You have one million ideas per day – at least ten decent ones anyway. Sitting at your desk in front of your laptop, staring into the abyss that awaits you beyond the Excel spreadsheet you think of all the cool things you could be doing instead. Starting a custom monogrammed handkerchief brand on Etsy, making a statement piece of art for your apartment wall, or brewing up some spiked lavender lemonade for your friends. All day everyday, you can’t wait to get home and do something super cool and fun. Everything is going great: on your commute, you think of the yoga poses you’ll do before dinner, the Deliciously Ella bowl you’ll cook for dinner, the handmade birthday card you wanted to make for your Aunt. And then you sit on the sofa… and somehow, who knows, Netflix is on and you’re three episodes deep into House of Cards and eating delivery Dragon Rolls from the place on the corner.

Let’s please remedy this situation, because you have so much more to offer yourself than a post-sushi food baby and those tiny packets of soy sauce that are piling up in the cutlery drawer. The first step I’m sure you have already managed or at least have a very stable grip on without my advice is simply thinking. Think about anything, really ANYTHING, that’s the beauty of creativity! This is not your job, this is not an errand you have to run, or a band you have to look into because everyone who rides a fixed-gear bike keeps talking about them. This is just you doing you, exercising your big beautiful left-brain muscle. So keep the ideas flowing. Throughout the day keep an adorable and artistic looking Moleskin notebook, or just your iPhone notepad if you are less concerned with looking like the next Bronte sister, and jot down everything that pops into your head. By 4 p.m. you will probably have filled up a page with pure and simple creative thoughts.

It’ll be a long list, or at least a very unedited one, so you will have to do some pruning. Cross off everything you don’t think you will ever want to accomplish. There should be one thing on the list you can do right when you get home, and probably a few other great ideas you can start prepping for in the new few days. The first step is the most difficult, and you have already checked that one off by keeping notes. Once you have chosen your creative task, whether it be learning to embroider snippy remarks on t-shirts or whipping coconut cream into delicious vegan mousse, you can begin making a new schedule for yourself. One that in the coming months will not only enrich your life, but also the lives of those around you. Instead of merely being inspired by a new pair of mules at Zara and the possibility of a hot date on Friday you will be inspiring everyone around you with your new artistic self.

The lists themselves are creative. Writing down a few words that differ from those you repeat, use, and live by each day can change your outlook and give you a vast sense of accomplishment alone. A sentence here, a creative thought there, and adding something new and uniquely your own to the world can drastically change your life, and practicing these steps will bring you to that finish line. We are all busy, but it’s making the choice to utilize your spare time productively and in new ways that will set you apart and continue to inspire you to do and be more than you have before. Being creative and thinking creative thoughts is something we all do. The tough part is actually finding the time to create by utilizing that energy and practice doing, making, and enjoying all your artful self has to offer the planet. So get going! Draw something, write a list, create a new recipe, and glue some feathers on those old pumps. You’ll feel like a brand new person.

How do you add creativity to your day? Let us know in the comments.

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image sourced from instagram