3 Rules to Living Creatively Everyday

If you're reading this chances are that you have a desire to embrace that creative fire burning deeply inside of you. I know I do. One of the things that frustrate me the most is trying to find the time to just be creative and make it an integral part of my life. My wife and I have six kids (yes six) and we both work diligently to provide a warm and loving environment for them and us. So we work HARD. And living creatively isn't always in the front of our minds even though we are both highly creative people and even work in creative industries. 

Living your everyday life creatively can be beneficial in so many ways. It can help mental health, it can help with stress levels, and all that comes with that. And it may even lead you to take on a new creative endeavor that could bring you a level of peace, joy, and fulfillment that you wouldn't have had otherwise. 

As a creative professional, my career depends on me being creative and coming up with new thoughtful ideas almost every day. Pressure, right? Yeah, a little... So, while obsessing about ways to live more creatively I decided to write about it and share it with you fine folks! 

1. Make space for your creative passions.

"But yo! You just said that you even have trouble finding the time!" Yeah, I did. Finding time is tough, especially if you have a chaotic household like mine. But in most cases there is time.

When I need the space and time to work on a screenplay, working during the day is hardly ever an option. I'm either working on other projects/jobs or, more than likely, someone in my home needs or desires my attention. Side note, I'm hyper-committed to my wife and kids so I try to make myself as accessible as I reasonably can. 

First, let me back up. I don't believe in a "balanced" life. It doesn't exist. People make time for what's important to them, balance or not. Often they give a lot of time to those things. For some, it's work, for others, it's leisure,  or sleeping... I'm not judging...  So, if living your life more creatively isn't a priority or a desire, you're not going to find time to be creative. You just won't, no matter what I or anyone else says. 

For me, especially in a heavy writing season, I wake up an hour or two before everyone else in my family and do the creative work that I need to do. This allows me the deep focus time that I need to be creative. I'm not suggesting that this is an option for everyone as sleep IS important and you shouldn't become sleep-deprived to be creative. Although a lot of artists do... But that is a way to create space. 

Another way is to communicate to your closest folks the desire to be more creative and the need for that space where deep focus can happen. This can be extremely positive because they will most likely work with you to help create the space and even hold you accountable to make sure you're taking that space you need. 

For those who have a relatively chill life with minimal distractions. I don't know how to help you other than to say, what are you waiting for!? MAKE TIME TO BE CREATIVE!

2. Input affects output.

Do you struggle with feeling creative? I do, often. 

Sometimes we can occupy our minds with so much bullshit, corporate shit, drama shit, social media shit, etc, that we don't have anything to give anything other than shit. 

As a filmmaker, I find myself inspired by reading, actively watching films, intently listening to podcasts, and having deep and meaningful conversations. As a musician, listening to new and interesting music will often propel me to want to create something as interesting or even more so! 

If you are a painter, do you seek out and study other artists and painters? A writer? Do you read cleverly written novels or essays?

A photographer? Grafitti artist? Dancer? 

No matter what the discipline, I believe wholeheartedly in absorbing as much as you can so that you overflow with your own creativity, leading you to do your best work! 

Input is the key! 

3. Give yourself permission to create badly

After you've found the space. After you've taken so much inspiration that you're overflowing with creative energy, it's time to create! 

I think that I have had multiple million-dollar ideas that I've abandoned or didn't pursue because I was afraid of being bad at first. Have you ever been in this person? A person who is so afraid of not being great at first that you don't even try at all? Come on, that's weak sauce! Everything is bad before it is good! 

I've adopted this philosophy, "You can't be creative and critical at the same time". There is a time to be uber-creative and there is a time to be hyper-critical but these things are completely antithetical to each other so if you want to be creative, then your critical side must go away for a while. Giving yourself permission to just be free in your creativity will help you unlock great things that you never knew that you had in you! Be critical later. Don't be afraid to be free in your creativity. It's okay that it may not be good right away but allowing you the space to just express that thing that is inside you allows you to refine that thing and be critical later in the process. Please don't kill potentially great work before it's had a chance to exist and breathe. 

There are obviously a ton of other principles to living creatively but I wanted to try to narrow it down to three so as not to bore you with the countless ways that you can do this. I hope that this encourages you to continue to strive to live a life full of beauty and creativity! 

Until the next one!