In an effort to continue honouring our creative spark I believe it is important to keep yourself involved in the process. One great way to reground yourself in your creative choices, especially at this time of year, is to engage in a spring clean of your creativity!
I’m as guilty as the next person - when it comes to the winter hibernation season I gather all of my creative projects around me and make a little nest of creativity so I never have to leave it. However, when spring starts creeping in and I want to move around and try new things I easily get overwhelmed with the multitude of half bakes projects lying scattered all around me. This is perpetuating a cycle of guilt, shame and overwhelm in the creative process. To circumvent and break that pattern, I choose to engage in a spring clean of creativity where I allow myself to let go of projects that I no longer resonate with, and open the windows to new creative possibilities.
In my spring clean I have moved some longer term writing projects off to the side for now to focus on my current WIP novel in the editing stages, these blogs and my recital choreography. However, having been with these projects for a prolonged period of time, I needed to find a way to breathe new life into them.
Breathing new life in my choreography is easier than the others because I get to work with my dancers on it, and that brings a dynamic energy that changes week to week as they grow in technique and I grow in artistic vision. These blog posts are exciting to me as well, because each month I change the mantra or theme and try to tailor my posts to engage with that theme, even tenuously. The more you engage with creativity the more abundant it becomes in your life, so there is no shortage of creative material to talk about on these blog posts and no shortage of ideas when I sit down to plan out the month’s content.
The most difficult piece of creativity for me to spring clean and breathe new life into is my WIP manuscript. Having taken such a long break from the material I am no longer on track with my goals for the book and therefore find it much easier to procrastinate. But, I have a strategy to get back into it with fresh eyes and enthusiasm.
My Three Step Spring Clean Strategy for Renewed Enthusiasm
De Clutter the work space (Or get back to using a designated work space) - Creativity can happen anywhere, and I find I get too comfortable working from the couch where there are distractions aplenty, and ample cozyness. To re-center on the importance of my creativity I will be cleaning out the spare room where my desk is cluttered to the max with piles of papers, books and other miscellaneous objects.
Pull out all the tools - When you create you work with certain tools of the trade, so to speak. Often we, as creatives, get just as excited about the tools we’ll get to use as we are about the project we are completing. Dusting off those tools and getting excited to immerse yourself in the process is the biggest step you can take to spring clean those cobwebs of procrastination.
Looking at the Progress - If it’s an old project you’re coming back to, look at the first things you did, the planning stage of notes or drawings, the original song, the problem you were trying to solve, no transpose where you are at currently in the process and allow the progress to excite you to push forward again. If it’s a new project you’re set on beginning as a result of the spring clean, plot out where you are now and where you want to go - even as a wishing well coin toss, something to give you a trajectory to get excited about.
The biggest thing to remember when spring cleaning is to stay focused on your goal - setting yourself up for success in the season of awakening with your creative projects. Don’t let yourself get side tracked with all of the odds and ends you find along the way. Tuck them away in a place you can return to later on when you have more free time or need a change of pace. Those pieces you’ve forgotten about will have their time again, but don’t sacrifice your present practice for a new shiny object, it will keep until it’s time comes.
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