Mindset for Artivists: Part 4. Building Creative Habits
Part of the reason for this mini-series of posts about mindset for artivists has been to help you deal with resistance and possible creative blocks, which is something all creatives and artists struggle with. One simple way to deal with that is to build creative habits that will help you get into the creative flow without overthinking things too much.
Building creative habits is also essential for artists and creatives because creativity is like a muscle that needs regular exercise to stay strong. Unlike a one-time burst of inspiration, habitual creative practice helps you consistently engage with your work, your artivism, improves your skills over time, and fosters a mindset of continuous experimentation and exploration.
Let’s begin by looking at some reasons why it's important to build creative habits before I give you some tips on how to do it.
Why It’s Important to Build Creative Habits
Consistency Equals Growth
The first reason building creative habits is so important is that consistency equals growth.
You're setting yourself up for incremental improvement by building regular creative habits. Even when you don’t feel particularly inspired, consistent practice keeps the creative process moving forward, you build momentum, and you continue to hone your skills.
Even if it’s just a 5 or 10-minute sketch, a 5-sentence paragraph, or 2 rows of stitches on your knitting project, you’ve still used your right brain for something creative that day. And that’s better than nothing.
Develops Discipline
Another positive result of building creative habits is that it cultivates discipline.
Even though I might not value discipline as the most important quality of a professional artist and creative (because I believe self-forgiveness is much more vital), discipline is still important.
The discipline of showing up to your creative practice, even when motivation is low, can be just as valuable as the creative output itself. Discipline can help you move through creative blocks, deadlines, and whenever inspiration is fleeting or hiding somewhere.
If you feel like you’re lacking in the discipline department, it might be a good idea to look at possible distractions in your life and evaluate them, which I’ll get into in a bit.
Generates New Ideas
Another positive effect of creative habits is that they generate new ideas.
If you’ve ever gained new ideas when working on a project, whether that’s ideas for your current project or ideas for other ones, you know what I mean by this.
The more you practice and expose yourself to different techniques and ways of thinking, the more ideas you will generate. Consistent creative work helps you tap into deeper layers of your imagination and allows new ideas to emerge more naturally.
I’ve also noticed that doing something creative in one discipline gives me new ideas in others. I remember one time a couple of years ago when I was stuck in a story I was writing, and had been stuck for over a week at that point. But as soon as I stopped glaring at my screen and picked up my crocheting project, ideas on how to change the story to make it more exciting for me to work on started to emerge organically.
So, if you feel stuck in one project, you can try doing something else creative and take note of what ideas come up.
Reduces the Pressure of Perfection
The final positive effect of creative habits that I want to mention here is that they reduce the pressure of creating perfection.
When creativity becomes a consistent, regular, low-pressure habit, it allows you to focus more on the process of creating rather than on creating a perfect piece of work.
I’ve also found that, when I focus on the process rather than the outcome, I create things wouldn’t even have thought about in the first place. Not that all those things are great (or even good), but there’s always something I can take away from that experience, whether it’s a technique I want to continue exploring, or a description I love that came out of nowhere, or a color combination I like, or something else.
In other words, building creative habits has several great benefits.
Now, let’s look at how we can build creative habits so that we can gain these benefits.
How to Build Creative Habits
Start Small and Be Consistent
The first tip is to start small to build consistency. This is especially important if you haven’t used your creative muscles consistently for some time or are feeling blocked.
Experiencing creative blocks isn’t always a dead end. Sometimes, it’s a sign that your creativity is evolving, stretching, or unlocking something new. When you're in the middle of it, however, it can feel frustrating, like you're staring at a blank page or canvas, second-guessing every idea, and waiting for inspiration that never comes. Starting with something small and being consistent can be very helpful here.
You can begin as small as 10-15 minutes a day. Over time, this builds momentum and becomes part of your routine.
You could also set aside a specific time each day for your creative practice to help you build consistency. If you, for example, want to dedicate your time after breakfast to your creativity, you know that it’s time to be creative as soon as you’ve had breakfast.
