One of the most difficult aspects of the creative life is trying to balance out your daily schedule between work, personal tasks, and creative tasks. With so many varying projects on the go, at times it becomes impossible to not feel scattered and unproductive.

The biggest challenge I face on a regular basis is the fact that I work at home full-time: I have no set schedule, so unless I make sure to keep my head out of my ass and focus, I could end up spending hours at my computer or around the apartment, while accomplishing very little.

There is also the fact that working on creative projects is a huge risk, on both a financial and professional level. You could end up working for years on a book, a script, or another creative project, and it might not ever get off the ground. Such is the life of a creative, but the risk is what keeps us going; it’s a terrifying path, but it’s the most exciting path out there.

Create Structure with Creativity Pillars
If you’re feeling scattered or insecure about your path, there is finally a way we can use the things we typically don’t enjoy (grocery shopping, doing laundry, and in my case, cooking) to our creative advantage.

The constants in our lives that will always be there, typically related to maintaining the basic necessities of our survival, are the only certainties we have until we become successful. Therefore, we can use these tasks as our creativity pillars. In doing so, they will give our day a much-needed structure, so when it comes time to work on our creative projects and take risks, we will be able to do so with minimal anxiety. When we begin to feel fearful, we will have our pillars, our constants, to fall back on.

Another Benefit of Creativity Pillars
Creativity pillars give our otherwise scattered existence the structure necessary to create a sense of security. When we feel scattered, we feel as if what happens in our life is out of our hands, and we slowly lose confidence in our ability to succeed as a creative. By creating creativity pillars, we take control of what’s important to us, our thoughts become clear, and we are able to spend the time we have to work on our creative projects—whether it be 10 minutes or two hours—being as productive as possible.

How to Create Creativity Pillars
Take every task you must complete on a regular basis—making your morning coffee, checking the mail, even brushing your teeth—and try your best to complete them around the same time each day. When it comes time to work on your creative projects, you will have already established a sense of stability and consistency in your day, giving you the confidence and motivation necessary to soar.

Krissy Brady

Junior Procrastinator/Internet Ninja

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