15 Tiny Creative Habits to Brighten Your Day
Think creativity has to be a big dramatic act? Think again. The happiest, most inspired people sprinkle tiny creative habits into their everyday routines - and you can, too. Following are 15 small but mighty ways to make your days more colorful.
First, why do small habits matter? Because when we start with small seemingly insignificant practices, they eventually become part of our everyday routine. I’ve always heard that if you want to create a lasting habit, you should set aside 21 consecutive days to be sure you practice whatever it is you’d like to make a sure thing. It will happen! Human nature is quite fascinating. By the end of those 21 days, your mind and body will decide they need this new habit.
There are a few ways to make a new habit stick, and the good news is that none of those ways is difficult. A few I use include: 1. Picking one habit at a time. I can’t pile on too many habits because between my family and work, I just don’t have the time. 2. I track my new habit in visual form. I like to use a chart or graph, and I like it to be very colorful. You can make your own either with a piece of paper and markers or print it off (there are many sites that can help with this) and get it on the fridge immediately. 3. Lastly, I use the reward system. I need positive enforcement even if it is just me recognizing my efforts. My rewards are seldom anything large, but they are ALWAYS something I love.
That list of 15 things:
Doodle in the margins. I used to watch my grandparents do this while they were on the phone. I found it fascinating because their drawings were …. very interesting. Seriously, you can doodle while in a meeting, at lunch, or again, while on the phone. Just for a few minutes. You can always set a timer for five minutes and see what happens.
Take a “color walk.” Go outside with the intent of gathering all of the things you can see that are blue (or whatever color you’re feeling inspired by in the moment.) Take a picture of it. If you’ve gathered anything you shouldn’t have, you might need to return it - LOL!
Start a tiny sketchbook. Depending on your location or motivation, look around you. Maybe you draw a particular bird that frequents the bird bath in your front lawn. Maybe you and the neighbor’s dog are on good terms and you can quick sketch her while she sits by your feet. Maybe your mailbox is where you find peace and stability. Sketch it!
Hum or whistle a made up tune while you are doing chores. One of my favorite sounds as a kid was listening to my grandmother whistle as she hung out the clothes on the clothesline. Yes, I did help, but it was a quiet time because I never wanted to break the spell. If you can’t whistle (I can’t either), enjoy humming a forgotten tune or one that you’re making up for the first time.
Take a photo of something you find beautiful on your daily walk. Maybe you see a tiny flower bloom through a crack on the sidewalk. Maybe you witness a fall leaf land in just the right spot so it glows against the leaves around it. Maybe you see a perfectly shaped whale cloud.
Write a six word story before bed. Bonus points if the protagonist is a fictional character from a far away land. Or if you capture the essence of the rising action. Or if the ending makes you cry.
Try a new handwriting style as you make your to do list for tomorrow. It may sound a bit crazy, but have you ever done this? It’s quite fun. When I was younger, I was fascinated with the handwriting of all the older people I was around (I grew up in a community much like Mayberry - where everyone knew everyone - and life was roses. More on this later. . . ) and I always wanted to attempt to write like them. Once, when my sons were in the first grade, one of their first grade teachers grabbed me and asked me to come look at something he had written. I thought it was perfect. She agreed but explained that he’d written the sentence starting with the period and had written it backward. Maybe today’s your day to write something backward.
Do a quick blind contour drawing. Don’t look at the page. Just draw while looking at a random object. Maybe it’s the face of your partner. Maybe it’s the neighbor’s car. Maybe it’s the teacher’s fish.
Start a small item collection. Perhaps you want to collect the same things or different things. Find an interesting bowl and start collecting those quirky shaped rocks, bottle caps with bright colors, or leaves that are still holding a perfect shape.
Make up a new rule for your morning or evening walk. For instance, I’m sure you walk quite normally, beautifully, elegantly, even. New rule: “Everytime I see a bird, I’ll hop.” That will break up the beautiful monotony. Maybe - if you’re in the country - everytime you hear a cow, you could swing your tail - LOL!
