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How to Make Creativity a Habit · The Daily Writer

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, welcome to episode 109 of the Born to Create podcast.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Kent Sanders, and this is the show where we explore the mindset, habits, and skills to help you make a bigger impact in your life and creative work.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: We are currently in a series where I'm answering some listener questions, and this is really fun because I get to help listeners directly.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: And there are also shorter episodes.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm kind of experimenting with some different formats on the podcast.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll see how this goes.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to hear your feedback on whether you like these listener QA segments.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: This is a question sent in by my good friend Mark Rubisky.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Mark writes, How do we incorporate creativity into a habit?
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: As in how often should I make it a habit?
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Daily, twice a week, etc.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: How much time should I give to it each time I work at my creativity?
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: Mark, thanks so much for your question.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think generally the more often you work at something, the better you will get at it.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Therefore, I think working at your creativity on a daily basis is usually the best way to go.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, it depends on your life situation and the specific thing that you're working on, but overall, more often it tends to be better.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: For example, I've taught guitar for many years, probably about twenty years or so.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I always tell my guitar students that it's better to practice for fifteen minutes a day than it is to practice for a three-hour block once a week.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: The repetition and the consistency of practicing on a daily basis will help you to make a lot faster progress.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, that being said, on the other hand, there are some things that can only be realistically done in larger chunks of time.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: For example, I'm working on my next book and it takes me about an hour of solid work until I feel like I really get into the flow of the story.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: So for that specific project, it's better for me to set aside a chunk of a few hours once a week or a couple times a week than it is for me to work on it every day.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: But for other things, say something like a blog post or a podcast episode, I can knock those out pretty quick because they don't require a lot of creative energy.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: I pretty much know what I'm gonna write or what I'm gonna say, so I just kind of sit down and do it.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: But other things, like I mentioned, working on a story, for me requires a lot more flow and and creativity and brain power, so I have to do those things differently than I would something like a blog post or a podcast.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now, something else to think about when it comes to creative habits, and it's this I look at it like breathing in and breathing out.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Every day we need to breathe in.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: That is creative habits where we're taking in things that help us.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: For me, that might be meditation, journaling, reading, going for a walk, going to an art museum, watching a great movie or something like that.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: But you also have to breathe out, and for me that's writing and podcasting and working with clients.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: So there's this concept of breathing in, taking in things that inspire us creatively and help us to be more healthy.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: But there's also breathing out, which is the production, whether that's working at writing or working at a podcast or working with clients or creating something, whatever that is.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you can do this on a weekly basis too.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe once a week you breathe in by taking a short trip or a hike, or going to a new coffee shop, or doing something else that stimulates your thinking and is a lot of fun.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: But then you also breathe out by working on something that requires a bigger chunk of time.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, Mark, thanks so much for your question.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Those are my thoughts, and I'd love to hear how that works for you.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: And for everyone else who's listening, I'd love to hear what you think about this episode.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can do that by heading over to Apple Podcast and leaving a rating and a review, or by leaving a comment on this episode at kentsanders.net slash one zero nine.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, remember that you were born to create and designed to make a difference.