Using Creativity to Enhance Your Life

Creativity is defined as the use of imagination to create something original whether that is through artwork, updating the way you dress, re-arranging items around your home, cooking or gardening to name just a few applications. It can also be the way you use your mind to find solutions – such as planning a trip, overcoming obstacles, finding the right words to say to someone to communicate effectively or finding enjoyable new ways to spend your free time. Creativity is a natural part of life, and a skill everyone has – something that makes your world richer and more rewarding the more you develop it.

Finding creative projects that suit your personal interests can also be a great way to unwind, slow down and use your time effectively, especially during the winter months, when it’s cold and dark outside.

They are a great way to keep busy in a good way and feeling productive – when for example you are lonely, bored or feeling unfulfilled at work, or have perhaps recently ended a relationship. You also get a great sense of accomplishment when you complete a creative task. Whether it is cooking a nice meal, from a new recipe and presenting it nicely, making your home more beautiful, reorganising your belongings so they are easy to find or starting/progressing an art or craft project – you can see tangible results from the time you have spent.

I have always been a true believer that creativity is the key to a happy life.

I love being creative and find art, photography, home improvement and cooking as a positive as productive way to relax. From a young age, I have periodically used painting and photography as a way to explore who I am – and process difficult emotions. And on the flip side, use photography to get out and appreciate the beauty of nature, make collage vision boards to help focus on my dreams and use expressive painting to deeply relax my busy mind.

Creativity also builds self-esteem. By experimenting with new ideas, learning new skills, switching up our appearance or making something beautiful – we continue to develop as a person. There are no rules, and you don’t have to get it ‘right’ first time. It is the process not the finished ‘piece’ that matters. And as with anything, the more time you invest in a creative project, the more refined your skills and results will get.

Six Steps to Introduce More Creativity into Your Life

Identify What Gives You Pleasure

To start introducing more creativity into your life, a good way to start is to think about what you enjoy doing. Do you like arts and crafts or do you get more enjoyment from cooking, gardening, DIY? Maybe you like journaling, singing, dancing, music?

Could you focus on one of these interests and develop it further – by giving it more attention? You could find new recipes for example, go on a day art/craft course, plan a project to redecorate a room at home, upcycle a piece of furniture, join a group or link up with a friend to share this experience with? So many possibilities.

Create Some Space in Your Week for Your Creative Time

We are all too busy these days, with work, family and household tasks. So it is very easy to get swamped in the mundane, and not give ourselves any creative time.

In my ideal world I would dedicate set times each week to work on my projects.  But this doesn’t tend to pan out for me – maybe it will for you though.

If it doesn’t, planning a few hours into the coming week – e.g. on a Sunday night – and sticking to it – can make the difference between you getting your ‘me-time’ or it being eroded by something NON ‘urgent’ that steals it away!

If you need materials/ingredients or other resources for the coming week, aim to have them ready in time!

Journal or Photograph Your Progress

A dear friend of mine, who was a well-known artist, committed to creating one tiny canvas picture for every day of a year. If she was too tired or uninspired to create anything, she left the canvas blank that day. At the end of the year, she had 365 tiny squares that reminded her of her thoughts/feelings/inspiration - what a wonderful, inspiring project. 

I did this with my iPhone for a while, recording a photo per day to remember it by. It was for my eyes only, so no pressure. But lovely to look back on.

Journaling is also a great way to keep track of your thoughts and feelings. Especially when going through transitional periods, it is uplifting to look back and see how far you have come.  You can stick in photos, ideas, recipes etc to look back on at a later time.

Organise Your Space!

Whether it is cooking in the kitchen, home decoration or arts/crafts/writing – create an organised, fluid, efficient space for working on your chosen activity.

• Print recipes and put in a folder – and also deep clean your kitchen cupboards!
• Convert a spare room or corner of a room dedicated to your art space
• Find a vibey café you can sit in to write – where the energy is uplifting without being distracting
• Organise your photos into whatever logical order works for you!
• Clear your clutter – the energy you generate from this alone will give you tons more mental space to focus on your creative outlet

Be Consistent

Building creativity is not dissimilar to getting your body in shape. Consistency and continuation is key to making progress. It can be frustrating at times, when you spend hours getting ‘nowhere’ with any kind of project – painting a wall to realise it’s the wrong colour. Definitely been there! But it’s all part of the journey. Shoot and then aim. Sometimes we don’t realise that what we tried and didn’t perfect immediately, leads us onto to the next step that does work.

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Once you have built your creativity muscle, let it take you on a new pathway. Try something new, say yes to something small that stretches you. If you don’t like it, try something else.  As long as you keep moving in life, it will never be boring!

If after reading this, you are still feeling blocked, give me a call on 07780 612625 or email rachel@ephiphanie.co.uk