8 tips on How to be creative when you really can’t be bothered

The Joyful Creative

So you have the time but not the motivation? Here are 8 tips to get you off the couch, away from the screen and into your studio when you just can’t be bothered. Anyone relate??

In short:

Allow yourself to do the minimum and celebrate those small wins.

Plan a big reward for finishing a project.

Get yourself an accountability partner.

Have inspiration in your environment.

Get physical.

Put down the phone!

Change up your medium.

Start with a simple warmup activity.

Links:

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TRANSCRIPT

 Hi there. It's Deborah O'Toole artist here. Now, if you're in the Brisbane area, you might be interested to know that I'll be offering two sessions of my mindful creativity workshop on the 14th of September. Over the course of three relaxing hours you'll enter a state of creative flow while experimenting with simple, repetitive techniques, such as doodling, inking, and metallic embellishment. The focus of the session is on enjoying the soothing processes, which calm the central nervous system and clear the mind. The artistic outcome is not as important, although you'll be so happily surprised how beautifully creative you are when you just allow yourself to play.

The cost is $120 per person, which includes all materials, a bag of take-home goodies, including our own frame to mini masterpiece. And I'll bring a freshly baked gluten-free cake for morning or afternoon tea. Spaces are limited so book now at the link in the show notes. Or go to deborahotooleartist.com/workshops. I look forward to seeing you there.

Welcome to The Joyful Creative. I'm Deborah O'Toole. I'm a multi passionate creative and I believe regular creativity is essential for well being. Whether you love painting, writing, knitting, music, gardening, or any other creative pursuit, here you'll find the inspiration and support to make your creative practice a joyful priority in your busy life.

So let's get creative.

Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode. I've just come off a crazy couple of months and I have two full days where I could be creative for hours but I just couldn't be bothered. Just not motivated. And this has got me thinking about the difference between not having the time and not having the motivation. And I think many people will relate to this because we often say we're too busy and then we spend time doing other things that don't get as closer to finishing our creative projects or simply even just tending to our need for regular creative expression. So I started thinking of ways, I've got myself out of a slump in the past and into the studio. And if you've been following me for a while, you know that I'm on a daily creativity streak, which I track with an app on my phone. And that is a big motivator because I want to maintain my streak and when I look at my phone and I see the app sitting there, it's a really big reminder and I am quite motivated then even just to do a bit. But I realize that a streak isn't for everyone or not everybody's there at this point in their life.

So here are some other tips which may be useful on those days when you do have the time, but not the motivation.

So tip number one: Allow yourself to do the minimum and celebrate those small wins.

So on those days, when you're really struggling, set a timer for five minutes, get to work on your project and when it goes off, you're done! Congratulate yourself for your efforts and go celebrate with a cup of tea or some chocolate or whatever makes you happy. Chances are, you will feel motivated to continue in which case that's the bonus, but if not, that's okay. You've done five minutes and you're done. You've done your creativity for the day. Maybe you're extremely exhausted or unwell and the thought of even moving from the couch or the bed is too much. Well on those days, curl up with a sketch pad and pen and just sketch or doodle for five minutes. You might not be any closer to finishing your project, but at least you'll reap the benefits of the creativity.

Tip number two: Speaking of rewards in all seriousness… Plan a big reward for finishing a project especially the long ones.

You might want to book in for a massage or plan to go out for dinner or buy some new supplies for your next project, Whatever motivates you to keep chipping away at your current project. But just remember that the benefits of regular creativity are all about the process rather than the end goals. So make sure you're enjoying yourself as you're doing it. But rewards can sometimes be the motivation you need to actually do the creating when you're past the honeymoon phase of the project.

Tip number three: Accountability partners.

I know this is a bit of a buzzword, but really if you know that you're likely to feel a lack of motivation when it comes the time to be creative, prearrange a date to get together with a friend and do your creativity together, like a Crafternoon or something, or if that's not possible, make an agreement with your partner to exchange process pics of your respective sessions. Because having a buddy join you either physically or virtually is an instant motivator and doubles as an opportunity to gain encouragement or feedback on your project, which will further motivate you.

Tip number four: have inspiration in your environment.

