If you are overwhelmed with what to create, miserable while creating or avoiding creating all together then it’s time to prioritize self care. Your art is always going to be there but your mental and physical well being is going to ebb and flow with the seasons of life and the natural seasons. We are in the midst of autumn where it gets dark at 4pm and it feels like we should curl up and go to bed. Let’s build a self care routine that allows you to relax, reset and still create during the darker days.
Why is self care important?
Prioritizing self care habits is essential to your overall physical and mental well being because it can help reduce stress and prevent burnout. As an artist there are a lot of things you cannot control when it comes to creating things but trusting yourself to show up for your art and creations is one of them. Take the time to prioritize your self care so you can show up as the best creative you can be.
What is creative burnout?
Burnout is a type of mind, body and soul exhaustion. You feel tired, unmotivated on a deep level that feels all consuming. As a creative, this can make it very difficult to connect with your work. In fact a sign of burnout is a level of detachment. You can’t seem to open your manuscript or sit in front of that painting or write the poem even if you part of you wants to do it, you physically and mentally can’t work on it. If you have ever experience burnout it is very difficult to find the momentum to get back into your art. But taking things slow, prioritizing rest, and being kind yourself are a great place to start.
10 Self Care Habits for Creative Procrastinators who want to avoid burnout.
- Creative Flow Sessions
- Daily Walks
- Affirmations
- Bad Art
- Slow Progress Wins
- Dancing
- No Plan Days
- Candle Lit Bath or Shower
- Feel Good Music
- Community Creativity
Creative Flow Sessions
Schedule in 15 to 45 minutes a day to just be creative for fun. This is a time to allow yourself to explore that idea. Pick up a new medium, write, journal. What ever form of creativity is itching to let loose. By scheduling in time to flow on a new topic or idea you will find new things to be excited about each day, you are not restricting yourself to one idea and if are current procrastinating a project, you have these sessions to fall back on. This is a no pressure, creative session.
Daily Walks
Get outside into nature for a walk each and every day. You can pair this with calming music or a motivational podcast. Connecting with nature is known to help reduce stress and regulate your nervous system. Walking is a great form of movement and exercise that gets your blood flowing. To add to this you can meditate on your creative projects while you walk or try and keep your mind blank to allow your thoughts to come and go.
As someone who procrastinates you might also overthink every action. Remember, you are not your thoughts. Your thoughts are merely words or images or sounds that come across your brain that you can choose to interact with. A daily walk is a form of meditation and movement that can help you connect a missing piece within your work, help you feel centred in your life and come back home feel rejuvenated.
Affirmations
Affirmations are a tool you can use to help connect with your creative life goals. Write your own or find some online about being an artist. About trusting yourself to create.
Affirmations can help you reprogram your subconscious and redirect your negative or limiting beliefs into something more. If you constantly think “my art sucks” or “no one is going to buy this” an affirmation that can help you reframe this belief is. “I am learning to improve my art with every brush stroke” or “Clients are lining up to purchase my art because I put it out there.”
Many people think affirmations have to be this big declaration of your dream life like “I am millionaire artist” but if you have money blocks or cringe at the word millionaire then that affirmation is going to make you run for the hills and procrastinate even more. Create affirmations that align with where you are at right now. And then put your affirmations in high traffic areas in your home. On the fridge, bathroom mirror where you can see them.
Now, if you are in the midst of procrastinating something you can tell when you read your affirmation and the first response is “pfft, as if” or you avoid reading the affirmation all together. If that is the case, take the affirmations down and reassess them and put up new ones that feel more aligned.
Bad Art
Intentionally make bad art. Release yourself of expectation and rules. Set time to just make something bad. As creatives we have pre conceived notions of what we can and cannot make. What the first draft should look like. Or if we really focus on the first draft we won’t have to work as hard on the other drafts. This need for control can prevent you from making something great. Prioritize bad art and then make it good after that. Also, being bad at something is fun.
Slow Progress Wins
As creatives, simply showing up to create is a win. Celebrate the small daily actions you take each day. Find joy in the slowness of creating something. Most people focus on the end result and get frustrated with how long it might take to get there. I think of my crochet projects. I am a very slow crocheter. I have projects that take me months because I crochet two rows a week. Some days I get frustrated because why can’t I just crochet for a few hours and complete the project? The answer is because I don’t want to. I like crocheting in 10, 15 minute intervals. It allows me to make progress, focus on something new but then I put it down to move onto something else.
You don’t have to spend hours on your art to be productive. Slow progress wins.
Dancing
If you are in a slump or haven’t felt like creating for some time. Put on some music and dance. Shake, sing and move your body to the beat. Dancing is an uplifting activity that can change your vibrations in the immediate. You might laugh or cry or giggle but getting those emotions out of your body through movement is mood booster.
No Plan Days
My favourite self care tip is having no plan days. No alarm, no appointments, nothing on the schedule. I get to wake up and simple go with the flow. The flow can take me to staying in bed for a few hours. Going for a walk. Writing, reading or nothing at all.
The point of no plan days is to allow yourself to simple exist. This will show you were your energy is at. If all you want to do is curl up in bed and relax that is what your body needs. I recommend doing no plan days at least twice a month.
Cozy night in
Self care is what you make it. Set the mood, light the candles, pour the bubble bath and relax. Spend time taking care of your self with skin care, cozy pyjamas, a favourite movie or record playing while you craft.
Feel Good Music
Need to boost your mood or get into a creative mindset? Build a feel good music playlist. You can make multiple playlists for different forms of creating. Ready to write that battle scene in your fantasy novel, list to epic instrumental music that brings you on the journey. Painting a piece about sadness, darkness and overcoming the fear of being seen. Listen to something more melancholy.
Community Creativity
The last form of self care I want you to prioritize is community creativity. Join a facebook group, attend events with other creatives and meet new people. Creating can be a lonely journey at times and sharing your art is also scary. However, meeting people who understand the struggles. Who can cheer on your wins and help you through your lows is crucial to continuing on your creative path.
Build a Self Care Routine that Halts Procrastination in its Tracks:
Now that you have a list of possible self care habits it is time to integrate them into your morning and night routine.
Pick one or two habits that feel good to you and decide where it can fit right now. Go for a walk before work, listen to your feel good music playlist in your car, schedule a cozy night every Thursday night to have something to look forward to each week. Habits start out as tasks that you want to do on regular basis. A routine is the structure in which you complete those habits consistently.