As small business mavens, we can sometimes (ok, all the time) get bogged down by the endless and daily tasks of running a business. Even when sales are relatively slow, there are so many things about my own business that I want to do, or re-do, or just be done with all together that it's hard to find time to create. I find that those pesky to-do's can really take over and slow down my momentum considerably. That's why I'm super stoked to be working on some new and exciting projects here at English Muffin. It's so great to let my left brain quiet down and trust that all those tasks will get done one way or another, they always do. Sometimes I get so focussed on learning how to be the best entrepreneur I can be that I forget how this business has evolved thus far, organically. I tackle things as they need tackling and at this point I'm still so small that I doubt the IRS (or Canadian equivalent) is going to be knocking down my door due to my accidental infractions.
Switching gears from business Bess to creative Bess was not as easy as I had hoped. There are so many distractions on my computer (ahem... Twitter, Facebook, the internet at large) that sometimes it was a challenge just to open Illustrator, so much so that Adele from modernemotive called me out on Twitter last week...
modernemotive @BessCallard Have you opened Illustrator yet young lady? ;)
Umm, no - I hadn't.
Once I did start to brainstorm and get my creative juices juicy again I managed to come up with an idea for a new line at English Muffin. I think it's a logical next step and hope to get the ball rolling on this soon enough.
So, I'd love to know...
How do you make space for your creativity while running a small business or working a 9-5 job? Do you find the time once a day to do something creative, or do you like to block off larger more focused chunks of time?
Have a great day!
Bess
Ha! A cameo. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI wrote on my blog just this week about creativity. More on how sometimes I want to mute it so that I can focus on other things. For now, I tend to go with the flow and try to keep in mind that sometimes I can't put creativity at the forefront. It's hard. Really hard.
And thanks for this:
"Sometimes I get so focussed on learning how to be the best entrepreneur I can be that I forget how this business has evolved thus far, organically. I tackle things as they need tackling and at this point I'm still so small that I doubt the IRS (or Canadian equivalent) is going to be knocking down my door due to my accidental infractions."
It was reminder I needed. Cheers.
I too get distracted by all the business side of things and am desperately trying to move back to the creative side. Feel in need of some inspiration while I try to decide which direction to take my shop in and how best to tackle the day to day stuff of running a business.
ReplyDeletemy sewing bench is in our home office with my computer. the room has lots of awesome storage and double doors that connect it to the living area of the house. from my vantage point while i'm creating, i can either have the doors open and watch some tv, or i can turn on my computer and bring up grooveshark to listen to music, or i can close the doors until i'm done with whatever project (the hubbs can be distracting sometimes!). it's great to have flexibility! the computer being so close does pose a distraction problem though. but i haven't made my hobby a business, so those distractions aren't too opressive. (yet!)
ReplyDeleteLove this post Bess, and love even more how Adele called you out. She's a good one to have around as someone who is always there to bounce ideas off of and help you out when running a business can feel too overwhelming at times.
ReplyDeleteCreativity for me is not something that can be boxed in into a timeline. Whenever or wherever it hits I just have to roll with it even when it's not convenient. Countless sleepless nights are a bi-product of this unfortunately but have reaped so many benefits because of it too.