I’ve talked about working regularly and consistently at your creative discipline. I’ve also talked about how procrastination can really become a major interference at any step of the creative process. Today I want to share with you five actions that you can take to make your daily work routine easier. If you choose to put one of these actions to use on a daily basis, you will begin to experience greater productivity during your work sessions. Back off of convincing and pushing yourself to work harder, try one of these actions out and see what how your productivity begins to change. If you don’t see any changes in the first few days, give yourself a little time or try another action. You may respond better to one suggestion rather than another and vice versa. You can alter any of these suggestions to fit your unique creative discipline.

1) EAT A SNACK(S): For example, sometimes I forget to eat regular meals, when I’m on a creative roll. I will work until I finish a piece or part of one, then I stop to eat a snack or whatever. By the time I’ve stopped, I’m feeling extra hungry, irritable and less focused on work. In addtion, I may have made some mistakes that I will discover once I return to my work session. When I choose to put my work first, rather than my hunger needs, I shift into a more anxious and focused state. I want to emphasis the word anxious, because that is the key to how many or what kind of mistakes I might make. When I’m working on a jewelry piece I might drop a bead, miss a design mistake during the final check of the piece or I might forget what the next step is, even though I’ve committed it to memory. I can easily crowd work directions out of my mind when my anxiety level goes up. If you want to make your work routine easier, then make sure to keep your stomach full.

2) DRINK YOUR WATER: I’m applying the same principle to drinking any non-alcoholic beverage or water, whatever you like, during your work sessions.. Those of you who exercise, know that when you become thirsty, you are already becoming dehydrated. Well, I apply that same principle to keeping a drink handy when I’m working. If you cannot keep something close by, like at your desk, then plan a break so that you can take a drink inbetween your work sessions. It tastes good and is good for you, in any kind of weather. It also gives you an excuse to get away from your work space and walk around for awhile. It’s a great habit to develop if you haven’t already done so

3) STRETCH A LITTLE: For those of you, who sit at your desk working, it’s especially important to take exercise breaks. This could mean standing up and stretching, running through exercises that relax your neck, shoulders or hands or taking a brief walk up and down the office. For those of you who are already very active when you are creating your art, you might want to try the opposite approach of slowing down and relaxing your muscles. You might want to try contracting muscles that are being stretched or stretching muscles that are being contracted for long periods of time. When I stretch, I feel better, because the pain or discomfort goes away and my muscles work better. When I’m comfortable, I focus more on work and less on feeling bad. I can concentrate better and accomplish more during a work session. For the record, these suggestions are not meant to be diagnostic in nature, they are my based on my experiences, opinions and observations. Please remember to run any exercise routine that you choose, by your health care person, to make sure that your choice of exercises is a good fit for your health.

4) USE A TIMING DEVICE: When I use a timer, I work faster and concentrate more. I am motivated to finish whatever task it is that I’m working on before the timer goes off. I feel pressured to work well, but not so much pressure that it pushes my anxiety level too far up. For some people using a timer, makes them feel very uncomfortable. So, choose whatever device and process that works for you. It’s important that you pay attention to the timing device when you use it. Don’t just set it up and keep working after it rings. Stop, when it buzzes. Teach yourself to stop and start work during these timed sessions. It’s up to you, whether you want to complete several sesions in one sitting or not. I won’t make any comments on that issue. Whatever way you choose to work, make sure that you balance your work and break times, so that you are working up towards your or at your peak level.

5) DEVELOP YOUR AWARENESS: A final way to ease your work routine is to increase your awareness. Work toward increasing your awareness of what happens as you go through your work sessions. Begin to notice, your feelings and reactions, ways that you use your skills that work or don’t work as well and why, and places where you experience both comfort and discomfort. As you notice these areas, take some time, away from your work to look at why these reactions are happening. Do you need to change the type of office chair you have to give your arms better support? Do you need more or less light in your studio? Do you need a reminder system that will help you remember to stop for a snack? Do you need to add or subtract a work session each day to meet your productivity goals? Choose one area of the creativity process (idea development, product creation, finishing your product, marketing and distributing of your product)and ask yourself if something isn’t working here, than what would work better? What areas need some extra work and what areas are strong areas for you? Start by asking yourself one of these questions at the beginning of each work session and answering it at the end of that same session. After you’ve discussed these questions with yourself, then begin to implement actions that will help you work easier and more productively.

Tags: Articles - Creativity Coaching //