How to Structure Your Creative Interests Around Your Life and Work
Guest Blogger/Writer Margaret Olat:
A
few years after I graduated from college, I was faced with the enormous
responsibility of having to actually act like an adult. I could no longer sleep
in till 12:30 pm and survive on ramen noodles. I had to wake up early to be at
my internship by 8am, attend weekly worship rehearsals at church, and continue
to nurture the audience I was building online.
This
became really overwhelming at one point as I was starting to feel uninspired at
work and at church. I knew something had to happen because I wasn’t about to
give up blogging for work. Neither did I want to give up my weekly rehearsals
for being bright and sunny at work.
So,
I discovered the structure to getting all these done while actually saving more
time in the process. But before I share it with you, I have to warn you; this
isn’t perfect. But it works because I continually have to assess how effective
the system is. This is for you if you nurse the ambition to follow your creative
instincts (blogging, podcasting, YouTube, Instagram, etc) while staying
committed to other equally important activities in your personal or
professional life.
Without
further ado, here’s the system to keeping your creative interests in line with
your life and work:
The five step system to keeping your
sanity intact (because doing it all will stretch you thin)
1) Structure: The first thing I had to do
was to get a handle on how much time I had and
how many activities I could realistically fit into my 24 hours. This is the
foundation for everything else whether you have just one extracurricular
activity or juggle multiple deadlines like Beyoncé.
Structure
is important...and it doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s like having a vision
board and placing different pieces of the puzzle together to communicate one
big message; what you want for yourself. With this big vision in front of you,
you’re able to make decisions on what you want to keep and how much space you’d
like to dedicate to that ‘thing.’
2) Pruning: The idea behind pruning is simple;
If it’s not producing fruit, cut it off. No matter how pretty or fragrant it
looks or smell. It is a space and time waster.
Months
into my blogging journey, I joined several blogging networks and signed up to receive
free brand samples from well-known lifestyle/beauty brands––with the
expectation that I would either do written or video reviews. I was thrilled! Finally, I’ll the joining the ranks of those
who receive sponsored goods to the tune of hundreds of dollars. That’s what
I thought.
Until
I realized that I didn’t love applying different makeup products every six
weeks. I realized that I hated the flashing lights. But I hated the reward
system––a system where you qualify for more products based on your previous
review–– even more.
So,
I did the brave thing; I quit my membership to these networks. It was honestly
a waste of time doing something I hated and I found greater joy filling my
schedule with activities I loved instead.
3) Timing: Set a timer for your tasks. In other
words, be very intentional about how long it takes you to complete a task.
I
got this idea while exercising with a friend at the gym. She set a timer for
all her moves and wanted to break her record of push-ups or whatever it was she
was doing. Initially, I thought it was a way to throw around bragging rights
about how long you could push bar bells. Then it hit me: if you don’t know how
long it takes to perform a task, how will you accurately measure your
efficiency?
The
concept of timing isn’t to place you in an immobile box. Rather, it understands
and accepts that time IS finite. Time is a resource, and if we know that
resources are limited, we better guard what we have and use it judiciously. If I can go to work for eight hours, write
a blog post when I get back, and still have time to go to church, why wouldn’t
I want to know how to make this happen?
The
answer? Timing your activities so you know what’s doable given the limited time
you have.
4) Pause: Yup, it is what it is. Even with all
the structure, pruning, and timing in the world, you can’t be certain that you
won’t experience burnout. This is where you can come up for air and determine
if what you’re doing is really worth it.
After
realizing I would be a terrible beauty blogger, I stopped posting and thought
about quitting blogging. I decided, nah, this is not what I was called to do.
But my “time off” helped me see my strengths and weaknesses and allowed me to
experiment with other ideas.
For
you, pausing could mean going on a vacation, visiting a friend instead of
writing a paper (I promise, taking a break from homework actually improves your
concentration later!), or just announcing to your audience that you’re taking a
break because you need one!
5) Simplify: Now that you are back from
your break, it’s time to look at your system again. But this time, you’re
looking to see what you can actually take off your plate. In other words,
outsource your tasks.
Can’t
design that blogging template? Ask another blogger to help you. Finding it
difficult to fix your hair yourself? Take it to a salon. Can’t figure it all
out? Hire a mentor! The list is endless. You will always find something you’d
rather not work on.
For
me, it started from asking others to design my website logo to customizing my
blog theme templates. Taking my hands off things that I’d rather not do allowed
me to sit back and take on a more visionary role with my brand and my
professional growth. I’ve made some pivots over the years and now as a writer and creative coach, helping
people find the intersection between creativity, passion, and profit has become
one of my favorite things to do.
Can’t
outsource right away? It’s okay. You can start making a list of things you
don’t enjoy doing and how much time you’d save if you could have someone else
do ‘em. That’s a simple way to start!
There
you have it. These are the 5 things I do to integrate my creative interests
into my work and personal life.
Now,
over to you. What systems do you have in place to make sure your creative
pursuits blend well with your personal and professional life? Please do share.
Celebrity Focus
Margaret Olat is a nurse,
writer, creative coach, and a rebel against society's prescription of a dream
job. She shows you how to thrive at the intersection of creativity, passion,
and profit so your career becomes the greatest expression of your creative
interests.
Her thoughts on career and
entrepreneurship have been featured on Lifehack,
Elephant Journal, TEDxLincolnSquare, Thought Catalog, Addicted2Success, Thrive
Global, The Huffington Post, Career Contessa, UYD Media, Inspired COACH
magazine, and she’s been mentioned by the likes of ProBlogger, Brit + Co, and Minnesota
State University Moorhead. She has also been featured as a career expert on
Albert's List, a community of 15,000+ members that connects recruiters and job
seekers with the power of referrals.
When she’s not writing or
working with clients, you’ll find her working as a registered nurse at the
University of Minnesota Medical Center, or binge reading romance novels.
^^^
Links (if you need them)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/margaretolat7
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/margaretolat
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/margaretolat
Always you guys, thank you for taking time and reading this blog.
Always keeping it real,
Titiana Ngongang
Life, Faith &Love
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