So I’m sure you may have noticed that the last two months my blog posts have been less frequent. A lot of mental shifts are occurring for me lately, and major work and career shifts that I am cultivating now have been taking up most of my time.  The point of me mentioning this is significant because, like many creatives (and all people for that matter) – we tend to focus our energy on getting things done, knocking off the goal check list and assuming that time spent should primarily center around the tasks at hand.  Not completely true. This post is about how to tap into your creativity.

The American culture, and especially our corporate culture denote that to be efficient and productive we must; Go, Go, go (for lack of a better term).  As part of my ever-evolving studies on productivity (I am a self proclaimed process junkie always concerned with the how and with really successful individual’s daily routine) and the question I always ask myself “does studying productivity make you less productive?”, I inherently KNOW in my gut that maintaining your craft and analyzing how you do it, will, in effect essentially make you more productive as you get things down to a science.

One method I had been ensuing was the oh-so academic, basic and systematic technique of COLOR-CODING, yes color-coding my tasks.  This is such an entertaining process for my creative mind, using different color sharpie pens to determine what is URGENT (any shade of fuchia, red or pink – in order of importance from darkest to lightest), FUTURE (bright green to signify how I can make money in the future), PROJECTS (orange, to alert me and help those stand out among my list), and MAINTANANCE (blue, teal or purple in order of importance and from darkest to lightest again) based tasks.  Maintenance has sometimes fallen by the way side.  Read on for how that can be detrimental to your success.  Color-coding and hand writing not only activate your left and right brain simultaneously, it has also been proven that writing things down help support your short and long term memory – keeping your to do’s always in the back of your mind.) It works for me.

But anyway, I digress.

As equally important as the process is, what The99Percent deems your “Red Zone” is also one of the most effective ways of increasing your productivity and keeping you inspired.

This blog is about inspiration – and I have not been writing so frequently because I have not been so inspired! This is part of my job as a creative (and inspirational blogger of course). So how do I up the anti on this elusive, yet core feeling of being inspired.

This is how: “Activating your Red Zone” an article in The 99percent by Todd Henry (thank you Todd).

These topics fall into my maintenance category.  I think we all tend to underestimate the importance of maintenance.  In this Go, Go, go mindset – maintenance seems like an after thought.  However, by treating maintenance as professional athletes, models, racecar drivers and even the winners of this Halloween’s annual largest pumpkin grow do – you are keeping your biggest asset (your mind, body, spirit and your creativity) in tiptop performance mode.

Just think about what would happen if a racecar driver failed to maintain their vehicle’s parts, if a model failed to maintain their physique and beauty rest, if an athlete failed to practice their game or if the pumpkin grower did not care for their crop.  Their output; zilch, zero, find a new profession because your screwed!

Lets just watch this short video to illustrate my point. Continued maintenance will produce amazing results. Watch this fun video then read on to get the productivity-making tips.

You may be smiling from this creative marketing campaign, but let me go further to drive the point home.
Maintenance can be like pedaling that bicycle. Do you see the vibrant energy created from that small action of pedaling?
Just like how exercising your body stimulates energy and produces endorphins, creative maintenance produces GENIUS!

Creatives out there, entrepreneurs; hear my call. Maintain your creativity.

And now the juiciness taken right from the mastermind Todd Henry himself. (Click this link for complete article).

“1. Activities that increase your capacity to generate and make ideas happen, such as study, skill development, or research. When we stoke our curiosity by filling our mind with inspirational or challenging thoughts, or hone our craft by intentionally developing our skills, we gain a sturdy platform to build on. Unfortunately, these are often the first activities to get tossed out when we’re in crunch time, and by eliminating them we are borrowing a little bit of time now against the quality of our future work.

What are you doing to stretch your mind, seek inspiration, and fill your creative well? In other words, what are you doing today to increase your capacity to do great work tomorrow? Make sure that these activities find their way onto your calendar, even in busy seasons.

2. Activities that feed your creative soul, like spending time with friends who inspire you. When we get busy, it’s easy to default to engaging only in relationships of obligation or convenience. This means that we are missing out on a key source of creative inspiration. Setting aside time to connect with others, to discover what they’re working on, and to hear what’s inspiring them can expand our perspective and fuel our motivation to do better work. Who inspires you, and are you protecting time on your calendar for them, even during busy times?

3. Activities that provide creative traction, like clarifying objectives with your manager or client. Sometimes we are so anxious to jump into the work that we fail to clarify what’s really expected of us. Taking a small amount of time now to set objectives can save a lot of pain later as we try backpedal out of a mess. Set aside time on the calendar each day to re-align and ensure that you’re working on the right problems. Creatives and teams that regularly clarify their objectives are more productive and are less likely to experience the relational tensions that can kill workplace creativity.”

These may seem like simple no-brainers – yet I myself am guilty of thinking I must push forth and produce.

I did not say it! He did! My left-brain feels guilty just thinking about doing these things. My right brain is jumping for joy.  Balance is KEY! As my spiritual guru and life coach Gabrielle Bernstein preaches, balance is essential to fulfill your dreams and goals.  Take this advice. Seriously.

Today I will be lucky enough to visit one of my new clients BeWellWithArielle at her beautiful Manhattan apartment to do creative direction for a photo shoot for her Reiki infused jewelry.  This lovely lady lives and breathes balance and she inspires me everyday!  Her zest for life and creative soul will help us inspire each other to better both of our work, and then perhaps we will go to yoga! What will you do TODAY that will benefit your passion, service to the world and dreams tomorrow?!

I hope this inspires you!

Xoxo Emily