Bake or cook something without a recipe. Try to recreate those biscuits like your MeMaw did in the green Tupperware bowl without any measuring cups. She just measured with love. This will be fun!
Try drawing or writing with your non-dominant hand for one solid minute. You can think big picture or big words - that might be easier if you’ve never drawn or written with your non-dominant hand before.
Make up a back story for a stranger you see on your commute. This is one of my favorites. My sisters and I used to see “this guy” at “the mall” periodically when we were shopping. Before long, the guy had a name, a nickname, several pets, and many reasons for his frequent shopping trips.
Keep a “wonder list” of questions that pop into your head. Examples: Why do leaves curl? Why do I never dream in color? Why do eleven year old twins argue constantly?
Start a one line a day journal to keep up with the funny or sweet moments. I wish I’d done this when the boys were little. There were so many hilarious things that came out of their mouths, and then, of course, all the sweet things I think it’s important for us to remember during those days of adolescence. . . . .
Challenge: Pick two or three of these this week. Take pics of the evidence if you dare and hashtag it #keepyourearandcreate
I believe in you, friend!!! You can do this!
Remember creativity is built one tiny spark at a time.
25 Ways to Be Creative Without a Paintbrush
Okay. When I hear people say things like “I’m not creative,” I always smile. Creativity isn’t just about paint or clay - it’s about how you solve problems, find joy, and bring new ideas to life. When creativity includes art, that is super fun for me. I LOVE it! But, when it doesn’t, that’s okay, too. There are thousands of ways to exercise your creativity without being artistic.
Below, I’m giving you twenty-five ways to be creative without a paintbrush. Read them. Soak them in. Embrace a few of them.
Write a tiny poem or haiku about something you see out your window.
Arrange a few fresh flowers (or even a few weeds from your yard) in a unique way.
Try a new recipe or invent your own dish with whatever is in your fridge.
Make up a bedtime story and tell it to your kiddos, or your partner, or just yourself.
Rearrange a room or a shelf to make it feel brand new.
Dance wildly in your kitchen (like no one is watching - even if they are) to a favorite song.
Design a playlist that fits a mood (I have many different playlists for things like cooking dinner, writing blog entries, cleaning, etc.).
Write a letter by hand to someone you love - then decorate the envelope.
Start a journal and fill it with lists, doodles, or snippets of your day.
Build a fort with blankets and pillows - like you did when you were a kid - and hang out in there with a book.
Make shadow puppets on the wall with a flashlight.
Take a walk, and stack rocks in different formations.
Use cookie cutters on fruit or sandwiches to make playful shapes.
Create a family crest or personal logo using simple symbols that you feel represent your family or you.
Rewrite the lyrics of a favorite song to be all about your day.
16. Decorate cupcakes or cookies in silly, unexpected designs.
17. Make jewelry from buttons, yarn, or beads.
18. Carve shapes into soap or potatoes to make playful stamps.
19. Take unusual photos using weird angles, close-ups, or re-
flections. (We like doing this with shadows on walks down
0ur country road.)
20. Write a list of “what-ifs” like “What if dogs gave advice?”
21. Build something with LEGOs or blocks.
22. Start a windowsill garden with herbs in old mugs or jars.
23. Invent a new game to play with your kids or friends.
24. Use sidewalk chalk to leave surprise art or kind words for
neighbors.
25. Collage with magazine cutouts and glue.
I formally challenge you to pick three things from this list and exercise your creativity this week. Also, photograph the evidence, put it on social media, and hashtag it #keepyourearandcreate.
During Covid, my boys and I would visit a river near our campsite (Yes, we were stuck in a camper during those first several months, but that’s a longer story, and I’ll tell you more later.), and my boys LOVED getting out into the water and creating these rock sculptures.
Could Scrubbing the Shower Help Answer Your WHY?
