Do you ever find yourself putting pressure on every single thing you do in a day? Including in your spare time? Making sure that everything is 'productive', or ladders up to a bigger goal?

Do you stop yourself from doing something because you don't feel like you're good enough at it? Like, you're not awful, but nowhere near as good at that Instagrammer you saw the other day?

Even if you're not putting anything out to the public to be judged, you end up judging it yourself.

Wow, that sounds tiring — right?

Right, but it doesn't need to be.

Creative time can be like therapy time. It can be a respite from a hard day at work. It can be time for you to be you, and nobody else but you.

So if you find it difficult but you know how beneficial a bit more creativity could be in your life — read on.

Moving Away From A Mindset of Comparison

2022 was the year of doing things that would lead me somewhere.

I wasn't feeling like I was adding any value at work and because of that, I was questioning my life and career choices in general. You know how it is, existential crisis, what am I doing with my life? Etcetera, etcetera.

I desperately wanted to quit and pursue a dream, but I didn't know what my dream was. I had interests, sure, but figuring out which one of the billion and one things I enjoyed doing warranted a career… that seemed like an impossible task.

• Instead of feeling proud of myself for publishing stories here on Medium and developing a craft in writing, I felt embarrassed and inadequate against those with thousands of followers.
• Instead of finding peace in the songs I played on piano, I felt annoyed that I couldn't play more.
• Instead of feeling inspired by the TED talks, podcasts, and books I read, I felt like a fraud trying to even come close to how incredible these people were.

With every bit of enjoyment I got from doing something creative, I was met by an overwhelming sense of anxiety, knowing that there was a mountain I had to climb if I wanted to ever be as good as anyone else at it.

I decided to do these things primarily to be good at them and that my friends, was a major major error.

Bringing Back a Child-Like Mindset

Think about the 8, the 10, and the 13-year-old you.

Did you have this incredible, childlike sense of adventure? Like, you were scared of things, sure, like spiders, your parents shouting, or all your friends turning on you. But you could so happily engross yourself in learning something new, in creating, in sticking bits of card and glitter together, in writing stories that no one would understand but you.

One of my absolute favourite memories is staying up till 3AM creating 'icons' of celebrities on Adobe Photoshop, to enter into my graphic design forum challenges. It was safe to say that I absolutely did not have a career as a designer, but I could get lost in them for hours and hours on end, without caring how good I was, or who would see the output.

Remember when you were like that? Or maybe you see your kids being like that now, either way — why not take a leaf out of their book?

Kids don't do it because it's their job, or to make money, or to impress someone. They just do it because.

Ok now you don't need to tell me how much more time kids have than adults, but if you can dedicate several hours of your day to your employer, you can dedicate 15 minutes to yourself.

How To Get That Mindset Back

If you're reading this and feel any kind of connection to what I'm saying, then this is your call to action, your time to shine, your opportunity to find your joie de vivre, or whatever the hell you wanna call it.

If you're looking for some ways to motivate you to dedicate that time, these are some actionable tips that have helped me:

• Closing all tabs on my browser and setting a timer for 15 minutes to just write, or draw, or sew.
• 'Habit stacking', so adding creative time onto a habit I was already doing, like drinking my morning coffee.
• Adding it onto a to-do list.
• Avoiding measurable goals, replacing 'write 500 words today' with 'write something'.
• Doing it in front of the TV. It's not the best way, but if you were already watching something, why not multitask?

Allow yourself to become well and truly immersed in whatever you are doing and let it take you away.

I've started what is probably the equivalent of doing a colouring-in book on Procreate on my Ipad. I trace everything and barely draw from scratch, but let me tell you I am so proud when I finish something. It looks so sh** in comparison to my favourite illustrators on Instagram but I'm just overjoyed with doing it?

Look at the drawing below — it's kinda weird but also sweet, I think?!

You might find the therapy in it, you might find excitement and adrenaline. You might find a talent, or you might just find entertainment in the whole process. Whatever it is, it'll be more worth your taking the time, than spending all day every day at work — so come on, just try it.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read. If you'd like to see any of my other work then feel free to follow me on Medium!

Imogen