energy left to decide what to do. Or perhaps you sit down with your materials and worry that you’ll waste them by making something you don’t like.
Each problem needs a slightly different answer.
Short on time? Choose one small stage of a project.
Tired of making decisions? Pick the activity in advance.
Put off by setting up? Keep a few essentials together on a tray.
Worried about the result? Begin with a practice piece made from scraps.
Always putting it off? Arrange to make something alongside someone else.
Before changing your whole routine, ask yourself: what would make it easier to start today?
Match the activity to the time you have
Some projects need a clear table and a longer session. Others can fit into a small gap.
The trick is to give each kind of creative time a different job.
If you have five minutes
Collect three colours you like together. Photograph an interesting shadow. Draw the outline of your mug without rubbing anything out. Write down an idea you’d like to explore.
These can be complete creative moments in their own right.
If you have fifteen minutes
Paint a page of colour swatches, arrange paper shapes into a little collage, or add a few rows to an existing project.
Choose an activity with a quick setup, and leave a minute at the end to put things away.
If you have an hour or more
Try a new technique, follow a guided tutorial, or return to a project that needs more concentration.
Check the instructions first: drying, preparation and clearing up all need a little room too.
You don’t have to squeeze every creative ambition into the same-sized window.
Leave yourself an easy way back in
Starting again can be harder than carrying on.
Before putting a project away, leave yourself a note describing the very next action.
“Finish painting” is quite a big instruction.
“Mix a pale blue and paint the three remaining shapes” gives you somewhere clear to begin.
Keep the note with your materials. If you need to pack everything away, take a quick photograph of your layout first.
A little preparation at the end of one session can make the next feel much more inviting.
Make something that doesn’t need to be useful
It’s tempting to give every creative activity a job.
Could you sell it? Give it as a present? Put it on the wall? Make something impressive enough to share?
You can do all those things. You can also make a page of wonky patterns because you like the feel of the pen.
Try keeping a sketchbook or a small pile of inexpensive paper specifically for experiments. Mix colours. Repeat shapes. Make something, change your mind, and make something else.
Nothing in that space needs to become a finished product.
Choose the kind of support you need
Sometimes a quiet moment alone is exactly what you want. At other times, it helps to have materials chosen for you, someone explaining the steps, or a date in the diary.
A craft box can take away the question of what to try. A workshop can provide guidance and company. A creative retreat can give you a longer stretch away from everyday interruptions. A book can offer an idea to return to whenever you have a little space.
You don’t have to choose one way of being creative forever. Different seasons of life leave room for different things.
Where Curious Octopus fits in
I want Curious Octopus to help you make room for creativity in your own life.
That might begin with opening a box at the kitchen table and trying something you’ve never done before. It might mean joining other people for a creative evening, or slowly finding the confidence to experiment with your own ideas.
Our Curious Octopus craft boxes and workshops offer a place to begin, with different projects to explore, materials included and guidance along the way.
The bigger idea behind it all is simple: you’re allowed to spend time being curious and making things, whatever your experience and however your first attempt turns out.
Try this small creative invitation this week
Choose one thing you already have: a pencil, some paper, a few scraps of fabric or a set of paints.
Then finish this sentence:
“After __________ on __________, I’ll spend ten minutes trying __________.”
For example: “After lunch on Saturday, I’ll spend ten minutes drawing the shapes of the leaves outside.”
Make the activity specific. Put the materials somewhere convenient. When the time comes, begin with what’s there.
If the session doesn’t happen, adjust it. Choose a shorter activity, a different day or a little company. There’s no missed-day debt to repay.
You don’t have to wait until life becomes less busy to explore your creative side.
What could you make a little room for this week?
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