How to be creative while you are corporate
tangible tips cultivating your craft and staying sane at your 9-5
“What did you major in?”
I am asked this on a regular basis at work, since I work in admissions at a university, my alma mater. When I share with them that I studied journalism, they usually look at me funny, secretly questioning why they should pay for a private school education for their kid, if they are going to end up like me, working an office job.
It wounds my pride, this look. I feel a compulsive need to let them know I have been published in dozens (two) publications and that I have a lucrative freelance writing gig (500+ subscribers on Substack!)
So, for my fellow B.A. holders who are holding down the corporate fort, this list is for you. I am obviously not an expert, but I am about 5 months into my full-time job, and I sustain a weekly Substack publication, on top of regularly crafting, journaling and making art in different mediums.
Whether you have long-term creative aspirations or if you have never dipped your toes into the loveliness of making things, this post is for you. I know most of us do not need advice; we already know what we need to do. But, we can always use some good ole inspiration, so that is what I am here to provide.
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Begin
Just start.
Buy the paint set and the watercolors, even if you are not good at painting yet. Open a blank Google Document and write a poem that somebody could not waterboard you to share because it is so vulnerable and cringeworthy.
Just do it. Because if you wait until you are good enough, then you will never do it.
“But do you know how old I will be by the time I learn to really play the piano / act / paint / write a decent play?"
Yes . . . the same age you will be if you don't.”
- Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way
It is a self-fulfilling prophecy to keep yourself from trying something because you are not good at it, because you never give yourself the time and space needed to develop that skill.
I have a post dedicated to How to Make Stuff that also may be helpful for you to read.
Create a challenge for yourself
Draw a self-portrait every day for 30 days. Make a collage out of the grocery store receipts balled up at the bottom of your purse. Try to journal first thing in the morning every day for a week.
Be careful not to go overboard with this. It can be tempting to try to read poetry every day for A MONTH instead of just trying to do it one day a week. Find a challenge that can stretch you, but feels reasonable.
To make a challenge for yourself, think about a hobby or activity you want to get into, and set a particular time and goal for yourself to complete said thing. Finish knitting a scarf for a gift for my mom for Mother’s Day, or host a themed dinner party each month, curating specialty dishes for each event.
It can be so easy to let life pass you by, but if you want to go to a craft night, you should host one instead of waiting to be invited to one. It will take energy to plan and execute, but it will be worth it.
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