Scrub your shower and find your why. Create. In fact, create, take a picture, post it on your favorite social media platform, and hashtag #keepyourearandcreate
I mean, maybe, maybe not, but follow me for just a minute or two. We have been discussing “chores around the house” with my boys for, well, quite some time seeing as they are ten, but we sat down the other night and made an actual plan. One of the things they are now required to do is to scrub a section of the tub. Each section is divided, and they must scrub on Mondays and Thursdays. I figure if the thing is scrubbed that often, it will glisten and gleam for miles and literally be the shiniest tub in all the wide world. Anyhow, at first, they were completely irritated with the idea of their royal selves having to do such a dastardly chore. But, y’all, they got in there, each taking their turn, and fell in love with the scrubbing. I know. It’s totally not my thing either, but they could see a difference. They could see that what they were doing was making that difference. And they were proud of their work and its beautiful outcome.
Now, I’m not about to tell you that cleaning the shower is going to solve all of your problems in life, but I am going to tell you that for my boys, this has been a game changer. See, they needed to spend some energy in a place that needed said energy. This is symbolic of life. Everyone’s life. Each of us was put on this earth to create something. Something beautiful Now, we can think big like: (in our most theatrical and no doubt British voices) “Of course, we are here to create wonderful legacies to leave our children and grandchildren, and if we’re really good, the community in which we live and serve.” Okay, that’s fair and absolutely true, but I’m also thinking about small things. When we create something, even the small things, we are creating new pathways in our brains and we are creating more joy in the world. Isn’t that marvelous? Who doesn’t want to create and plant more joy in such an otherwise crazy world?
Let’s look at a few examples: I have a friend who creates - not bakes, not makes - the woman creates royal icing cookies. These things are absolutely majestic. I can’t even begin to explain the tastes, the beauty, the wonder. When she creates them, she sells them, and the buyer is exceedingly blessed with this art that he or she wouldn’t otherwise have. It’s a magnificent thing. I have another friend who directs high school theatre. The theatre department in a very large high school. Holy cow! How this woman coaches high school students to do anything is impressive. I mean, if you think about it, perhaps she is a magician. I hear parents talk frequently about how they can’t even get their own teens to do what they’re supposed to, and this woman has them acting like other people on stage to successfully tell a story, getting the crowd all sucked in and needing popcorn, and leaving them wanting more. I have another friend who creates ceramics. Exquisite pieces. I’ve always admired her work because they are sooooo much her own style, her own originality, her own imagination. I tend to wonder things like: if these artists did not create art, where would we find it? There are so so so many ways to create that aren’t as “big” as these in the sense that they are paid for it. But all art doesn’t have to be connected to a financial stipulation of some sort. Some art, I would argue that most art, is just a way of putting something beautiful in the world that makes everyday a better day and a better place. Think about it: when your mama made dinner and put it on the table, that was art. When your first grade teacher had you and all of your classmates sitting in a circle singing happy morning songs, she was helping you create art by showing you how to be positive while learning something educational, I’m sure. When your dad sang to wake you up in the morning and prayed to God that you woke up in a good mood - okay, was that just my dad? LOL!
Maybe you aren’t all psyched up for ceramics or cookies or morning songs or directing theatre or even for singing to your kids (though I think you should definitely sing to your kids if for nothing else to embarrass them just a little :), but maybe there’s something you want to do. Something that has been wanting to come out of your brain for a long time. Maybe it’s a book. Maybe it’s stage scenery. Maybe it’s chicken piccata - more on chicken piccata later. .. .But for now, keep your ear and create. Create something. In fact, create something, take a picture, and put that pic on your favorite social media platform and hashtag it: #keepyourearandcreate
Bryant Road Trips
A friend asked me the other day if I enjoyed traveling just because I enjoy traveling or if it actually plays a part in my art (I love a good rhyme) as well. I do love traveling, but it does play a part in my process and art making for sure. We will circle back. Hear me out.
Love a good road trip? Me, too! I am exceedingly thankful for a husband and boys who love them as well. Living in East Texas definitely offers tons of fun options for a quick weekend getaway when we begin to feel like we have been cooped up for weeks on end. This past weekend, my boys - all three of them - and I headed out for Huntsville, Texas. Kevin nor I had ever been, and all we were interested in were the Sam Houston attractions. I have a bit of an obsession with good ole Sam - kind of strange, maybe, because I am not a native Texan, but neither was he - so I was hopeful this trip would wrap up my need to visit most of his adventure sites. Maybe it did. Maybe it didn’t. I’m not sure yet, but I will let you know.
