Get Creative this Weekend

This month I am determined to intentionally set aside time to be creative. Yes, I'm creative in my job all the time. I create patterns and artwork, design products, and I write and speak about it all every day of the week. But when I say I need to set aside time to be creative, I mean to freely create something from scratch - paint, sew, make something from nothing. I don't do this enough and it's easy to fill up my schedule and just work, either for my job or on our house. I've been meaning to paint some artwork to hang in our guest bedroom. I have the ideas, so I just need to do it. I need to shut off the voice in my head that says it won't turn out how I picture it, that it will look like it's created by a child, or it will take longer than the time I have. 

But what about the times you don't have the ideas or aren't feeling very inspired to create? Here are a few ways to energize your creative side, get inspired, and let your creativity flow.

Unschedule Yourself

Take time to have unscheduled recreation. If you love music, sports, the outdoors, dancing, cooking, make sure your weekend includes time for these at some point. Be intentional about not filling up your weekend, but rather doing only activities that fuel your spirit. By allowing unscheduled passions to happen on the weekend, you can feel more creative.

Get Out of a Rut

A useful way to get creative is to immerse yourself in some kind of stimulating experience you wouldn't normally have. Go to a museum or take a walk in a different neighborhood. Go to a sporting event that you've never experienced before. Cook or bake a dish you've never tried. Get lost in a park or walk the beach. Do something to get out of your regular ruts and normal patterns of your life. Engaging in a foreign activity sparks new neural connections and forces you to experience the world in a new way, which not only feels gratifying and energizing, but has side benefits to your creativity.

Device-Free Days

Have you ever gone a full day not on a device? Picking one day on the weekend to be device-free can create more time for naps, games and long walks. If I'm not scrolling, vegging out, or working, I won't have the excuse of not enough time to get creative.

Go Stargazing

I always seem to stargaze in the summer, but the rest of the year I forget. Going for a drive or a walk and looking for constellations and planets is a great way to let the world fade away as we look to the heavens. It's a great way to get grounded and be inspired at the same time.

Nature Walk

If we're in the middle of a city, finding a park, a river, lake, or even our neighborhood to walk around isn't that hard. Even a few minutes walking, observing nature, and listening to its sounds, is inspiring. It forces us to pause and take a breath and we might even take a few photos along the way.

Try some of these ideas to refresh yourself, get inspired, and get ready to let your creativity flow.