New Creative Mum – How To Make Time For Your Art. Let go of your obligations and look at what gives you joy – here are the ways in which I’ve made time for my art, and I hope it inspires you too.
Being a mum is such an important job, a job that gets overlooked by society more often than not. Mother’s give themselves to raising their children, then encouraged to go back into the workforce. Which is great if that’s what they want to do. But generally women bear the brunt of childrearing compared to men, add work on top of that…then when do they ever get time to do what they love?
Recent studies show the strain women are under. Working parents of children younger than 18, show that mothers spent an average of 14 hours per week on housework, compared with fathers’ 8 hours. It also shows mothers spend around 11 hours per week actively engaged in child care, compared with fathers’ 7 hours. There’s too much of balancing all the various plates. Women give so much of their time to others…and need time to nurture themselves by doing something that gives them joy.
It’s time to fill your own cup first.
Were you once creative and loved how it made you feel? Then once the responsibilities came you found it difficult to get back into doing those things that gave you energy in the first place?
Choosing creativity is choosing curiosity:
“When I refer to “creative living,” I am speaking more broadly. I’m talking about living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear.”
Elizabeth Gilbert
As a mum you’re likely not prioritising your art, which is understandable because it’s your ‘thing’ – and those passions fall down the list when other commitments take over.
Think not of the outcome of your art practise, but how it helps you as a person…
Do you see that when you do give time to your creativity, it helps your mindset, makes you feel more productive and is good for your soul.
You may have a certain creative task you want to complete, and that’s great…but even just allowing your mind to drift and explore ‘what if’s’ is prioritising fun and keeping that light/curious/child-like version of yourself.
New Creative Mum – How To Make Time For Your Art:
Never prioristing cleaning!
Yes the house may need cleaned; the dishes washed, the carpets vacuumed, the sheer clutter put away before you can relax. But it’s always going to need cleaned. That’s the problem with cleaning…it’s continuous!
It may be hard to do, but steer away from doing these menial jobs. Fit them around your day when it doesn’t clash with your personal time to work/create. For example, when you make lunch/dinner, do the wash-up then, or clean up after everyone’s gone to bed and the coast is clear. Decide when the best part of the day to clean is. Your kids may watch a cartoon at a certain time of day, use that opportunity to do a quick vacuum! Or if you have a little bub, pop them in a carrier and wear them while you give the place a quick going-over. I think cleaning when the kids are around may not be as quick as you’d like, but it’s better to include your kids in the process…in the long run it’s good for them to learn!
Nap time is your friend.
I use nap time to catch up on my creative processes. What’s important here is to not put too much pressure on yourself. But if you feel rested and nourished, then please prioritise what your soul is asking you to do. Any time on this is better than none at all. I used nap-time to write a book. It’s do-able, completely do-able. At times I had only 10 minutes a day and still achieved this.
Start that thing…slow and steady. Never underestimate the time during a nap.
Set up a work station
Keep everything in one place, so when the time is right you can grab everything you need in one go. Or even better, you have a desk/office set up so whenever time permits you go straight to your desk, and remove all that unnecessary time for faffing – looking for your laptop, notepad…even a pen!
Put it in one place and you’re good to start immediately!
Extra time in morning or evening
This depends if you’re a morning or evening person. Waking up earlier than the rest of the family, even for an extra 10-15minutes definitely helps. Or going to bed a little later. I wake-up an hour (on a good day!) before my toddler and write. This time is spent solely on writing, which means I have the chance to do other tasks during naptime. Writing in the morning is great, I feel like I’ve achieved alot before everyone else wakes!
It’s your turn
The work that gets done as a new mum is different to your old self. You may have spent whole days working on your creative project, but now you need to plan and make time for something that you might once have taken for granted.
Giving time to your art is important. It nourishes your curiosity and soul – something not to be overlooked.
Whatever you do with this art, whether it be for a hobby or as a business – I believe creative people need to be creative. It’s something that remains inside, that should be explored and not forgotten. Making time for your art will be impossible at times and some days are unlikely to even happen. But the important thing is you are trying to make time, and a brief amount of time spent on doing what you love will have huge affects on your mindset. You will get there, slowly but surely.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you in the process of trying to find time for your art?…
If you enjoyed this, please have a peek at my previous post – How to keep your creativity alive when you’re blocked
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