It’s very clear through creative coaching with so many different people from artists, producers, curators and founders each person however much creativity is front and centre of their day to day studio practice or working day that each client dreams of being more creative.

And each client is struggling with some kind of burnout or exhaustion either mentally or physically or both.

I can totally relate too as over the years of building out a creative freelance practice getting into overcommitment, illness and total collapse has happened to me at leat 4-5 times over the last 20 years. Sometimes for a couple of weeks sometimes longer over the course of a couple of months or longer.

What have I found and have heard others say works to carve out time to re-gain your creative mojo?

1. Drawing, painting, and other visual arts can be relaxing and therapeutic ways to express emotions and ideas. Doodling is one of my favourite ways to take the pen for a walk or I’m playing around with a creative coaching tool called neurographica at the moment and loving the results

2. Writing - whether it be list-making, mind mapping, poetry, fiction, or journaling, can be a way to process and make sense of thoughts and feelings. Just the act of getting pen to paper and listing out what is in our mind reduces intrusive thoughts. I like using my Notes or GDrive Keep for on the go note taking, poem writing.

3. Photography - more accessible than ever with a mobile device in our pockets, snapping away throughout your day when you are drawn to a moment of beauty allows you to see and appreciate the world in a different way and can be a form of self-expression. It’s a lovely mindful practice and you don’t even have to share the results.

4. Music and singing - are such powerful ways to change our state that just listening to your favourite track or playlist can boost your mood. If you do like singing the power of singing for yourself or joining a choir has lots of research behind it to show the power of letting rip.

5. Gardening and being in nature - can have a calming effect and provide a sense of accomplishment. Start with a sunflower seed in an old take away cup, find soil from some place locally and pop the pot with seed in the soil on the window sill. Watch your little green project grow over time.

What other creative ways have you found of changing your state and boosting your well-being?

A couple of books that have inspired me are

• Julia Cameron - The Artist Way

• Anna Lovind - The Creative Doer

Image - thanks to https://unsplash.com/@eddrobertson