Consistency isn’t about daily output, it’s about repeatable effort.
Daily posting isn’t realistic for most
Life is messy. We have relationships with family, friends, work colleagues, even everyday interactions with passers-by. Interactions mean interruptions. Even the most introvert of us interact at some level. And our most intimate relationship is with ourselves. Our health and well-being can change from moment to moment. We can create routines, organise our lives down to the minute but we can never have total control. Don’t even think about creating something each and every day.
Consistency means returning regularly
Routines can be stuck too but not 100% of the time. Even the most organised of us will face interruptions. It is possible that we might be able to set the alarm so we wake 30 minutes earlier to have our creative time. But even then, one day we might be ill, or a previous late night can upset the rhythm. The point is, to remember that consistency doesn’t mean daily but regular and repeatable.
Systems beat willpower
An open book with a pen, canvas with paints or your guitar on a stand are more inviting than thinking you should write, paint or compose. Having to think about something is using creative energy. Setting up a system where you can be consistently creative is the key. Getting up 30 minutes earlier can be part of the system you set up, along with the tools. Your system can include when, where and what. If you have a system that enables repeatable creative sessions, you’ll start generating creative output.
Missed days don’t ruin progress
Think about 500 words, written regularly. If you do that for five days and then miss a day, you still have the 2500 words written. If your regular creative practice doesn’t produce a cumulative count it will have a cumulative effect; you’ll get quicker, learn skills and techniques.
Because your system is a repeatable practice one missed day means nothing. You will be able to pick up where you left off, or take the next step. One missed day means you’ll simply return the next time you engage your system. Your creative content will be waiting. The muse will be there too and you’ll know exactly what to do. You will keep progressing.
Sustainability matters more than streaks
I had a 1000 day streak on DuoLingo, however that had little to no correlation to my knowledge of Spanish and Chinese. My system for learning those languages was based on a rushed daily interaction with the app. That interaction wasn’t sustainable most days and as such, my learning suffered.
Repeatable can be daily, but it doesn’t have to be. Creating regularly is not about ticking a box as often as we can. Burnout and simply getting fed up with creating stuff are real issues. Our consistent, system needs to provide a safe space to create without pressure. It is no good writing daily, or even regularly, for a period of time, if afterwards you never want to write again.
What is your sustainable, regular and safe creative system?
BLOG STATUS:
☐ not started ☐ drafted ☐ published
YOUTUBE STATUS:
☐ not outlined ☐ recorded ☐ published
STEP 1 – Video skeleton (15 mins)
From your content bank:
Write:
Opening sentence (why this matters)
Would you like to be consistently creative? Well, a daily creative act isn’t the vital ingredient
3 bullet points (main ideas)
Daily creative output isn’t practical
Life is messy and gets in the way. I’m in the middle of several creative projects. And guess what… the TV box has decided to throw a wobbly, and is currently refusing to connect to the router which it can see. Stubborn. It has meant that several things I want to move forward in my own creative practice are getting knocked all over the place.
Regular is a owned by you
We are all different, we can all manage different. What works for someone won’t work for you. Like most things related to creativity, comparison is an enemy. Just because so and so bashes out several thousand words before they brush their teeth each morning, doesn’t mean you can or should
Finding your creative rhythm
If we want to be creative, and by that I mean having something tangible to share, either privately or to the world, finding our own creative rhythm will make the process easier. It should not be measured by closeness, but consistency. The repetition of a creative act develops us and our creations.
Closing thought (one line)
What is your sustainable, realistic creative rhythm? Find what works for you and then create.
Thank you for reading this post. Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.
namaste
d
xox
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