Productive Creativity, Part Two

(Awesome to-do list photo credit HERE)

In part one, I covered ways to be more creative, and get out of your normal routine. Part two is going to have
suggestions and ideas to make more time for your creativity. One of the biggest things I struggle with time-wise
is procrastinating...I've done it constantly. I need to organize my days so that I can get chores, work, and
everyday boring things done and out of the way so that I can focus on increasing my creativity.
Currently, my day goes something like this- Wake up at 9:30 or 10, stumble downstairs, start devotions, eat
breakfast...junk; get on laptop, eat junk for lunch, think about being productive, stay on laptop, meet a friend, eat
more junk for dinner, get on lappy, go to bed around 11ish,take forever to fall asleep...continue.

ICK!! I also left out the part where I get annoyed with myself for not getting things done.

Now this is what I'd like my day to look like: Wake up around 7:30 or 8; do my devotions; stretch and exercise;
shower; clean or help around the house; update blog; work on letters for the Celtic Ball; eat something healthy for lunch; then read (good, not cheesy) books, sketch, update things for sale on Etsy, sew, photography...; spend time with friends, family and the boy; good dinner; veg/get ideas for future blog posts before bed around 10.

Here are some of my biggest time wasters, and ideas on how to steal your time back.

-Internet! I love my laptop, it is my child, but it keeps me from getting things done. Try cutting your time way down on e-mail, MySpace, Facebook, IMing...whatever your biggest time-waster(s) online are. Or try giving yourself a set amount of time to be online, or choose to stay away from your computer until after a certain time. I've totally cut out several different website that were MAJOR time-wasters for me, and I plan to cut back on other sites further. While e-mailing is not a big time-waster for me, I plan to use Leon's advice and limit myself to two pointless website checks though the day. (I also want to read that book he recommended!)

-Bad Organizational Skills-both with Things and Time-I plan to work on becoming more organized, and staying that way. It's a habit I really need to learn! To work on integrating more positive habits in my life, I love Steve Pavlina's idea of "30 Days to Success". The theory is that it takes between 30-40 days to really get set in a habit, and if you can start a habit with a set 'end' in mind, it's not as hard to get to the end, and then push yourself farther. It's a mind game, but it really works! Gala Darling also has a great article on how to get into a productive daily routine.

-Plain Lazyness. Sometimes the best way to combat this is to just get up and start moving. I find that if I start the hardest or biggest project first, I gain momentum and am able to keep going. Taking breaks every so often helps as well. (This does NOT mean every five minutes, sorry!) Work for 45 minutes, then take a 15 minute break; work for 2 hours and take a half-hour break. Figure out what works for you and STICK TO IT! When the break is over, get right back to work.

So what do you do to motivate yourself and scare away the lazy monster?

xoxo,
Ney