Start a creative habit

Consistency beats quantity when it comes to inspiration

Creative work requires concentration. The bad news is that most of us will find it challenging to escape to a cabin in the woods for three months. That means creative work will need to fit in with everything else.

The good news, on the other hand, is that creativity doesn’t require escaping to a cabin for three months. When I interviewed prolific novelist Camille Pagán for the Before Breakfast podcast recently, she told me that she doesn’t wait for inspiration. She simply plans to be at her desk, four mornings a week, with nothing on the agenda except coming up with ideas and writing. Sure enough, inspiration comes when given the space.

Now of course you might note that Camille writes novels for a living. While she also edits and coaches other writers, she has the freedom to carve out hours that include 9 a.m. to noon for her creative work. What about people with day jobs?

Camille told me that she’s worked with a great many writers who do have more constraints, and what she tells them is simply to set a time that you can do most days, and stick with it. You probably won’t stare at a blank page forever. Your brain knows that this is time devoted to creativity, so it gets in the habit of producing ideas.

So if you’ve been thinking of doing something creative — starting a blog or a newsletter, writing your family’s history, creating a collection of seasonal sonnets — why not decide to start a creative habit?

Find a time

First, look at your schedule and see where you could find time most days. It doesn’t have to be a ton of time. Thirty minutes is fine if that’s what you have. For many people with jobs and families, early mornings tend to be best. With a cup of coffee, your brain will be relatively fresh, and there are fewer distractions. Sitting down from 6-6:30 a.m. would work, or maybe the kids leave on the bus at 7:45 a.m., and you start your work from home job at 8:30 a.m. Those 45 minutes could be golden.

But it doesn’t have to be mornings. Some people write on their lunch breaks. If you get 30 minutes, pack a sandwich and your laptop and get to work. Toni Morrison famously wrote The Bluest Eye at night after her kids went to bed (well, and in the morning too). Camille has one client who writes in 2-hour chunks on the weekend days, which works as well.

Good, not perfect

Then, do your best to commit to this time, understanding that life happens. Camille tells people to aim for 80 percent. You might plan to write from 6-6:30 a.m. every weekday morning, but one morning a week a kid will be up sick, or you’ll need to take an early flight to Houston. Being OK with 80 percent is better than expecting 100 percent and giving up.

Then, give yourself a few months and see what happens. Great ideas might not come to you immediately, but as you give yourself space, regularly, to be creative, your brain will get in a creative frame of mind. Inspiration may just strike you while you’re running around, because inspiration knows that you’ll do something with the idea from 6-6:30 a.m. Like most folks, inspiration is willing to be more generous when it knows a gift will be put to use.