I’m just going to say this, because maybe you will understand: sometimes I go about things all wrong.
I get caught up in the must-try’s, the should-do’s, the best practices, and I forget to filter them through the lens of what makes sense for ME.
Those things might work in general, and they might be great for someone else. But most of the time, what I learn by trying to do what works for someone else is that I’m not someone else.
Ahem.
For example:
I have this idea, every once in a while, that I need to improve my habits.
I need to drink more water, get more fresh air, walk the dog. I don’t even have a dog.
So you can imagine what happens when I read a blog or a book or a helpful message telling me I need to get up earlier to write first thing in the morning.
This is, they assure me every time, the path to all that is right and good. If you just get up earlier, you can gain a whole hour in your day. I hear, and I start nodding along.
Yes! Great idea, an hour earlier. I will just get up and start writing. Never mind that my brain has not yet switched on at that hour.
Never mind that I cannot find three words to string together.
The quiet, the lack of interruption, the feeling that I am absorbing the secrets of the sleeping universe will make it all worthwhile. A bucket of coffee will help.
But while “more writing” gets a big thumbs-up from me, “less sleep” does not. Less sleep is on my list of Things That Lead to Certain Doom.
My best intentions—having shiny good habits, being an early bird, getting all the worms, etc.—turn into burning the candle at both ends, and that much fire will turn your life into a disaster zone right quick.
That is not the habit for me.
It always takes me a few days to remember this.
I don’t have to write at the time someone else tells me I should. I can write at my own pace, at the times and places that work best for me.
I don’t have to do what someone else does. I don’t have to write as fast as someone else does. I don’t have to write as much as someone else does. I don’t have to write as often as someone else does.
A creative habit is a gift, but it will become a burden if you’re doing it in a way that doesn’t fit you.
You don’t need to follow someone else’s plan, and you don’t need to go big when you first jump in. You can start small and make it sustainable. You can learn about yourself as you go, and you can make new plans with what you learn.
Know Your Why
The reason behind your creative habit might not be the same as mine, or as anyone else’s.
Are you creating to preserve memories? To process a trauma? To connect with others? To make something someone needs?
Your why can help you decide what your creative practice should look like, and will keep you motivated as you continue.
Start With Tiny
Once you know why you’re in this, set a goal so small that you can hardly help but meet it. Starting small makes it easier to continue, and it makes you feel successful.
So for me: I could type one new sentence. Or open a journal to a clean sheet, and title the page. Or read the last paragraph I wrote, and add the next sentence. Goal complete. (But then we are free to keep going.)
If you want to get up earlier, try ten minutes instead of an hour. If you want to start writing every day, try 100 words before you commit to 500.
Small matters. Small gets you started, and small adds up.
Reclaim Your Minutes
Instead of setting up a whole new daily routine, can you find a few minutes in your day that won’t be missed? Your (non-driving) commute, lunch hour, naptime? While waiting in the car?
Is there a time to think and plan—while you wash dishes, fold laundry, drive, shower?
Repurposing the minutes you have will get you going, and help you figure out what you need to continue.
Adjust As You Go
Maybe you’ll learn that early morning is not your best creative time. (Ahem.) Maybe you’ll discover that you love journaling on a park bench while your kids swing. Maybe you’ll find that you need quiet alone time to get your creative juices flowing.
It’s okay to make adjustments. It’s okay to try something different. It’s okay if the thing you try doesn’t work out. You can make changes, you can try again.
Your creative habit is a gift to YOU, first of all. It doesn’t need to measure up to someone else’s ideal.
I don’t have to get up before the sun. You don’t have to stay up until midnight. (Though I might.) You can do what works for you.
Start small. Make adjustments. And let your way be your own.