On this trip, we drove straight to the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and walked around the Steamboat House, the Woodland Home, and several other buildings that were brought to this place for Sam Houston enthusiasts to enjoy. The Sam Houston experts have done a fabulous job detailing every exhibit with lots of historical information. It was a great environment, my kids were engaged and learning, and my husband and I learned a lot as well. Win. Win. We, of course, had to visit Sam’s final resting place and the sixty-seven foot tall statue of him on the side of the interstate, too. I was amazed at how much my kids took in and how many questions they asked about him and his life. Turns out that whole travel and education thing really works out.
As far as my art goes (I told you we’d circle back), Sam’s journey is one of soooooooo many experiences. I love that he wasn’t afraid to try new things, to stand up for the things he believed in, and at the end, his final words were what and who he loved most - “Texas. Texas. Margaret.” This makes me cry every time I think about it. I love that in spite of losing people, losing hope, losing love, losing himself at various points in his life, he not only finished strong at the end, he persevered through the worst of times and got to celebrate the best of them. It is this, the best kind of character, that inspires all of my artwork. The people whose journeys I paint are not always famous. Many of them will never have their names mentioned in a history book, but they are examples of courage, of integrity, of spirit. They are the people who stand by others when no one else will. Or throw an arm around a shoulder so no one sees the tears of a broken soul. Or encourages the person whose smile is starting to fade. Or keeps climbing higher while those ever so near try to pull them down.
Keep Your Ear and Create
It all begins with an idea.
How did this blog get its name? Well. . . . there is a (short and) winding road that goes like this: Vincent Van Gogh “removed” his ear and everyone knows it. Everyone. It’s a pretty famous story. Of course, there are a few different versions. One version says two nights before Christmas in 1888, he used a razor to cut it off after a severe bout of depression. He was in France, so this makes me sad. I’ve never been, but I’ve always been under the impression that France is a happy, beautiful place to get in touch with oneself and have a lovely time.
Another version says that he got into a little tiff that perhaps got a little physical with artist Paul Gauguin, and afterward, he chopped that ear off and gave it to a prostitute. I mean, what a thoughtful gift, right? Nothing says “true love” like a hacked off ear. After the no doubt romantic gift giving, he was admitted to a mental hospital in Arles.
Yet another version: he broke. Seriously, the man was under enormous pressure: 1. Theo, his brother, and principle source of Vincent’s financial stability, was engaged to be married and would undoubtedly be unable to pay for Vincent’s lifestyle any further. 2. Vincent and Gauguin had been hanging out intensely for just way too long. 3. He had cranked out so much work that his creative, mental, and emotional limits had been taxed beyond the normal scope of where those levels should be.
All this to say that I think we can take a lesson from Vincent. Regardless of how anyone wants to analyze it, Vincent was quite passionate about what he created - paintings, letters, drawings, etc. Can we be as passionate and still live a perfectly normal innovative life? I believe we can. I believe we should. And I believe we ought to while keeping our ears in tact. See, I think living creatively can indeed mean making sacrifices here and there, but I think we can keep a balance so that our most important entities - our families, our friends, our ears - don’t have to suffer. I also believe we must have aspects of creativity at the very least scattered into our daily lives whether we paint, sculpt, whittle, write, sing, play an instrument, cook, dance, or act. Or whatever other really awesome creative thing you enjoy doing. If you’re the parent of any age child and you are aware you and the little one are spending way too much time on the technology, if you are a creative who just needs a little inspiration and motivation, if you are a person who knows you need to be doing something in the creative realm but your ADD hinders you from making a decision on exactly what (welcome to my world, btw), or if you are the most non-creative person you know, this blog is for you. There will be lots and lots and lots of creative morsels for you to enjoy through the course of this blog. Welcome to the studio, Friend. I’m glad you’re here.
