With everything going on in our lives, its common to feel as if our creative life needs to be put on the back burner. Theres no time to focus on our creations or balance yet another thing in our day-to-day.

I feel like Ive done a decent job at balancing my creative life yet still find myself struggling when things get a little hectic in the other aspects of my life. Our creative life is important in keeping us healthy, and our continual growth in something we love helps us take a break from the crazy.

But Ive developed habits for these crazy moments that keep me grounded in my creations. These are the small, and sometimes big, mindset shifts that keep me focused on maintaining a balanced life.

You have to believe you can balance your different lives. If your self-talk is always focused on how busy you are and how youre barely juggling things, youre going to continually be disappointed.Go in with confidence. Know that its possible to maintain your creations while doing life. You are capable of achieving your goals.

Between balancing my writing, work, and relationship, I feel like there arent enough hours I can stay awake during the day. Instead of getting frustrated that I cant get as much done as I want on my projects, I am confident that because I have other great habits surrounding my life, I can get really good work done when I am present with it.

When you are working on your creations, thats all you should be focused on. Let go of the rest of your day anddeep diveinto your creative work. Get caught up in the flow by scheduling your creative work for your most productive time of day. If you cant do that, just build time into your day where you can focus completely on the task at hand.

My best time to write is in the morning. I have the clearest mind, the stress of the day hasnt caught up to me, and I know Ill have an hour of quiet focus. I schedule my morning hours at home to be writing time before I head to work. The time cap helps keep me on task and working on the things that matter. I know I wont have time to write until my lunch hour so I make sure I get a good portion of my work done early.

Keeping a habit of health is critical for success in any aspect of your life. Prioritizing sleep, mental health, and physical movement are key parts of keeping your body and mind in peak condition. It doesnt have to be crazy, but getting enough movement in your day and sleeping enough can do wonders for improving your work.

Because my morning is perfect writing time, I know Ill have to sacrifice some of my evenings because I get up early. To get my best work done, Im up by 4:30 AM on the weekdays. Im not advocating you do this unless it works for you, but it means that if I want enough sleep, Im getting in bed around 8:30 PM. I also make sure I move throughout the day, especially if I dont come home and run in the afternoon. At the end of the day, I make sure I have a short session of meditation or journaling to de-stress and ready myself for sleep.

Youre not going to want to balance your creative life if you dont actually enjoy your creative life.While I say you should be passionate about your creations, you can find joy in just doing a creative activity that is fun for you. I am passionate about writing, which means Im passionate about building it into my life. Your creations should bring you some sense of fulfillment if you want the motivation of keeping it in your life.

As a writer, I never get it right the first time. With only an hour or so in the mornings, I dont always have time to go back and fix my work right away. It also means I dont have time to sit and make every sentence perfect the first time. When I write, I practice failing. Its not perfect, but I always go in with the understanding that this is a rough draft.

With all your creations, its important to practice failing. You learn more from your failures, and understanding what you can and cant accomplish in your timeframe is important for moving forward.

Because Ive practiced to failure, I know that my morning time allows me to write just one article or post and make it good enough to publish. I dont try to write anything more than that, and if I can finish early, I have enough time to edit an already written chapter of my novel. Knowing what I can reasonably do in a timeframe gives me the practice of maximizing my time.

Before I go in and work on something, I visualize what Im going to work on. It helps me continue thinking about my projects and prepares me for when Im ready to sit down and work. If I know what Im going to be working on during my creative time, I can maximize my efficiency in writing.

Visualizing your work helps you go in with a plan. It doesnt have to be a rigid plan but its something to get you over that first hurdle of starting. I know that if I dont have a vague plan of what Im going to write in the morning, I waste too much time researching or looking for ideas. Instead, I go in with a general idea and visualization of my final draft and let my mind take it where it needs to go.

Creating habits around my creative life help me stay focused on where Im going with my work. Changing my mindset to one of confidence and passion is critical to my success as a writer. Ive been able to balance writing daily, publish every weekday, and launch alife coaching business.

Some days it feels like a lot, but instead of letting myself get overwhelmed, I reflect on my confidence, visualize my progress, and continue practicing. A creative life doesnt have to be yet another thing on our plates. Use it to fuel the rest of your life and bleed confidence into your day.

Sign up for my newsletter and leave a review if you want a free habit coaching resource.

Original post:
Habits to Help You Balance a Creative Life - Thrive Global