If finding time for creativity is a challenge, you’re not alone!

We all dream of the perfect work life balance, and although I think that’s a myth (this is life, right?!) there are a few things you can do to bring more creative energy into your day.

Catch Your Time Thieves

What? Who are these sneaky time thieves??

They’re all the things you do that don’t serve any purpose and take up *waaay* more time that you think they do.

I don’t mean relaxation or chatting with your other half, kids (or pets, we all do it); that’s valuable time that makes life sweet.

I do mean constantly checking social media, emails that you’ve no intention of replying to there and then, or doing the same adulting tasks regularly when you could batch them (like popping into the supermarket on your way home most evenings).

You don’t know where they are until you catch them, so for just one week, keep a record of how you spend your time.

Download a time tracker then fill it in for a full week. It might seem a bit tedious but it’s just for a week and you will learn so much.

Repetition & Batch

Look over your planner for the tasks you do repetitively; cooking, washing clothes, prepping lunches, housework, food shopping, or anything else you do regularly that could be batched.

Let’s take food as an example;

• Can you do one big weekly shop or even have it delivered rather than popping into the supermarket regularly?
• Can you batch cook meals so you’re cooking for enough for 2 or 3 meals worth, then freeze the rest?
• Could you prep the fillings for your sandwiches a couple of times a week, so you’ve very little to do to make your lunch each morning?

Making a couple of changes will free up lots of time, and then you get to choose how to use it.

Honour Your Free Time

We're not judging, but do you really want to be watching 3hrs of TV a night? (Unless the new season of Game of Thrones has just dropped, in which case we totally get it.)

Could you be exploring creative ideas, crafting, reading and learning instead?

We often adapt the relaxation techniques we grew up with - if you grew up with the TV on all evening, that’s probably your normal. But now you get to choose what you want to do and how you spend your time.

If that’s hours and hours of TV, go for it! But if you’re reading this because you want more time to be creative, here’s a little challenge for you:

With the free time you’ve just found in your week, set aside a few hours for creativity. Let your family know you’ll be spending that time being creative (we blogged about bringing your family into your creativity here) - then keep to it, like you would if you were meeting someone for a coffee.

It’s a cliché, but I’m going to say it anyway, we all have the same 24 hours each day.

While Beyonce may get a bit more done (delegation’s a wonderful thing!) there’ll definitely be things you can change that will free up more time and energy for your beautiful creativity and the lifestyle you want - keep that time precious and honour it.