How I’m blending my creative work with living slowly
I do most of my creative work on weekends. My 9-5 job keeps me busy during the week, and I rarely have energy for creating on weekday evenings. So almost every weekend, you’ll find me writing, taking photos, exploring new ideas or talking to my coaching clients.
Being someone who’s also pursuing a slower way of living, it’s important to me that my weekends doesn’t just become two more work days, leaving no space for rest and recovery.
How do we make creative ideas happen, without pushing ourselves too hard? How do we spend our days both doing creative work and living slowly?
Here’s what I’ve found to be the answer for me in the life I’m living right now.
My days are a blend of creative work and slow living
If you had asked me a few years ago, I might have said that I would divide my time between creative work and slowing down. Write for a few hours, then go for a walk.
Nowadays, I believe that slow living is most impactful when it’s not an activity, but an approach to how you spend your days.
I begin my weekends by making a list. I write down things I simply feel like doing, like reading, baking, going for a long walk or taking a bath. I also write down creative work I plan on doing, like writing a blog post, taking photos or a scheduled coaching call.
Then as the weekend passes, I look over the list and pick from it as I like, crossing things off as I go. It helps me prioritise both creating and the slow and simple life I want to live.
I do my creative work slowly
There was a time when I tried to cram as much creative work into my weekends as possible. I got stressed and anxious, trying to get it all done before Monday arrived again.
I’ve chosen a different path now. I’m picky with which ideas I pursue. I rarely work on more than one bigger project at a time. When I write, I do a draft and then I take a break because I know I’ll edit better with rested eyes.
I do less than I used to in terms of the number of blog posts, Instagram posts and Teacup Owl Letters I create. In other words, I’m choosing quality and a slower lifestyle over quantity.
I pursue creative work that helps me embrace a slower life
Writing about a slower way of living and creating helps me choose that kind of life too. It reminds me of how important I think it is, and creates space for me to explore it further.
I take photos of moments, in nature and indoors. A couple of years ago, I used to take more conceptual photos which involved coming up with new ideas and often constructing a scene. It was fun, but after a while also quite stressful. I went back to simpler photos because they help me stay in the moment and gets me outside into nature.
All creative work we pursue is a choice, and we can design it however we like to fit the lifestyle we want.
What to do if your creative work is interfering with living slowly
If you find yourself stressed by your creative work, if it’s rather speeding you up than helping you move slower, then here are some things you can consider.
Are you doing too much? Sometimes we try to take on more than we can handle, because we love the work so much. If you’re struggling to keep up, it might be time to cut down and choose to do less.
Are you making the right priorities? If you find that it’s hard to find time for slower activities, it might be that you’re actually struggling to make them a priority. What would happen if you chose to life slowly first, and let everything else come second for a while?
How can you make your creative work a part of living slowly? Can you work in a slower more mindful way? Are there aspects of your work that stresses you more, and can you change them? Can you shift your creative focus to something that helps you embrace a slower lifestyle?
Balancing creative work with other commitments and keeping our lives slow at the same time can be hard, but with intentional choices it’s so very possible.
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