We all know creativity is a good thing. Especially, creativity for moms is important because It helps us come up with new ideas and spreads joy and light into the world. But creativity can be tough to maintain when you’re a busy mom juggling work, family, and responsibilities around the house. In this post, we’ll explore how creativity can be reignited in moms by making time for it without feeling guilty!
Creating Time For Your Creative Outlets
Sometimes we get stuck in our own heads because we think creativity has to be done in one sitting but that couldn’t be further from the truth. On the occasion that is true but more often than not it becomes an excuse.
There are many creative things which can be done with a little bit here and a little bit there. Crochet, embroidery, dancing, gardening, playing the piano for example.
You can create creativity time by utilizing your children’s nap time or putting them to bed early. You could also set a timer for 15 minutes and do some of the creative things you enjoy, like journaling, knitting, playing with paints.
Playing time with kids is also a great way to explore creativity for moms. You can get creative, side by side with your kids as they are busy playing or making something. I often did this when my son was little. He would be busy with his Lego or Playdoh and I would sneak in some sewing or pattern testing.
It doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment; it can come in little spurts throughout your day where you take a break from what you’re doing for ten minutes or so because we aren’t just parents all day long -something as simple as taking breaks throughout our day where we devote a few minutes to creativity will help reignite ourselves and make us feel more balanced overall.
For busy moms who don’t necessarily think they have any time to spare, this is often enough to get you going again!
As you know I am a huge fan of baby steps, just allocating a few minutes a day for your creative ‘thing’ is a good start.
Making time for you is one of the main focus points in the Wonder Mom Success Club, so if you are really struggling with that come and check it out.
If you are in a situation where you can’t get away from the kids to do your creativity. For example, you’re a stay-at-home mom with limited time. Baby steps are still worth it. Allocating some of that precious ten minutes before bed each night for creativity is better than not doing anything!
We’ve all got things about ourselves that need some time out – it’s just how humans are wired sometimes. So I recommend setting aside ‘creative dates’ where once a month (or even weekly) and aside time to work on their thing.
Joining some kind of club or class helps to set a time and date each week that is yours and yours alone. Everyone in the family knows that 8pm on a Tuesday is Mom’s painting class. So there is less chance of them encroaching on your time.
When you try to block out the time just on the schedule often it gets overlooked or abused, with an actual time that you have to log into zoom or leave the house, it gives you a good solid reason to step away from the mom role for a while. It sets your time in concrete.
Top Tip!
You can frame this as ‘dad’ time encouraging dad and kids to have some quality time together. I know many moms who would use this time for housework. Don’t!! This is a perfect opportunity to fill your own cup. Book that class. Do your own thing!
Creating creativity time is one small step to being happier and more fulfilled as moms.
It’s important to take care of yourself and nurture what creativity you have left while caring for everyone else. If you struggle with the whole saying no thing, here are some scripts to help you.
Why it’s important to maintain creativity for moms
Being Creative Makes You Feel Less Of Being ‘just a mom’
Creativity can be something that you do with other moms or old friends where it’s just as important for socialization. Sometimes we want the creative outlet to be something just for us, or more accurately, something without the kids.
Mom guilt is one of the reasons that many women stop being creative when they enter motherhood. They are afraid to spend time on their creativity because they worry that all the activities they do in pursuit of creativity will miss out on their children. This is a real concern, and one reason why it’s so important for moms to find ways not only to feed themselves creatively but also connect with other creative souls who understand what it means to juggle motherhood and creativity.”
But the reality is that being creative makes us happier humans and if mom is happy, the family is happy. Creativity feeds the soul and is a very important part of our life because it helps us to express ourselves and find happiness in who we are.
It also gives us time away from all the stress that comes with being busy as parents, and/or other things in our lives. Creativity brings out what’s inside of each individual: our hopes, dreams, opinions, etc., which may not be expressed if you don’t have this outlet for yourself.
And creativity has been proven to help people become better problem solvers by refocusing them on something new or different than whatever issue had caused them distress before. Needless to say, creativity is an essential part of many aspects in our life.
It is also great for our kids to see that we have hobbies and interests outside of the family. We are not just their parents, but individuals with passions, interests and thoughts to share as well.
What constitutes creativity?
For some that might be painting or taking photos. For others, it could be writing a blog post like this one! Whatever creativity endeavor you choose to pursue, make sure to share it with at least one other person who will hopefully appreciate your work and encourage you in doing more of what makes you happy.
Creativity comes in many forms:
- Trying new recipes
- Singing
- Making something that you’ll use around the home
- Styling your hair i.e. braiding, twisting
- Learning a new language
- Reading to your children
- Creating scrapbooks or photo albums for the grandparents
- Making homemade jewelry (i.e. bracelets)
- Playing an instrument
- Dancing
- Painting
- Gardening
Ask yourself, “What creative process brings me joy?”
Then focus on making time in your day for that. I’m a creative fiend, much of my work is creative but sometimes I need to remind myself that everything I create doesn’t need to have a price tag; I can create just for the sake of letting those creative juices flow.
If for you, creativity is all about releasing stress then maybe spending time on something creative each day would help release the tension in your life? There are 168 hours in a week, claim some of that as your own – it still leaves plenty of room for family & friends too!
Here are 12 things you can be doing to get your creative mojo on. You don’t have to do them all, pick one or two that light a fire in your belly and start there.
- Allow yourself more time for creativity
- Practice creative visualization – close your eyes and imagine the product you would like to create
- Take a break from parenting – set up a babysitting date with friends, or hire someone to help with children
- Experiment with different mediums of art – paint, draw, sculpt, print on fabric
- Join an online forum for creatives in order to network and find inspiration from others’ work
- Make time for self-care so that you can be present as a parent and artist
- Find a creative outlet that you enjoy, try your hand at new things
- Spend time with other moms who are also trying to find their creativity (join us over in Moms That Rock, my free community for multi-passionate moms)
- Be mindful of your thoughts and feelings, so that you can better manage them when they arise
- Create space for yourself by setting aside time each day for doing the things you love, even if it’s just 10 minutes at first
- Practice saying no to things you don’t want to do and yes to the things that make you happy
- Make sure there is time for work, family, friends, hobbies and everything else. If you need help with that, check out The Wonder Mom Success Club
Is being creative a form of self-care?
Absolutely.
Creativity is a way for you to take care of yourself while taking care of everyone else in your life.
It’s important that creativity remains an integral part of our lives. Starts with paying attention to what creativity means for each individual. If creativity brings you joy, peace, or any kind of release from the hustle & bustle, then it needs nurturing like every other relationship we have!
You know how good it feels when you spend time doing the things you love, we are only here on earth for a short amount of time, so we should be doing the things that make us happy.
Make yourself the priority! What do you need to feel happy and fulfilled? Because when you do that, the rest of the family will benefit.
Wrap Up
Creativity is a way to spend time doing something that feels good and makes you happy. It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. In fact, it can oftentimes feel more satisfying when done with simplicity and with as few distractions as possible.
Think about the types of things that scratch your creative itch and find creative ways to fit them into your day, a little bit here and a little bit there!