9 Ways to Practice Creativity as Self-care

Image: Extraordinary Routines (Mari Andrews)

It’s very easy as a working professional with many responsibilities to forget about nurturing your creative side. But as the child of two Libra parents, one thing I do know a bit about is the importance of balance. It’s important to balance your creative life with your professional life and personal endeavors in some way. Exercising your creativity on a regular basis just for the fun of it can also help to reduce stress. A creative act such as crafting can help focus the mind, and has even been compared to meditation due to its calming effects on the brain and body. Even just gardening or sewing releases dopamine, a natural anti-depressant (source). In need of more inspiration on how to build in more creativity into you self-care practices, here are some ideas to implement in 2019.

Take a Creative Workshop

Taking a workshop or creative class to learn something new is one way to dabble with creativity without taking on a long term commitment like a series or course. You can be exposed to a creative practice or activity on a one-time basis. If one activity in particular really resonates, you can invest more time/money/effort into it. For example, if you take a candle making workshop in your area and absolutely love it, you can definitely invest in candle making supplies and start making them for friends and family. There are creative workshop options in most major cities through creative organizations, universities/schools, etc. You can also try joining groups on a website like Meet-up.com to see what types of creative workshops/events may be taking place in your area. If you are DC, Northern VA, NYC, or LA based, you can check out the monthly craft workshops held by Distill Creative, a creative experiential company (I currently lead the DC events and would love to have you!).

Start a Journal

Starting a journal can not only be therapeutic and used to write down your feelings at a given moment, but can also be used as a great way to start a creative writing practice. You can also incorporate drawing/illustrating into your writing by starting a bullet journal. There’s loads of tutorials and inspiration to draw from if you want to elevate your journaling in 2019.

Pick a Craft from Pinterest and Finish It

Photo by Plush Design Studio on Unsplash

If you have several creative projects bookmarked or pinned to various pin boards on Pinterest, try choosing one and completing it. It’s so easy to bookmark projects to do at a future time, but pick one and follow through with it sooner rather than later.

Take a Creative Slant to Cook a Dish

There’s so much foodie inspiration on TV, the Internet and social media. Take some time to channel your inner Ina Garten and pick a delicious recipe that is outside of what you normally make, and cook it for yourself or for your loved ones. If you can’t find a recipe that inspires you try free-styling it! Cooking may be a day to day chore for many of us most of the time so it’s easy to forget just how creative you can be with even basic pantry ingredients.

Make a Beauty or Skincare Product

You can get creative in the kitchen not just by making food, but also by making handmade beauty products. The Internet is choc full of recipes for beauty and skincare products of all types. You can make your own perform, body butter, body scrub, body glow oil, blush, and much more! You can also create some cute packaging for your products that match your bathroom or bedroom decor. You don’t have to just consider making DIY products during the holidays for gifts, you can make them for yourself at an point of the year!

Paint, Color, or Draw Something

When I think back to the creative activities I enjoyed most from my childhood, one key thing I loved doing was painting and drawing. If you enjoyed those activities as well, there’s no reason you can’t pick them up again as an adult. Head to your local art store and pick up a few inexpensive canvases, pencils, brushes and paints and just go for it. You can free paint or free draw or if you have more artistic skills, try your hand at still life’s or portraits. You can just keep your self-made artwork for yourself or feel free to hang it or share it with others!

Grab Your Phone or Camera and Take Photos

Viewing your surroundings through a camera lens can be compelling as well. You can use a camera or just use the phone on your camera to take pictures. Commit to taking a photo today and at the end of the year, create a photo album of your images as a creative way to capture memories from the year. You can even schedule photo-taking outings if you have friends who also have an interest in photography.

Create Scrapbooks or Collages

Scrapbooking is not just a hobby for grandmas! It’s a fun way to capture memories or flex your creative muscles. You can save mementos, pull inspiration from print materials, and use paints and ink to create meaningful, beautiful scrapbooks. You can catalog your daily life or track something like key memories from your child or pet’s babyhood.

There are endless ways you can explore your creativity, the biggest step is to commit to it and incorporate it into your life.

The Rooted and Well website and its materials are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease.  All material on this website are provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health-related programs.