You may ask what the following three strategies have to do with creativity.
I think we can all agree that time is our greatest natural resource so when the minutes of our days can be saved, the hours will take care of themselves, freeing up our time and energy to put towards more creative endeavors.
Below are three practical but sometimes missed opportunities to make the most of our time.
- Harness your time on social media. No one does this better than Edie Melson at The Write Conversation. Her post, 9 Time-Saving Tips for Social Media, touches on scheduling, promoting others (a key to social media success), and seven other ways to harness your most valuable resource, your time. (Edie is also the author of Connections, Social Media and Networking Techniques for Writers.)
- Refuse to Cave to the Comparison Trap. Sylvia Path said, “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” When other writers are gaining traction that sticks like glue while we’re still spinning our wheels it’s tempting to start second guessing our skills, sometimes to the point of questioning our very calling to writing. Michele Cushatt recently published a post, Enough, that speaks to the beauty of dropping our competitive guard in order to embrace a bigger and more meaningful picture in the world of writing. Comparing ourselves to others depletes our confidence, time, and energy. And who has time for that?
- Take Advantage of In-Between Moments. Many successful authors became so while working at least one full-time job, raising a family, volunteering at church, etc. One of my favorite contributor’s on this subject is Brian Hutcheson of The Positive Writer. His post How To Become A Prolific Writer While Holding Down A Day Job is superb. You’ll rarely find me without a pen and tiny moleskin notebook in the front pocket of my purse. I know, I know. I can also use Notes on my iPhone, and I do, but there’s something about the scratching sound of a pen on paper that lights my fire.
Your turn! What’s one time-saving tip you can share with the rest of us?
Thanks for stopping by!
Cathy Baker // Cultivating Creativity
http://www.cathybaker.org
We love helping your growing in your writing career.
Great post, Cathy! One technique I’ve used successfully is telling Siri to “make a note” into my phone when I’m going for a walk or driving on lonely highways (never during traffic). When I pause, she assumes I’m done. I take a breath and tell her to “Add to note,” and she keeps writing. She gets close enough for me to remember what I was saying. I’ve written entire blog posts using Siri.