There’s plenty of discussion out there on finding the time to start a creative practice, or on carving out some space for a creative place to work. So this week I thought I’d share some insights on finding the right space and the right time. That’s to say, what happens when you’ve bought a writing desk and computer but are more productive laying on your sofa with a pen and paper? Or perhaps you’ve managed to wake up an extra hour early every day to paint while the house is quiet, but all you can think about is going back to bed instead? It may be time to accept that what appears most practical in theory, isn’t in practice.
We first need to accept that creativity flows differently for everyone. Some very famous artists swear by setting an alarm for 4am and writing in the wee hours of the morning, while others have been well known night owls, staying up all night to get the job done. Likewise, writers have been known to stay in woodland cottages to write a novel, and painters take on month-long residencies in exotic locations to get their juices flowing. Sure, not everyone has the luxury of making their own hours, especially if day jobs, kids, and other responsibilities get in the way. But for professionals, creativity needs to be treated as any other job where dedicated hours are set. Just because you can drop everything to run an errand, doesn’t mean you should. However, when creativity isn’t your main money-maker, how you do fit it in and get the best creative output for what may only be a short window of time?
First, let’s forget what anyone says is ‘the best’ way, or what one is ‘supposed’ to do. For example, having a home office is great, but if you can’t get any work done in it, then what’s the point? Personally, I find leaving home and working on my creative writing projects in a cafe most productive. Sometimes, I even work in quiet pubs during the day. Both provide for an atmosphere separate from my home life with minimal distractions. I also always put my phone on silent and tuck it away. The goal is to have distraction free environment without temptation to do anything other than write. And I often keep my favourite writing cafes/pubs a secret so that no one I know will drop in and take away from that space being my place to create.
However, during the pandemic, my escapes to a cafe became impossible. I found myself looking for a way to write at home. I did eventually get access to a shared office space, but it wasn’t ideal. However, I made it work with a few changes. First, I removed the phone that was in there to eliminate distractions. Second, I put a lock on the door so that the person I was sharing space with couldn’t have access to me during my creative work hours. And third, I moved the desk, put up some artwork, made myself a special tea each time I went in. Basically, I changed the space into one I associated with writing. It felt more like the cafe setting where, once I sat down with a coffee, I knew I was there only for a limited time and for the sole purpose of writing. Eventually, over time, I associated the room with creativity. Even now, the smell of blueberry matcha tea gets me in the mood to write.
Show up to your space like an invited guest. Imagine you’ve been asked by someone you admire to work on a creative project, if you need to. Make yourself a special drink that you associate with creativity, or even use the same essential oil every time you work to shortcut your brain into getting into creative flow. You can either find a space that works for you, or you can make yourself work in a space — but it doesn’t have to be like pulling teeth to get that to happen.
The same is true of time. If you’re a night owl, then getting up early to be creative is likely never going to work for you. That being said, there can be compromises. I will wholeheartedly admit that I will never be a morning person. I was chronically late all through grade school, my parents had to wake me up on Christmas mornings, I pulled all-nighters to finish college papers, and I still regularly second wind after dark. I’ve even twice in my life become completely nocturnal for a period of time. And while there is technically nothing wrong with mornings, they just happen much too early in the day for me. As you can see, I will never be a morning writer. It would never be productive for me. And while it would be logical to think I write late at night (and it’s true I did do that for years), I actually mostly write in the late afternoons now. Why? Because it became practical. Most people probably want to take a nap, are watching the clock for supper, or are grabbing snacks around 3 or 4 o’clock. But for me, there became a time in my life when that was my only free time, and my alone time, and I wrote my first novel nearly in it’s entirely between 2pm and 5pm, a few days a week, at an Italian cafe.
While I could have gotten up at 5am to write back then, I knew it wouldn’t work. And so, knowing the remaining time I had and that evenings/late nights were out, I set about making late afternoons as productive as they could be. The funny thing is that now, even as a full-time writer, I still prefer to do my creative work during that 2-5pm window. It’s like building a habit. Once it takes hold, it becomes common practice.
So I suppose this is all to say that finding the right space and time to create is often a compromise, but it must be a compromise that actually works! Don’t set the alarm for 5 am if you won’t ever be productive then, and don’t convert the guest bedroom to an office if you’d much rather pop down to the corner cafe to work. Likewise, maybe the compromise is not creating a free hour a day, but instead you take five hours on Sundays while your husband has the kids. Or maybe you do take that writers retreat in Mexico instead of your annual Cancun vacation with pals. Or perhaps you buy a new desk, but also a lock for the door. Or stop paying for studio space that goes unused or has a long commute, and save up to convert a backyard shed into your own personal workspace. Or buy the big ticket piece of equipment you need and will use every day, instead of paying a membership fee to use a community access version that you only get to use once a month. Or go to the gym every second day and write in the same time block on the days in-between.
It always amazes me how much marketing and social guilt there is about fitting in time to go to the gym, but our creative practice is so often something deemed unnecessary at all.
Find time. Make space. Just make sure it’s the right time and space — or at the very least, a time and space that works for you.