Do you know the best time of day to do your creative work?
This is a great question, and the only right answer is your answer.
It’s easy to forget to ask questions about timing in our lives, and that’s a shame because it can make a huge difference in performance. And when it comes to your creative work, it’s not something you want to cut short.
We don’t even think about when our own best time to do something is because we are either trying to conform to others’ expectations, on auto-pilot and not paying attention to how we are feeling.
Or we procrastinate until the deadlines press on us, forcing us into reactive mode instead of being proactive.
If you can identify the right time of day and what suits you and your routines, you will get more out of your creative time.
There is no one right time.
You are unique and have different demands on your time and energy. If you take this into account and are thoughtful about how you function, you can get the most out of the time.
Knowing the best time for creative work starts with awareness of how you work and how you feel at different times of the day. Energy and focus go up and down as does the demands of life. Being aware of how you are feeling and performing at any given time can have a huge impact on the work and how you feel about it.
The benefits of knowing your internal creative cycle are immense.
Knowing your creative cycle will lead to..
- more focus
- more energy
- more time
- more accomplished
- the best out of yourself
- more wins!
All these benefits really contribute to maintaining a great mindset.
When is your best time of day for doing your creative work?
It can be any sort of creative work, not just art, but writing for your business, designing a marketing strategy, creating new products, or personal creative pursuits.
You might also have multiple times of day for your best creative work, especially if you do many different types of creative work.
Ask yourself a few questions…
Have you experimented with doing your most creative, challenging work at different times of the day?
If your job has creative elements in it, you can experiment with morning and afternoon. I found that my energy flags in the later part of the afternoon, so I just can’t do the most demanding creative tasks then or I have less motivation and less energy. This of course, does not help results. So I do the most challenging stuff in the morning. As much as I can.
If you haven’t tried moving your creative work your work to different parts of the day, give it a try! Maybe you already know you are a night owl that is turned on by the dark, quiet.
How long can you focus on your creative work before you need a pause?
This answer will be highly individual. Have you noticed how long you can stay focused before you need a break? How does it feel after the break? Do you jump right in where you left off or is it a problem to resume?
I have a watch that reminds me to get up once an hour and move. It is always the best timing, but I find a few minutes of moving actually restores some energy and I can get back to where I am quickly.
How often do you do your creative work?
This is another important consideration in finding your best creative work time. Creative time is something that has to be prioritized if it is outside of work, and even if it is part of the job, it might need to be carved out.
Do you do your creative work daily? Is it just a weekend or free time pursuit? How often would you like to do creative work and are there changes that could help?
If you are running a business, you need regular brainstorming sessions. Consider how often you need to have them and if they need to be scheduled so you remember. Those ideas turn into action, so they are extremely important.
Is there a way to make use of those between moments?
It’s easy to get out the phone and surf up those little in between periods. You can put them to work for you instead. Open a memo and brainstorm a few ideas for articles, social media posts, or what your next story will be. These little spaces can be used.
Sometimes the best creative time is anytime.
When it comes to finding the best creative time, start with what works for you.
Forget what everyone else is doing. Investigate yourself and your habits and become your own expert on what works for you. Sometimes life is difficult and all you can grab are those ten minutes before dinner, on the bus, or between meetings.
All this time is important too.
There is no one time that is best for anything. When you allow yourself to find your own best creative time, it makes progress and eventual success much easier. And from these success, you have something to build on.
