Apparently, the best time to be creative is immediately after waking. The best time to edit and proof your efforts comes later in the day, after your brain has let all those creative juices flow and is warmed up, so to speak. Or so science says.

My brain hasn’t gotten the memo. I’m not one of those people who have inspiration hit in the shower, nor does it spark with the first bits of toast. My mind has already started making a list of every single thing I need to get done that day. And every item on that list is seemingly more important than making time for my creative process to emerge. To combat that I make sure I get up early enough to read a couple of pages in a book or of the paper while I wait for my tea to steep. I have breakfast, get dressed, and settle into my office chair. Then I look to inspiration to strike. As I’m usually checking Facebook or Instagram, this rarely happens immediately.

But I’m trying to spend less time on social media and more time fostering creativity. Doodling is one of my favourite things. And watercolours are my new favourite medium despite having a lot to learn. Doodling and playing with colour helps settle my mind. Then I generally take care of marketing and promotion duties. I write for an hour. Then I write again in the afternoon. So, the opposite of what science suggests.

Maybe on of these days I’ll actually get around to listening to Robin Sharma’s The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life that is waiting patiently in my Audible to-be-read pile. But that day is not today.

Until the next time…

When do you fit in time to be creative? Or to read? Or do something that settles your mind or feeds your soul?