Finding time – 5 easy ways to block out more time for creativity

Creativity takes time to develop. If your creative pursuits need to compete with with your full-time job and family obligations, you may wonder if you have time to improve your craft at all. How on earth are you going to get to practice your 10,000 hours if you can’t find time to do your creative pursuits?

I’m a mom with four kids. I work outside the home, or at least I used to before COVID. Now, my office is a TV tray in my bedroom. My job takes up much of the time when the kids are in school. If your life is busy with other responsibilities, you need to be even more innovative when squeezing in time for your artistic pursuits. Some writers take whole weekend writer’s retreats or write thousands of words each day. In this season of my life, that’s not feasible for me, but I still find time to create consistently and chip away at my project goals. Small chunks of time can add up to quite a significant habit.

The first step is to commit to making time for what you want to pursuit and blocking out time for it. You may need to sandwich your creative time in between pieces of your life, but it’s worth the trouble. The following are five ideas for carving out chunks of time to create:

1) Build a morning routine

Plan a block time to do your creative projects first thing in the morning. If you wake up just 30 minutes earlier, you could start the day writing scenes in your novel or making some practice sketches. I like to wake up at 5:30 to do some journaling and personal reflection. I find that the habit I do first thing in the morning, usually gets done each day. There are less unexpected things that pop up to derail things when the world hasn’t woken up yet.

2) Use the time when the kids are busy or sleeping

If you are a parent of younger kids, a key time for creativity is when the kids are sleeping or busy. Have your paints ready to go during nap time or right after the kids go to bed, and you can take advantage of a time block that might have gone toward surfing Facebook on the couch. I often start writing for the day right when my kids are sent to bed. My partner fields last minute requests for water or a band-aid. My kids no longer nap, but we do have screen time in the afternoon where they play videogames on their tablet. I take advantage of that time for my painting or blogging as well. Sometimes a kid will ask to paint along side of me and that’s fine with me. I like being more interesting than tablet time.

3) Reserve a block of weekend time

One way to get a larger time to yourself is to set aside a regular part of the weekend. This is something your family can plan for so everyone knows you are off-duty. You can go do watercolors in the park or take your notebook and laptop to a cafe to get some time all to your self.

If I know the kids are sleeping over at my in-laws, I will call it an artist’s date or a writer’s retreat and schedule a more in-depth period of focused work. Blocking out time for an artist’s retreat is a great way to find additional time for the work you want to create.

4) Be ready to work on the go

When I was driving my oldest daughter to her art class, I had an awkward hour every Wednesday afternoon while I waited to pick her up. Each week, I headed to a nearby cafe to work on my writing projects. It was nice to have an additional quiet hour to work with a peppermint mocha.

When I was doing freelance work in a town an hour north of here, I had a long break between assignments a couple of times a week. I brought a plastic bin with my watercolor paint supplies and did some YouTube Tutorials during my downtime.

When you have a chunk of awkward free time in your schedule, make a travel tote with your sketchbook and pencils to have ready. You can make the best of the time you have open and find time to do your creative work.

5) Pair your creative work with another activity

Is your creative project something you can do during family movie night? When I was doing a large hand quilting project, I found time while watching TV or talking with friends. It makes me feel like Anne of Green Gables when I have my basket of hand sewing by the couch.

If I have a long Zoom meeting for where all I need to do is listen, I have used that time to cut out collage shapes from magazines or pin a sewing project together. Is there a part of your project that you could do while doing something else?

Consistency is key

Sometimes it seems like we will never find enough time to do anything creative, but it’s important to start somewhere. Even five or ten minute blocks can grow into a significant habit over time. The most critical way to improve is to practice the craft consistently. With these tips, think about where you could find a new block of time to create your masterpiece.

Do you have a place where you squeeze out a bit more time for creative pursuits? Do you have more tips for making margin in your schedule? Share your ideas in the comments below!