Context
I’ve been running my creative practice since 2004 and luckily, I’ve been able to grow and evolve creatively. However, it was not always easy to see where my creativity was taking me.
For years I was just doing and didn’t want to slow down to reflect on my practice as I was too busy “going places”. It was a very difficult time in my life, filled with burnout and anxiety.
But after taking the time to stop, think and reflect I was able to heal my creativity and rebuild my connection with my creative self.
In this post I would like to share a few simple prompts in the form of questions to help any creative practitioner evaluate their practice. It doesn’t matter if you are just starting on your creative journey or if you are a seasoned creative. We all need time to evaluate our creative practice because building a sustainable creative life is a marathon not a sprint.
Prompts
I suggest you start the process by asking yourself the following questions (the answers can be as simple as Yes/No):
- Where does the focus in your creative practice go: the project itself, the development process or the outcome?
- Do you feel pressured to engage in performative creativity?
- Do you give yourself and your creative practice enough time to engage in reflection?
- Do you compare yourself and your creative practice to other people’s work, especially in the online space?
- From today’s perspective, can you imagine sustaining your creative practice in its current form for the next 5/10 years?
- Does the way you work and run your creative practice support your long-term goals?
- Are your projects created from a place of curiosity or obligation?
- Does your creative practice bring you joy?
What Your Answers Are Telling You
There are no right or wrong answers to any of the prompts. The purpose of this short reflective evaluation is to start understanding your own relationship with your creative practice.
Look at your answers and be honest with yourself:
- Are you creating from a place of pressure rather than intention?
- Are you reacting to the external factors and expectations instead of focusing on and accommodating your creative needs?
Taking the time to reflect on the prompts and the questions above will help you identify where your creative practice stands and what changes (slow activities and reflective practices) you might need to implement before burnout becomes a possibility.
I was once taken hostage by the promise of the hustle culture and the productivity gurus. But what they never talked about was the creative, human and emotional costs involved in performative exploitive creativity.
It was just an empty promise that cost me dearly through years of creative burnout and disconnection from my creative self.
Solutions
Personally, I like quiet spaces, so being outside the hustle and bustle of the city, where I currently live is mega helpful to me when it comes to engaging with and encouraging reflective practices.
I also enjoy nature walks even in the city and a good cup of tea. (Nothing beats a good cuppa.)
How to introduce reflective practices across your work:
- start with one activity that brings you joy,
- soon enough that activity will integrate into your creative practice (have you noticed that often the productivity and hustle culture trends have very little joy),
- from that one activity, keep building a list of trusted joyful practices/activities that welcome reflection into your creative practice,
- keep in mind that this isn’t going to happen overnight,
- creating a list of joyful activities could become a reflective practice itself,
- joyful practices will introduce space and time for reflection as those activities require slowing down,
- in turn slowing down will give you the confidence that you have enough time to work on your creative work, complete tasks and reflect on your work.
If you are looking for a list of slow joyful activities check out this post: Slow Creativity for Beginners, in which I share what gives me joy and helps me slow down and reflect in my creative practice.
If you decide to evaluate your creative practice, I encourage you to do it from a place of kindness, understanding and love for what you do. And just remember, evaluating your creative practice shouldn’t feel judgemental or like a competition. You are simply creating space to notice what works for you and what doesn’t.
As the winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, this might be the perfect time to slow down and reflect.
Happy Reflecting 😊
Don’t forget to share your experience with the rest of the community.
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