How to Make Your Creative Practice Mindful

Mindfulness can be useful in any practice including your creative practice. Mindfulness is important for your creative practice because it creates intentionality and an attunement with all that you do. It takes your values and beliefs and weaves them into your creations. If you create for work, for fun or both this post is for you. In this post, I will be covering what mindfulness is, why it is crucial to make your practice the best it can be and tips for how to incorporate it into your every day routine.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of using all parts of your being – senses, feelings, thoughts and physical being to become aware of what is going on presently in your surroundings. It is being intentional with your actions which come out of a place of understanding who you are and your purpose in your creative realm. In addition, we are listening to our thoughts, without judgment and evaluating them as to whether they are helpful or hindering. If they are hindering, then putting affirmations in place is a great way to align your mind with your creative intentions.

If this is something you have not thought of before, it helps to ask some probing questions about yourself and your practice.

Questions to ask in order to make your creative practice mindful

Does your creative space represent you and your practice?
Can you walk away from a project and come back with fresh eyes?
Do you give yourself adequate breaks to give your creativity room to breath?
Do you take time to enjoy the sites, smells, sounds and views of your practice?
Do you have a dedicated space just for you and your creative time?
Do you have any rituals to get into your creative zone?
Does your creative space reflect the atmosphere you want to bring into your art practice?
How do you speak to yourself about what you are successful at?
Do you have affirmations for infusing your work with truth and purpose?
Can you pause at the end of your day to reflect on what you have accomplished?

If any of these answers are a no, then the following will help you create more space, time and intentionality for mindfulness.

How to start becoming more mindful

Have your values in alignment with your practice

Create a list of values that represent what you want to bring to the world with your art. As yourself if what you are doing aligns with these values. If they do not, remind yourself you need to create firstly for your own joy and pleasure. This post, Here’s Why You Need to Create From Your Values will help you infuse your values into your creative practice.

Treat your creative practice as your job

Have specific rituals that you begin your creative day with. This could mean getting dressed (out of PJs), having a coffee, opening blinds, lighting a favorite candle, setting daily intentions, doing a quick clean up etc.

Decide on set hours of creativity with dedicated breaks.

Create your work space to represent you through decor, mood, lighting and organization. Refer to my post on Creating a Vision Board for Your Creative Goal to get your creative juices flowing.

Your space should be just for you. Even if you share this space with family, you can create boundaries of time and space that are only yours. Check out this post, How to Set boundaries as an Artist for helpful tips with boundaries.

When you encounter a block, take some time away and come back when you are feeling refreshed and rested.

Create thought awareness

Get to know your weak spots, the times and situations where you are down on yourself. Grab your free e-book to get started on uncovering negative thought patterns that are interrupting your creative flow.

Once you know these, it is crucial to counter them with affirmations. These are also covered in the free e-book.

Take time at the end of the day to write down your accomplishments and successes. Using a journal to write out these solidifies your wins and creates the fuel to continue being mindful and therefore accomplishing your goals as an artist. Here are some journal prompts to help you get started.

More on overcoming negative thinking

Even as you read through this tutorial, you may be doubting your ability. Can I do this? Is it too hard? What if I mess up?

I know I can help you as I have been where you are. I held back for years sharing my creations because I was constantly worried that others would call me out, revealing my lack of talent.

As creatives, you and I can be held back due to negative thinking. It might look like comparing your ability to others or not having the confidence to pursue your creative talent or putting your creations out into the world.

Is that you? Have you ever found it difficult to cope with imposter syndrome, your inner critic, fear of failure, perfectionistic tendencies, and being hesitant to share your work?

If your answer is yes, I have a Free resource for you. It’s just a click away!

I hope you have recognized areas where you can align your values with your practice with these tips to make your creative practice mindful. If you liked this post, please share the love with a comment or pin.