Small actions are easier to maintain in the beginning, and consistency is key to making creative work a habit. As you get into it more, you can gradually increase the time to 30 minutes, an hour, or however long you want.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself if you want to start small and build momentum:
What’s a small creative habit you can start with today?
When are you usually most creative? (Morning, after lunch, at night, etc.) Can you set aside some time there to focus on your creative practice? If so, how much time are you aiming for right now?
Create a Dedicated Space for Creativity
The second tip is to set up a dedicated space for your creative work. If you already have a studio, a corner in your living room, a desk, or something else, that’s great. If you don’t, then this tip is for you.
A dedicated space signals to your brain that it's time to shift into creative mode. It can help condition you to enter the right mindset before you begin your work.
What your space looks like is entirely up to you. I recommend surrounding yourself with things that inspire you and your creative work. It can be certain items, images, inspirational quotes, or something else.
Years ago, when I focused on fiction writing, I had an old typewriter I'd gotten from my grandfather on my desk next to me. I never used it, but it reminded me of my love for writing. Nowadays, I have two corkboards where I change the images pinned on them every three months or so to get a new, fresh, and inspiring energy into my space. It's a small thing to do, but it helps me a lot.
If you prefer to have a minimalist setup, then do that. Whatever works for you to be as creative and focused as you can be is the right choice for you.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to optimize your creative space:
Do you have a dedicated space for your creative work? If not, where can you create a space for yourself?
Perhaps it would be better if you changed your space? If so, where to? What makes the new space better than your current one?
How can you make your space as inspiring as possible? Are there any items, images, inspirational quotes, or something else you want to include in your space? Are there things you need to remove from your current space?
You might need to test out a few different places and setups before you find one (or a few) that works for you. Just remember to do what works for you.
Make Your Practice Into a Ritual
The third tip I have is to make your creative practice into a ritual rather than just a task to check off your daily to-do list.
This might mean that you start your practice with something that gets you into the creative flow, like a right-brain exercise, lighting a candle and setting an intention for your daily practice, or even a physical activity like stretching before you start working. It can also be something as simple as making a mug with your favorite hot beverage or putting on your favorite music. It might also be a combination of things like these.
Either way, rituals can help signal to your mind that it’s time for creativity, which is always a great start. The familiarity and comfort of a ritual can also ease the resistance that sometimes arises when you want to do something creative.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you make your practice into a ritual:
If you don’t already treat your creative practice as a ritual, how can you turn it into one?
What do you like to do before you start your creative work? (Stretch, put on music, light a candle, etc.)
What kind of ritual would inspire and motivate you? Is there a particular poem that gets you inspired to write, a song that makes you motivated to paint, a photo or image that reminds you of why you’re an artivist?
If you want to, you can test out different kinds of rituals and evaluate after some time to see which one worked best for you. Perhaps you realize that it all depends on the mood you’re in on any given day and that you need to adapt your ritual after that, which is a great insight to have as well.
Just remember to only do what works for you.
Track Your Progress
The fourth tip I have is to track your progress. You can keep a journal or logbook to do this. It could include daily reflections, sketches, or notes about what you worked on and what you learned.
At the end of the week or month, look back on the entries in your journal to see possible patterns and growth. After some time doing this, you will see just how much you’ve developed and the progress you’ve made, which is always a great boost for your confidence.
Tracking your progress also allows you to reflect on what’s working in your process and your projects, what’s not working, and where you might need to make adjustments.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you track your progress:
How do you want to track your progress? (Journal, daily diary, voice memos on your phone, etc.)
What do you want to include in your entries? (Sketches, reflections, lessons learned, etc.) Or, perhaps it depends on the day or the project you’re working on?
When or how often will you review your journal and evaluate your progress?
Embrace Play and Experimentation
The next tip is to embrace play and experimentation. Even though making art for social change often means that we have a specific reason for working on a project or making an artwork, making something without expectations or specific goals from time to time can also help you fight perfectionism, possible resistance, and feelings of being stuck.
