We all lead busy lives but I believe there is time for all of us to make room for creativity every single day, and developing a daily creative practice should be comprised of two parts: inward creative time and outward creative time.

What is inward creative time?

Inward creative time is important because it connects us to ourselves. The outside world is constantly feeding us information to process and it’s so easy for our inner voice to get lost in the noise. Inward creative time is where we are able to reflect on our thoughts, feelings, and experiences to develop a more secure sense of self. You don’t need a ton of creative time daily, to do this either. Committing to 5-10 minutes of journaling a day can work wonders. The key here is consistency. It should be as routine as brushing your teeth.

What is outward creative time?

Outward creative time is important because it connects us to the world in a more meaningful way. It helps us to savor experiences better and make the most of where we are, no matter where we are. It helps us connect more deeply with the people we care about. The beauty about outward creative time is that you don’t need to make extra time for it, you can simply change your approach to how you experience your current routine.

Schedule your daily inward creative time.

Take a look at your current schedule. When would be the best time of day daily for you to take 5-10 minutes to quietly reflect on what you’re grateful for and what feelings/challenges you’re currently facing? This can be in the form of a journal entry, but it doesn’t have to be. You can also take your feelings and turn them into poems or songs—that’s totally up to you. What’s important is that you take what’s on your mind and in your heart and process it on paper, creating a distance between yourself and the thought so you can examine it. I recommend journaling even for visual artists because it’s helpful to be able to go back to older entries and see how far you’ve grown.

When it comes to scheduling a time, think of when you’d consistently be alone. I’ve found that to be early in the morning for myself—hence my daily 5 a.m. wakeup call. But it could also be after the kids go to sleep or on the train ride home. Schedule a time and place daily that works for you.

Sprinkle outward creative time into your life.

Make a list of all the tasks you perform in a week. Now reflect on each one and ask yourself, how can I sprinkle some creative thinking into this? As Mary Poppins sang, “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun,” and creativity can really make even the most mundane tasks a game.

Creativity doesn’t have to be in pursuit of recording a new album or writing a book. It’s a key ingredient to a more fulfilling existence and all you have to do is make a few little adjustments to activities you already engage in.

I’ve made a list of some ideas to get you started, but the possibilities are endless. I recommend trying just one of these outward creative time activities for 30 days and seeing how it affects you.

Working out

Sure, you could just default to the curated workout playlists on Spotify, but why not curate your own workout playlist each week? Choose artists you’ve never listened to before and just explore them. You’ll figure out what you like and what you don’t like. As you’re working out, notice which songs work best and remove the ones that don’t. Once you’ve finished refining your playlist, share it with some friends who might enjoy it.

If you want to take your playlist curation to the next level, check out this article.

Dating

As a single thirty-something, it took me a while to figure out how to make dating more enjoyable, because grabbing dinner, drinks, and coffee has gotten stale over the years. So I made a list of a bunch of date ideas where we can actually create or learn something together. From taking a pottery class to a cooking class to curating the ultimate picnic basket for a movie in the park—you can find the love of your life and flex creative muscle while you do it.

Quality time with the kids

I don’t have kids but I have friends with kids and I’ve dated some wonderful guys with kids—so a lot of these ideas are inspired by them.

It can be so easy to just come home after a long day at work, and have quality time be reduced to zoning out with the family watching a TV show. Or worse, everyone is just separated, watching their preferred shows on their own devices.

Why not pick one night a week where everyone cooks a meal together? Take turns deciding on what the recipe will be to keep the food fresh! Your kids may pick out some crazy choices that will stretch your palate.

When it comes to putting your kids to bed, if you’re musically inclined, why not sing to them? Two of my friends are very talented singers and do this beautifully harmonized lullaby for their daughters nightly. It’s so beautiful.

Can’t hold a tune? That’s ok! While reading before bed is wonderful, why not spend some time creating stories with your kids, too? Their imaginations will inspire you and creating together will give them so much confidence creating on their own.

Creativity at work

Rather than complain about something that’s bothering you at work, why not take that complaint and turn it into a solution? Maybe there’s a better way of doing what you do. Maybe you’re seeing some inefficiencies on your team that need improvement. Maybe there’s a colleague that’s difficult to work with. Let your mind run wild with possibilities. Even if you’re not the boss, change begins with us. What are small things you could do that could make things slightly better?

Your home as a canvas

Last summer, my beautiful friends let me rent their home while they were in Maine and I was so struck by how creative they were in making their house a home. It was uniquely them and just radiated love in every corner.

Every home is unique and we all have unique needs. How you use your creativity to make your home work for you and your values is a wonderful exercise. Pick little home projects to boost your creativity and make your home more “homey” in the process. Don’t have money for decorations? Figure out how you can breathe new life into old pieces of furniture by swapping out fabrics, repainting them etc. Don’t just buy everything on Amazon. The personal touch you put on things adds a magic that can’t be bought.

Creativity in the kitchen

I used to hate the night before I went food shopping because by then, I’m usually out of everything. But then one night, instead of ordering out, I decided to get creative and make something delicious out of whatever ingredients I could find. Not only is this a fun challenge, it’s also good for the planet since you’re using things up before they’re never used and need to be tossed. (I’m looking at your canned goods and frozen food drawer!)

I’ve actually come up with some really delicious meals this way. I did this brown rice bowl once with frozen broccoli, frozen sweet potato, canned black beans and frozen spinach that I now make on purpose. Creativity can solve problems at work and in the kitchen, too. If you need more help getting started, check out this article.

So those are a few ideas to get you started. Again, no pressure to do all of them at once—heck, who has time for that? But I do recommend committing to a daily inward creative practice for 5-10 minutes and sprinkling in a little creative thinking to existing activities in your life. It’s been my experience that when we commit to the smallest of changes, our lives have the potential to transform in the biggest of ways.