Ah yes, the Holidays……!    The holidays are a wonderful time of year for reconnecting and celebrating productivity and blessings from the last eleven and twelve months.  As creatives this season comes with mixed blessings….the ability to sell some of our wares depending on our creative practice for holiday gift giving is ideal.  For others, time to work on our creative projects….can be compromised.  If you are among the latter, it can get tricky to balance all of the demands that the season brings.  But with a little advance planning and discipline, this season does not have to be unproductive. 

Here’s a few tips on how to navigate the holiday season to your advantage:
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• Set your intentions and goals for creative productivity:  What creative projects do you need to complete between now and the first of January? What is the “why” behind these projects? Take note of commissions, writing deadlines, artwork, etc. and the deadlines that have been set to complete them.  Do some of these projects need to be completed right after the holidays?  If so, set some interim goals that you can meet during this period.  If no real deadline has been established, look at your calendar and set them.  Prioritize what you need to do during this period and what might can wait until after January 1st.  Update your calendar to ensure that the deadlines are visible and create reminders via your phone or computer accordingly.
• Review your Holiday Social Calendar including your travel plans:  Make sure that those dates are clear on your calendar.  What is the relationship between your holiday social plans and your deadlines for completing your creative work?  This is the area that can cause the most stress for you depending on the dates and what needs to be done.  Are there any overlaps?  This is the time to be open and creative with your schedule to see how reasonable it is to tackle your creative projects. 
• Look at all the dates and plan for flexibility:  This is the hard part especially when you are looking at the holiday social calendar.  What events are “must attends” and what are “might attends”?  What are some options for some of these events?  For example, can you have lunch, dinner or brunch with one the hosts in lieu of attending a party or gathering?  Can you rank the events based on criteria such as family, close friends, networking or whatever works for you and plan to attend just one for each criteria?  If you are traveling can you take your supplies and work from another location?  Is there adequate space to work at that location?  Think through how this would work best for you.
• Look at your calendar on a weekly basis and plan creative activities (or micro movements) to complete your project(s) where you have free time.  Check once a week to see your progress…reward yourself for meeting your goals.
• Create boundaries.  When we have to face the requests and demands of family and friends to participate in activities that are not a priority for us or will interfere with our creative goals, things can get tricky.  However, if we are hold firm on our priorities, we have to say no when things are not in alignment with our goals.  Think of compromises, limit the time spent or other alternatives to some of the requests that are thrown your way.  Be honest with close friends and family about your goals and what you need to complete.  Let them know when you are actually free and open the conversation for alternative activities.
• Make sure to plan for self-care activities.  The pace of the holidays can get to all of us.  Between social, work and our creative time we can find ourselves burned out before the holidays.  Make sure to slip in time for self-care activities such as yoga, hiking, gym, artist’s dates, etc. to maintain balance.  Look to find inspiration to recharge your batteries and keep you focused. Read a novel, listen to your favorite music from an artist you enjoy, watch a movie that you have on your list to see.  Spend time away from the holiday scene……the lights, displays, music, etc. can help as well.
• Incorporate your creativity as part of holiday  events  or volunteer efforts:  If your creative goals can be incorporated as part of volunteer efforts for the community or if you can offer DIY holiday classes or activities with the family that can help you connect to your creative projects, consider that as a an option.

 
The holidays are indeed stressful but don’t have to be.   With a little planning on the front end you can establish the priorities, the activities and your desired goals and actually meet them without feeling resentful or stressful.

What tips or tricks do you use to maintain your creative practice or reach your goals during the holiday season?

​One of the most discouraging issues any creative has to face is the creative block.  One of the definitions I identify with regarding a creative block is what an article in GoodTherapy describes as  “the inability to access one’s internal creativity. People who are in engaged in creative activities or professions such as authors, actors, artists, dancers, etc. are often adversely affected by creative blocks….long stretches of uncreatively which can last for up to years..
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There are many things, which I have covered in previous blog posts that can lead to a creative block.  Some of these include

• Fear of rejection or failure
• Death of a loved one or end of a relationship
• A lack of financial support
• Self-doubt/self-criticism regarding ability & talent
• Repeated rejection of one's work
• The need for perfection

A few years ago, after the death of my father, I suffered through a two year creative block after a relatively fertile period of creating art.  It was frustrating not being able to be inspired to create and I questioned myself regarding whether or not I was really an artist.  Going through this time of grief was needed, but I didn’t understand that at the time.  It was only after the grieving process ended, I was able to find some inspiration from my loss and create something to honor my family legacy through art.   After that, I was able to make a series based on family images which became a series of mixed media work which was unique and interesting.
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How does one deal or overcome the creative block when it rears its ugly head in our creative life?  Here are some ideas and methods that I used to help me move past it in the past:

1. Artist’s Dates:  Yes, the tried and true method introduced by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way is one of the best ways to unblock you.  The Artist’s Date as defined by Julia Cameron “is a once-weekly, festive, solo expedition to explore something that interests you.”  The key of Artist’s Dates is that they must be done solo, ideally during at two hour period and have sense of “play” involved with it.   Some ideas that can be considered for Artist’s Dates include: spending time in nature with a journal, sketchbook, etc., see a good movie, attending a musical concert or play, hiking, moving your body: yoga, dancing, walking, visit an animal shelter or rescue and play with the animals there….so many things that can be done to lift your spirit and encourage a sense of play.
2. Invent or Reinvent Your Creative Space:  Sometimes when we revisit the place where we do our creative practice and change things up a bit helps.  I write about creating a “feel good” creative space here. 
3. Engage in a different creative activity:  I have found changing up what I indulge in creatively helps.  In the last year, when I felt a bit stagnant creatively, I started writing more…specifically poetry.  I even took it a bit further by performing some of my poetry in person at a local restaurant’s open mic night.  Whether or not it is considered “good” is not important to me, just the act of creating and sharing has helped me to keep a sense of play and wonder during times that I need to maintain my sense of creativity during dry periods.
4. Use the time to take a break and research your interests:  View the “down” time creatively.  See it as a way to take a break from your creative activity.  Don’t view it as a blocked period mentally….use it as a way to recharge.  Are there topics you been wanting to explore with your creative practice?  Use this time to do so….for example, has Native American rituals and customs been an interest of yours?  What about reading up on different tribes or visiting a reservation or an institution dedicated to the topic.
5.  Morning Pages:  Another tool from The Artist’s Way, morning Pages “are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning.”  I find that this three page mind dump every morning helps to clear the cobwebs and great ideas often surface that I would not ordinary think about as well as themes of areas I need to explore within myself, my creative practice or life in general.   A great example of how to make the morning pages work for you is this blog by Chris Winfield. 
6. If you are dealing with self-doubt or your inner critic, find a way to confront those voices. Here’s an exercise that might help using affirmations:

 
Think of who you know you want to cultivate within you as a creative.  Practice writing statements (in the affirmative) that describes who you are or becoming.
 
EXAMPLE:  I don’t know if I am truly the creative person want to be.
Affirmation:  I love and trust my creative gifts.
 
EXAMPLE:  I think I am a songwriter, but not sure if it is just in my head or if I’m that good.
Affirmation:  I am a talented and very gifted songwriter that is celebrated for my work.


If you facing depression or some kind of mental or physical illness, these tips may not work well for you and professional intervention via a therapist or physician may be the first step in dealing with the creative block you are facing. Take time to make a proper assessment of what is going on and what might be the source of your blockage before trying these or other tips to address it.

Have you tried other ways to unblock your creativity?  Share below!