I have issued myself a challenge to pursue my creative interests, but before I could begin, I had to start making room for creativity.

I’m in a unique position that I haven’t been in for 28 years — I do not need to worry about being a primary breadwinner in my household. I started my business 28 years ago because I wanted to stay home with my kids and be able to earn an income. My husband at the time had lost his job and then got one making half as much as his previous one had. My task was to make up the difference. It wasn’t long before I became a workaholic, always trying to figure out ways to increase revenues while offering a valuable product or service.

For many years I didn’t know who I was outside of business. If I’m honest, I probably still don’t know who I am outside of business. My husband, Dave, has given me the unique opportunity to focus on my creative pursuits … writing, music, etc. He’s very passionate about people embracing and exploring their creativity. He believes that as we do, we discover who we truly are in the process.

Dave encouraged me to scale back my focus on business in favor of exploring my creativity. You’re probably thinking, “Lucky you! It’s about time!” Actually, it’s been harder for me than you’d think – very hard. For so many years, I haven’t been able to count on a mate to provide. I’ve either had to make up the difference or be the sole provider. It’s been difficult for me to wrap my mind around a life that isn’t all about earning a living. Not only is it an ingrained habit, but also I have trust issues with men and provision.

Yet, I feel in my heart that trusting my husband and stepping into a new creative world that isn’t about business, is the right thing for me to do. As a result, I’ve begun to streamline my business, only keeping the clients I enjoy working with and only accepting a very narrow niche of clients.

When I’m not doing client work, I’ve been writing and creating music. I’ve completed and published two books since Dave and I were married on February 10 of this year. Both my books come with a collection of music. My last book prior to Confidence Rising and Restoring Liberty was An Uncertain Justice, published back in 2011. So two books in a year is big for me.

Making Room for Creativity

On Sunday, I accepted a challenge to do a social media fast for 10 days. Actually, I had to modify it a bit because my business does require some social media, but I took several steps to reduce the time I spend on social media. In doing so, I’ve noticed how much social media was consuming my life.

• First, I turned off Facebook notifications to my phone. (It’s under Settings, Facebook, Notifications on an iPhone).
• Second, I had marked several people as “Close friends” in Facebook so I’d see notifications whenever they posted something.  I unchecked the “Close friends” option on everyone but family and a handful of people who really are my close friends in real life.  This kept notifications from going to my computer or to my phone app when I launch Facebook.
• Third, I began replacing the usual time I spend looking at social media with reading other things like my scriptures, or a novel, listening to the Indie Novelist Summit to brush up on my craft, and working on a new hobby (more on that in my next post).
• Fourth, instead of going on social media in my work day, I focused on doing my client work and then getting off the computer completely and doing other things.

It’s amazing how much free time I have now. My life feels more relaxed, calm and I feel like I have so many more choices and interests to pursue.

In my next post I’ll share more about why I’m expanding my creative pursuits beyond just writing and music and where I decided to start.

What about you? Where can you redeem some time to pursue a new hobby or creative pursuit? Everybody needs something joyful in their life. Let go of something (perhaps the time you spend on social media) and make room for something more valuable – a new talent!