This is another one that works really well for people who know themselves and anticipate needing a boost to their motivation. So you can make your phone wallpaper and laptop screen saver an image that reminds you of your project. There might be an actual pic of your work in progress or a pic of the intended finished piece, for example, if you’re working on a knitting pattern or sewing something. Or it might be an inspiring picture from another artist. A picture on a fridge, your vision board or your bathroom mirror will also serve as reminders for your creative aspirations. And also make sure your studio or creative space is inspiring. Keep it beautiful full of life with plants and flowers, whatever makes you want to be in there. Ideally you want to feel motivated by just being in the space surrounded by all your materials. And most importantly, have your materials ready to work with not packed away. Nothing is more unmotivating than having to find, prepare, or set up materials and tools before you even get started. If possible, have everything ready to go so you can just sit down and start. And this is especially true. If you're setting the five minute timer. Because if it takes you more than five minutes to set up, then you've wasted all that time. So have it ready if you can.

Tip number five: Get physical.

Maybe you need to physically move your body to shake off stagnant mental energy? So go for a walk, go to the gym, some stretching, a few star jumps, or just stand up and walk out doors into the sun. You'll feel a shift in your energy that might just bring some creative motivation. And other things you can do along these lines are taking a quick shower, doing some breath work or meditating. . Just anything that shakes you out of this stale unmotivated feeling to at least slightly energetic to get to your studio.

Tip number six: Put down the phone.

And I'm saying this to myself as well, but I think we can all agree that Social media, YouTube, Pinterest, and all those other apps on our phone can rob us of hours of our lives if not kept in check, and when you're in a less than motivated mood, this is likely to be the activity that you'll go to. If you catch yourself in a screen slump, do this… Immediately put down the phone.

If you wear glasses, take them off.

Close your eyes.

Take three cleansing breaths where you completely empty and fill your lungs.

And think about your creative practice.

And then open your eyes.

Take a beautiful big stretch.

Stand up and go to your creative space and immediately pick up a tool or material leaving or phone where you left it.

If you need your phone for your music or something to get going on your project, then just give it at least five minutes before you touch it again. You just need to sort of break that cycle. I know, I sound really bossy here, but knowing that phones are so addictive, I believe it requires explicit detailed instructions to reprogram our behaviour. And like I said, I'm saying this to myself as well.

Tip number seven: Change up your medium.

Maybe you're bored or stuck in a rut with your creative project. So try doing something different and see if you feel more motivated. I'm certainly not advocating jumping from unfinished project to unfinished project because I do think finishing has a good cathartic cleansing energy about it. I'm going to do another podcast episode in the future, just about finishing things and why it's important. But if you have finished numerous projects on this medium and you're feeling like you're no longer challenged, then may be something new will get you excited to be creative again. So is there another medium that you've been curious about?

And finally tip number eight: Perhaps a simple warmup activity, such as doodling, simple stitching or mindful coloring will get you in the mindset to tackle your project. Often the leap between sitting on the couch, watching a screen to actually using your hands and brain is too much to get our heads around. But easing into it with a gentle passive activity might make it an easier transition. And if you don't actually move onto your main project that's okay too. You've still benefited from some mindful creativity. If you don't have a coloring book on hand, I have a lovely one available, which I'll link in the show notes. It's called it starts with the heart and I've had some really good feedback on it recently that it's not as overwhelming as some of the other books on the market, because it's a bit more organic, It's not as symmetrical or as intricate as some of the books on the market. So that's been some really lovely feedback to get.

So, there you have it, eight tips to get you motivated to be creative when you really don't feel like it. And remember, there will be times when you're going to drag yourself to doing your creative thing and you won't feel like a creative, expressive goddess at all for that session. It might actually just feel like hard work and that's okay. Just be present with it, like you would with a child who you love, but is being challenging at the time, Give yourself grace. Thank yourself for your dedication to the project and know that the joy will return when you're in a better head space. Probably when you've had a good night's sleep!

So I hope that you found these tips helpful. If you do, I'd love it if you would leave a nice review and maybe even send this to a friend who might benefit from these tips. Until next time. Bye for now.

I hope you enjoyed this episode of The Joyful Creative. If you did, be sure to subscribe so you catch them every week. And if you can, please take a moment to leave a review or share it with a friend so the podcast can reach more people who need support and inspiration. Thanks for listening and keep creative. ​

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