When I got out of the habit of writing morning pages I moved over to sketching in the morning. Turns out doing a controlled drawing like a mandala early in the morning is a good way to wake up and get my hand eye coordination started. But my thoughts suffered and in turn my blog suffered without my Morning Pages. So I am back to writing then again in the morning. Summer is pretty great for that as we simply have more time and are not so rushed in the morning. So I write then I draw and sometimes I draw then I write. And I avoid email and social media until I am done, often I wait much longer. And my day is set up and started in a positive productive manner.
Daily Rituals for the Creative
Having some sort of daily ritual may be the most important part of the creative process. It took some time to actually figure out what works for me. With my eldest in school full time until late in the afternoon and my youngest in preschool until after lunch 4 days a week I have those four days to work. Twice a week I need to drive out to the burbs in the morning for an appointment, but I am able to bring more portable work with me and I don't lose much productive time outside the driving time. The daily ritual mostly stays intact.
Morning Rituals:
- Coffee + Morning Pages
- Blog
- Light Breakfast
- Shower
- School Dropoff
- Exercise/ stretching/walking/biking/activity
- Studio Core Hours
- Lunch/ Social Network
- Tidy
- Preschool Pickup
After the preschool pickup I am try to squeeze art or reading in whenever possible but I can't schedule it in. Some days are better than others and it is important to wake up each morning with a fresh perspective. That is where the Morning Pages become so useful. When I wake up in a funk I can often write myself out of the negativity and salvage my mood. So many days I wake up without a plan about what I am going to make and I just get going and something happens.
Keeping a Sketchbook
Finishing up the sketchbook that I have kept for over a year after some down time is satisfying. I'm so ready to start fresh and keep the habit of daily drawing. I tend to pass over the activity and not take it seriously but it really is super effective at clearing out my head and generating ideas. It opens me up in the morning and calms me down in the evening. It's something I can do when I am alone or as a fun activity with my kids. Perfect.
