I’m sometimes crazier then others and this year is one where I’m pulling out all the crazy stops by doing my best to participate in BOTH National Novel Writing Month AND Leah Piken Kolidas’ Art Every Day during the month of November.

Since I’m trying to add so much more personal creative time to an already insanely busy schedule I started thinking about some of the things that I do that help me to manage my creative life.

And since I can kill three birds with one stone and use this little blog post to remind me of my own good advice, add it to my word count for NaNoWriMo ( I know. I know. it’s sort of cheating…. but only sort of)  and also offer it as a creative contribution for Art Every Day … well, it just seemed like a great thing to share with you all.

Oh… and it leads me to one more tip on the time saving front… which is to repurpose your creative work as much as possible!

1.) Have a place where you can keep your supplies out at all times so that you don’t have to waste precious creative time setting things up and then putting things away afterwards.

Be bold! Set yourself up on a table in the middle of your home where your current project is visible and available. If you have your creative work out where you are practically tripping over it, it has the added value of reminding you that yes, you definitely and undeniably ARE a creative person.

And those projects that are not hidden away can become very cleverly seductive in beckoning you to come and play.

I also have a sketchbook on my nightstand with some pens so I can just reach over and do some simple doodling if I don’t have time for anything else. And…. I have a bag of creative supplies that has all kinds of fun stuff in it that I can just grab while sitting on the couch and creating in my lap. That way I don’t need a whole other surface at all!!

2.) Use the simplest, most basic materials possible

Small helps. The less moving parts the better.  If you don’t have much time , don’t get involved with mediums that require water. This is why things like knitting are so great. You have yarn and knitting needles and you’re good to go.

If you want to do visual arts all you need is a pad of paper and a pen. Same for writing although a laptop computer is also pretty simple if you’ve got one. If you want color try brush pens or colored pencils. Pick up a drum and start banging away.

Collage is a little bit more complex because it involves four things… scissors, magazines, paper and glue… but there’s no major fluids involved and everything is small so it can still work. Of course, the simplest creative thing you can do is to turn on some music and dance. All you need is yourself.

2.) Always have some art supplies with you.

Carry a tiny sketchbook and some pens in your purse for drawing. Or a notebook for writing. So that if you find yourself waiting at the dentists office or having a few extra minutes during your lunch hour you can whip out your art stuff and have a bit of creative fun. Dance in the streets.

4.) Do what’s easiest. Try to remember what creativity is… and isn’t.

There are a number of things that can make creativity seem much more complicated than it really is. Creativity doesn’t have to be hard. What makes it hard is when you get it confused with other things. For example, creativity and your art have nothing to do with money or making a living.

Business has to do with money.

And you can certainly have your creativity lead to business and monetary success. But business by it’s nature is pretty stressful. And your creativity functions way better when you can create some separation between your creative world and the making-money, making-a-name-for-yourself , putting-yourself-out-there world of high anxiety and stress.

You can be a “real artist” even if you’re not in a show or a gallery. That again is about business. See above.  If you equate being creative or artistic with how well you are received by the world you may get highly discouraged at various times and find that you end up not doing anything creative at all.

Being creative means that you are running your creative energy. It’s not really about what you produce. Or what anybody else thinks. It’s mainly about how you feel. So to paraphrase those wacky hippies from the sixties…. if it feels good, you’re probably on the right track.

4.) Do your creative work in short bursts.

You don’t need a lot of time in order to be creative. Huge blocks of time are great and I love it when I can work for 2-3 hours at a stretch.  But even trying to find an complete hour in a hectic day can can feel daunting and overwhelming.  And if you are approaching your creativity from a place of feeling daunted and overwhelmed the likelihood is that you just won’t do it at all. Ten minutes at a stretch is plenty. And of course you can do ten minutes at various times throughout the day.

5.) We all have certain limits that are imposed upon us by our lives that can feel like they inhibit our creativity.

Limits around money and space as well as time are real world issues that we all have to deal with. Accept the limitations of your current situation with as much compassion as possible but don’t let reality get in the way. Fancy art supplies can be incredibly fun but also incredibly expensive. So start with what you can afford.

Maybe you really want to paint with oils on a huge canvas but you live in a 900 square foot house with your significant other, two small children and a dog. So don’t allow your situation to stop you. Get a box of oil pastels and a pad of 12×24 inch paper and start making art. It may not be your perfect dream situation, but at least you will be creating!

6.) Allow yourself to make your creativity a priority.

You might say that your creativity is important to you, and feel in your heart that your creativity is a crucial element to a satisfying life,  but do you ACT as if it really matters? More often than not our creativity gets put on the back burner. It is not only at the bottom of the list, it hardly makes it to the list at all.

What would it look like for you to put it closer to the top ? It might mean that you leave the dishes in the sink while you paint, or that you don’t sign up for another committee meeting at work or that you don’t answer the phone every time it rings.  Honoring your creativity as something that you truly value … by actually doing it… might mean making shifts around other values.

How important is it really that you always have a sparklingly, immaculately clean house. Do you always need to immediately respond to other people’s dramas? Can you allow your kids more freedom and trust in their self sufficiency so you don’t have to be the uber micro-manager in your household?

Making your creativity a priority means learning to protect your creative time and saying NO to certain things so that you can say YES to your creative self. It means that there will be times when you choose your creativity over other things in your life.

It’s about putting it… and you… first.

7.) Make a creative schedule and develop a creative routine.

And do it no matter what. Build your creative muscle. Even if you only have 10 minutes a day make sure that you actually use that 10 minutes to be creative. If you can, make it the same time every day. If not, write it in your calendar. And then when that 10 minute block shows up… do something creative.

Even if you think you’re too tired. Or you’ve convinced yourself that you don’t want to or are not in the mood. You can ALWAYS be creative no matter what you feel. And in fact you can use your feelings as a jumping off point for your creative expression.

If you’re cranky, paint your bad mood or bang out your feelings on a drum or put on some Punk Rock music and stomp around the house. If you’re feeling sleepy paint very, very slowly or write a story about a totally exhausted person.

8.) Get support. Don’t be the creative Lone Ranger.

Creativity does not function well in isolation. It really helps  to have a creative community that can inspire you and help to keep you on track when you lose momentum and inspiration.

Joining a class or taking a workshop is a great way to find other creative souls. And it also gives you dedicated creative time each week.

Find a creative buddy. Make yourself accountable to someone outside of yourself.

Or find a free online challenge like NaNoWriMo and Creative Every Day and watch how being part of a big, collective, creative party allows your creativity to blossom in ways you might not have ever thought possible!

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If your heart is calling you to spend some quality time with a paintbrush and your everloving creative muse AND you’re looking to be part of a fabulous creative community I have a couple of pretty cool opportunities for creative play and self expression coming up in the next couple of months.

In December I have one of my very popular Painting From The Wild Heart weekend workshops at the Creative Juices Arts Studio in Oakland. I try to host one of these events every December as a way to give folks a way to stay grounded and centered in themselves in the middle of all the predictable holiday madness.

And in January I will be hosting a week long Painting From The Wild Heart retreat in the Napa Valley wine country of Northern California. I love this retreat because it sets the whole tone of the coming year for me and reminds me to make creativity a priority in my life. Plus it’s a lot of fun and is always attended by the coolest people!!