This is also a great tip if you want to explore another medium, topic, movement, or something else. Test it out for a couple of days and see if it’s something you want to do. With this intention, there’s no pressure.
And if you create ugly art in the process, that’s okay. You can actually use ugly art on purpose by making ugly art for experimentation and exploration. Making ugly art it’s actually very rewarding because testing something new, experimenting, and playing can be the foundation for creative breakthroughs and do wonders for your creativity.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to embrace more play and experimentation in your practice:
Do you want to play and experiment more? Why?
How can you create a habit around experimentation and play? How can you fit it into your creative process? When can you fit play and experimentation into your daily or weekly schedule?
If you’re not sure what’s play or fun to you, make a list of things you’re curious about when it comes to your creativity, practice, discipline(s), media, materials, techniques, subject matters, etc., and then spend some time experimenting and exploring that. Then note what you thought was most fun and do more of that whenever you feel like bringing more play and experimentation into your practice.
Notice and Get Rid of Distractions
Distraction kills creativity; therefore, the next tip is to notice your distractions and eliminate them.
I believe that dealing with distractions is one of the biggest challenges for full-time artists and creatives, especially when you’re working from home or in an environment that’s not entirely dedicated to your craft. Distractions can derail focus, creativity, and productivity.
Luckily, we can deal with distractions by becoming aware of them and then setting specific boundaries around them.
If you, for example, notice that your phone is a distraction, keep it in a separate room or somewhere where you can’t see it while you’re working. You can also tell your loved ones that they won’t be able to contact you between these specific hours while you’re working.
The key is to be self-aware. By understanding what derails your focus, you can proactively address those specific distractions before they take too much time from your creative work.
Here is an exercise you can use that can help you notice and eliminate your distractions:
Dedicate a page in a journal to writing a list of the ways that you distract yourself. It can be anything from your phone to your environment to procrastination, and everything in between. Update this page for a couple of days or a week.
Remember not to judge yourself. This isn’t a list of all the ways you’re lacking, because you don’t (we are all distracted at times). This is a list to make you aware of your distractions so you can do something about them and, in turn, prioritize your creative habits.
Once you identify your distractions, what kind of boundaries and strategies can you put in place to deal with them? (Leaving your phone in another room, setting a timer for focused work, working in a quieter location, etc.).
Build a Support System
The final tip I have is to build a support system.
Surround yourself with other creatives or like-spirited people who are also committed to their work. They don’t necessarily have to be artivists or make artivism, though, that could be an advantage since you may understand and be able to relate to each other’s struggles, worries, and wins more deeply.
I know it’s easier said than done to build a support system, but we also have the internet at our disposal nowadays, so it doesn’t have to be very difficult.
You can find a community of like-spirited creatives, artists, and artivists through social media, online communities, and programs. If you like real-life communities more, you can take creative courses available in your local area, arrange meetups with people you’ve met online, join organizations or movements that bring awareness to the social issues you want to work with, etc.
One important thing about support systems is that you’ll feel less alone. You can share your progress, discuss challenges, and get inspiration from others. Another upside is that it can provide you with accountability to keep your creative habits going. Plus, seeing other creatives do their work can be motivating and inspiring in itself.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to build your own support system:
What kind of support system would you like to have? Who would you like to include in your support system? How can you reach out to them?
Where could you meet other artists and like-spirited creatives and artivists? (Whether in real life or online.)
What could you contribute to the support group? Remember that this is a give-and-take relationship.
It may take some time and trial and error to build a support system. But finding the people you click and vibe with is worth it.
Final Words
Building creative habits is important whether you’ve fallen out of your creative practice or want to explore a new discipline, medium, movement, etc. With consistency and a willingness to embrace both discipline and play, you can make creativity an essential part of your daily life.
By developing these habits, you not only improve your craft but also strengthen your creative resilience, helping you to continue growing as an artist and artivist, no matter what challenges arise.
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