I’ve run my creative art practice since 2004. Despite my desire for perfection and all the insecurities that perfectionism drilled in me I kept going developing creative ideas into projects that wouldn’t have existed otherwise.
At first when I started developing projects independently, I relied on discipline to make progress. However, over time, what I perceived as discipline turned out to be a pretty robust consistency habit.
In 2012 I made an indie feature film “Anna & Moder Day Slavery”, on a $12500 budget. Because of the tiny budget restrictions, it took me years to finish this project. Even with all the stress, pressure, and creative burnout I kept going because my consistency habit helped me make small progress every single day. If I were only dependent on creative inspiration, it would have been impossible for me to complete “Anna & Modern Day Slavery”.
Over the years I’ve learnt that some projects or elements of the development process don’t require a deep connection to creative self, just consistency habit aka putting in the work every single day.
Because confidence is built over time based on the past track record developing and finishing one project gives me courage to embark on yet another one strengthening my success muscle.
For anyone who struggles to complete projects or develop ideas, I suggest focusing on developing one or two creative habits that are crucial in your creative process. Only you will know what those creative habits might be so I’m not going to recommend anything specific.
Below I put together a list of reflections and questions, which could help with starting to develop creative habits.
- Do you have a creative activity that comes easily to you without draining your creativity and brain power? Could you integrate that activity into your daily work routine? It can be knitting, research, or anything else that stimulates you creatively. The aim of this reflective prompt is to help you understand how an activity can turn into a habit.
- What are the habits you already have that could be built on or adapted to creative projects? Make a list, try them out, merge habits, innovate, and adjust as needed.
- You may need to develop different habits for various projects, just as you develop and upgrade skills to adapt to an ever-changing world. Don’t be afraid of that and don’t let that stop you from working on projects you feel creatively connected to.
- Give your new habit/s at least 30 days before dropping it/them and moving on. Creating strong habits takes time. The “willingness” to stick with something doesn’t happen overnight. It took me years to establish and cultivate my writing habit before I was able to incorporate non-writing days into my work routine without having to re-establish the habit all over again, each time I didn’t write for a prolonged period of time.
- Observing how you developed one habit will set a pattern for cultivating future creative habits.
- Habits can change and evolve just as your creativity will. I always advocate for kindness and patience in any creative process, especially during the early stage of developing a new habit or new project.
If you would like to work with me and brainstorm your creative idea/s check out my creative offer.
Let me know what you think of the questions and suggestions and how those could help you on your creative journey.
You might also be interested in:
Leave a Reply