Twyla Tharp, renowned choreographer of over 160 works and winner of two Emmy awards, does not wake up every day hoping that inspiration knocks on her door.
How does she consistently create art that resonates?
She wakes up at 5 AM, goes to the gym, and then to her studio as if on autopilot.
Twyla, like many people who have become experts in their chosen fields, follows a routine and has reframed creativity from being an ethereal entity into a habit.
As an entrepreneur, it’s rare that your days ever look the same.
You’re constantly navigating incoming email, making decisions, and helping your clients create results.
So how you can possibly have the bandwidth to be creative without running off to a cabin in the woods?
The secret is in intentional(!) systems.
When you create structure for yourself through repetition and habits, you create shortcuts that gift you the space you were looking for all along.
Four Habits to Help You Create More Space = Be More Creative
Habit 1: Stick to the guidelines you created for your clients
Instead of having to constantly make exceptions for clients and end up providing services that weren’t originally agreed upon, create guidelines so they understand from the start what working with you looks like and what they can expect.
Once you have guidelines, like a welcome packet that clearly lays out all of the necessary information, get into the habit of sticking to them.
By giving your clients a structure to work within and showing that you’re serious about your boundaries, you save yourself headache and energy, which can be used toward your creative endeavors.
Habit 2: Do the work of creating
It can be frustrating to sit down to create something and feel like you’re clutching for straws.
You don’t like any of the ideas you’re coming up with, and everything you write seems juvenile.
When this inevitable situation happens, it can feel more comfortable to check email or file receipts, but what’s more helpful is systematizing what creation looks like for you.
You can start off by scheduling an hour in your calendar every, say, Tuesday for a specific creation process, like outlining a blog post or generating twenty ideas for your new free opt-in.
When that time comes, sit down to create and know that not everything you put on paper is going to be THE idea to rule all ideas.
Some are going to be mediocre, and that’s okay. The idea is to get into the habit of sitting down to do the work of creating.
When you get into the habit of showing up for your creative work, you’ll find that creativity is a muscle that you can build instead of a muse that only stops by when she feels like it.
Habit 3: Keep your to-do’s in one place
As I’m sure you’ve experienced, it is really difficult to create space for creativity when you aren’t clear on what you actually have to do each day.
You can remedy that by choosing one place to keep all of your to-do’s, like Asana or Evernote, and to make it a habit to write all of the tasks you need to do there.
From there, you can identify which tasks are priorities and which can be delegated.
Habit 4: Check email twice a day
Besides experimenting with ways to receive less email, you can stop getting distracted by newsletters and spending half your day in your inbox by choosing just two times during your work day where you’re allowed to check email.
If it helps, schedule these time blocks into your calendar.
With this habit you’ll be less tempted to check your email while writing a blog post because you know you have designated time for it. That frees up mental energy and helps you focus 100% on the task at hand.
Back to You
What about you? What system could you help you to be more creative?
