Balancing Work and Creativity

One way to get your finances in order is to find a job outside your creative endeavors. A day job provides benefits beyond financial stability: It gives you a routine to build on, so you can slot in creative time every day. Although financial security is essential, be cautious about spending too much time at work. Find a hobby — something you do for the joy of it.

Organizing your life to support creativity is to use the right tools. First, use a calendar to track your creative progress. Crossing off each day on the calendar that you work on your creative projects. Aim to work daily to have an unbroken line of X’s on the calendar. The more X’s you accumulate in a row, the more inspired you’ll be to keep going. Once you embrace the creative influence other artists have on you, your job is to curate that influence.

Find a hobby — something you do for the joy of it. The pursuit doesn’t need to be related to your work. Hobbies will improve your creativity by encouraging you to draw new connections. Use constraints and limitations to your advantage. Having limited resources boosts creativity, so embrace the challenge.

[¹]: Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative