How to create when you're running on empty
Read this when you need a break to create, but life takes over
With Christmas just around the corner, it feels like life is getting busier by the day. Dress-up parties at school (or in our case at daycare), last-minute shopping, decorating the tree. And of course, it’s the season of sickness.
All of today I spent with a feverish 3-year-old stuck to me like glue. And as soon as I stepped away to either go to the loo, get a snack, or just take five minutes to breathe, he started wailing. I’m talking about the kind that you can hear three doors down.
To say I’m not handling it well is an understatement.
What would have been a week off for me to recharge turned into a day filled with tears (his and mine), fevers (his) and suppressed anger (mine). All of this combined turned into a toxic cocktail that makes you feel anything but creative. While that was exactly what I needed in that moment. Especially since creativity is my business and what lights my soul up.
If this is you coming into the holiday period, don’t worry. There are things you can do to keep the creative embers burning when you’re low on energy or short on time.
Creating is never selfish
Let’s get honest for a moment. When you have a sick kid or partner at home, taking care of your parents or just have a lot on your plate, taking time to create can feel selfish.
Asking someone else to look after my sick toddler, who cried every time I left the room, felt selfish. My negative voice told me I wanted kids. I chose this, so now I need to be here.
But I also know I can’t fully be present when I’m depleted and running on empty. It will make me snappy and grumpy with zero patience - the exact opposite of what he needed in that moment.
I know I can’t fully be present when I’m depleted and running on empty.
So carving out a little time, even if it’s a few minutes, can make a big difference. Even if it’s just going on a walk alone with the dog, it helps clear the cobwebs. And taking 15 minutes to create something fun (without pressure) can be just as effective as a power nap. If that doesn’t work, a power nap will work too.
Of course I wanted to have the full day of creating I carved out for myself, but 45 minutes to make clay ghosts was all I got. And it made such a difference in how I could handle the late afternoon fever melt down. I know that not everyone has the luxury of taking 45 minutes to themselves, but even 5 minutes can help.
Here are a few things I’ve tried over the past few days to help give myself some creative breaks.
The 5-minute doodles or collages
I love to play around in my journal. But sometimes I feel stuck on what to create, so I just add some lines to my journal and colour it in. Simple and effective and, most of all; relaxing.
Another thing that works really well for me is to make a mini collage in my journal or stick stickers in it. You don’t need to have a lot of supplies, can step away when you need to, and it gives an instant creative look to whatever you are doing.
Craft together (do your own thing with their supplies)
The great thing about having a toddler is that we have craft supplies knocking about everywhere. He loves to colour and often wants to do it together. I have to admit I don’t always look forward to the mess it makes, but I do love that I get to colour something as well. Whether that’s helping (or being ordered to help) with a colouring book, or drawing something myself - it’s still a mini boost that gives me the feeling of doing something creative.
Scribble a poem
Sometimes it feels like I can’t be creative unless I have plenty of time and blank space, but this year I’ve been experimenting with writing fragments. Short lines of things I notice, of just a few lines that come to me. This is something Beth Kempton suggested in one of her courses that I did this year. And when you’re short of time and low on energy, this works perfectly. It’s an amazing way to scribble down a poem and just get what you’re feeling off your chest.
Go on a walk
Going for a walk does wonders when the days feel long with sickness. I’m lucky to live next to the forest and to have a dog that demands a good half-hour walk. While a walk might not be creating something, it helps to calm down my nervous system and give me some uninterrupted time. The sounds of nature, the wind through the trees and just the cool air, do wonders. Or as Yoshifumi Miyazaki says in his book Walking in the Woods: “Regulating the nervous system is exactly where nature therapies come in.... Although the simple act of walking in a forest might not seem extraordinary, the benefits that people experience during and after a session of forest therapy really are.” This includes improvements in your immunity, relaxation, reduced stress and an improved feeling of wellbeing.
Do what you can with what you have
I know fully that not everyone can just carve out 45 minutes of time for themselves when life happens. But even 5 minutes is better than nothing at all. Some days like looks like locking the door of the toilet to do a mini mediation, other days it looks like a walk alone, and another day it looks like going to bed at 7pm to read and sleep.
Whatever you need to get through a period where you are low on time or energy, know that self-care is never selfish. This goes for everyone, but especially when you are a creative entrepreneur that makes a living off your creativity.
Self-care is never selfish, especially as a creative entrepreneur.
In that case, you need to give yourself space to breathe so you can keep the creative embers burning. Because making space for your creativity daily will make you a better person, partner, parent and friend. And that is never selfish.