Making Time to Create: Why You Must Convince Yourself You’re Not Wasting Your Time
Having a hard time getting on board with creating?
There will be a part of your brain that tries to convince you you’re wasting your time. Creating takes time. Being successful at creating takes even more time. Whatever goal you have for yourself with your creative process won’t happen overnight, and unless your goal is to simply enjoy the process (which is a valid goal!), you need to convince yourself that putting in the practice is worth the investment. It’s easy to fall into the toxic productivity trap of thinking your work isn’t worth the effort because it’s not instantly leading to recognition, commissions, or a strong following. The work you’re putting in now will lead to that eventually if you’re able to get past the mental hurdle that’s trying to push you away from your work. Unless you’re one of the lucky few in a million to instantly find success with your work (and hey, you just might be - I believe in you), it will take time to develop your body of work, your brand, and message.
As you’re building your brand and creative identity it can feel like you’re showing your work to the void and nobody has eyes on it. As you’re first getting started, this is a pretty normal experience. So, if nobody is looking at your work, isn’t it a waste of time? Absolutely not! You’re laying the foundation your work can grow from. Any potential follower wants to see your work as it is now, but also the previous iterations that led you here. I have a couple questions for you:
- How is the work you’re putting in now different than your day job?
- What is your end goal?
- If you weren’t working on this, what would you be working on?
Thanks for answering those. I have a few more follow-up questions for you: If you spend 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week creating for someone else, then shouldn’t it be okay to spend an hour each day creating for you? If you have an end goal that doesn’t involve your creating, then how will you get there? If the other work you’re doing isn’t for you or your own goals, why does it take priority over your creative work?
One of the biggest mental hurdles to get over when making your creative pursuit a priority is to change your mindset around it; you must convince yourself the work is important and is worth setting aside the time to do it.
Want more Creativity? Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Goodreads