Time is your playground, not an enemy

Welcome to Creatives Anonymous, a weekly newsletter that explores what it means to be a modern-day creative through essays, interviews, and commentary.

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“You can’t force creativity!” 

“I’m waiting for my next big idea to spark!” 

“I don’t feel creative today, but maybe tomorrow I will.”

“I’m going to wait to start that creative project until I feel more inspired and ideas are flowing.”

If you’ve ever thought, whispered, or mumbled one or more of these phrases, you aren’t alone. 

There’s a myth we’ve all bought into at some point: That creativity strikes only when it wants, like a wild, unpredictable force. And we’re at its beck and call, hoping that our creative muscles are willing to meet us when we believe the time is right. 

And when it strikes, we better be ready to harness it, whether that’s at 2:00 am scribbling unreadable ideas in a chaotic frenzy or the shower at 7:00 am, repeating our ideas to ourselves aloud until we can reach for a sheet of paper and a pen. 

It’s chaotically inconvenient. 

I used to believe that “waiting for the perfect creative moment” was the only way. Maybe you did too. 

But creativity doesn’t thrive in chaos, nor can we always wait until it comes knocking because our time is limited (and hear me out, dear reader: we never know how much time we have left. Scary, I know!)

Somewhere along the way, “creative” became synonymous with “erratic,” as if being consistent or structured somehow stripped your ideas of their full potential and greatness. But when you rely solely on inspiration to do the heavy lifting for you, you start waiting. And waiting. And judging yourself. And fueling yourself with guilt-ridden thoughts. 

Who says the pendulum has to swing in one direction or the other? What if, instead of oscillating between creative chaos and structured monotony, we found a less dramatic swing somewhere in the middle? 

That’s where creative spontaneity lies. 

There's something to be said for spontaneous moments of inspiration (relish in these moments when they spark!). But there’s also a need to apply structured freedom and intentionally allocate creative time to avoid waiting for inspiration to strike (because time is truly all we have—and it’s finite). 

I’m not talking about an early-morning-pre-sunrise forced creative journaling session with a glass of fresh-pressed green juice in hand (although, it’s cool if that works for you!). You don’t need a five-step routine to follow. 

When I think about creative spontaneity, I’m talking more along the lines of dedicating time for your creative routines and projects (better yet, reserving time on your calendar for them), without knowing precisely what you will do or how creative thoughts might arise during that timeslot. 

And then, when the time comes, you figure out what you need to serve your creative brain in that moment. And sometimes, that might include an activity unrelated to your creative output paired with deep creative work time. Or vice versa, depending on the day. Or you may feel the flow coming on and can dive right into your creative work (I love when this happens, no matter how rare).

Some ways I’m filling the creative space on my calendar right now include:

• Going for a walk (without headphones)

• Writing Time Intentional (or brainstorming future ideas) 

• Riding my bike 

• Changing my environment (mountain trips, coffee shops, etc.) 

• Learning how to crochet (again) 

• Reading books I might not typically pick up on my own 

• Sitting down with a blank page in a journal, stickers, and colored pens

• Talking about ideas with friends and loved ones

• Doing household chores (cleaning works wonders!) 

• Indulging in an unopened craft from my collection of “crafts I purchased but never started”

Creative spontaneity doesn't need to be thoroughly planned or forced, but we must weave time for it into our schedules intentionally to build (and strengthen) our creative muscles.

Be spontaneous and structured. You can have both. 

Thank you to Alexa for inviting me to write for Creatives Anonymous this week! I’m honored to feature her thoughts on creativity as a ritual in this week’s Time Intentional, a free weekly curation of reflections and ideas about living intentionally, inspired by my late grandparents. 

Creative Corner (Alyssa’s Version)

• 🎞️ What I’m Consuming:  I just finished Running Point on Netflix (an American sports comedy television series). How can anyone not love Kate Hudson? 

• 💡 What I’m Loving:  These Blue Bunny Strawberry Shortcake Mini Swirls ice cream cones (so freakin’ good!)

• 🎨 What I’m Working On: Revamping the Time Intentional website! 

• 💭 Weekly Musing:

Thank you 💕

If you liked this newsletter, I’d love it if you could forward it to someone who you think would like it, too!

I’m so grateful for all of your support!

Alyssa Towns is a freelance writer based in Denver, Colorado. She publishes Time Intentional, a weekly newsletter packed with reflections and inspiration about what it means to live intentionally, in honor of her late grandparents, who passed away in their 60s. She uses their losses to remind and teach others that time is finite. She also writes long-form content for brands that are building better workplaces and is passionate about making work a more enjoyable part of life, as we spend so much of it working.