How to Set Boundaries at Work to Avoid Losing Your Creativity
Achieving work-life balance is a hot topic. A lot can fit into the “life” category: household responsibilities, social activities, and even creativity. As a writer, creativity is essential. So how do we avoid losing sight of it, when work becomes overwhelming? By setting boundaries.
1. Work With Intention: Every job has working hours and non-working hours. Use your non-working hours on your creativity. Mentally prepare yourself to concentrate on your 9-5 while at work, and then intentionally unplug when quitting time arrives. Making a to-do list can help. Having a plan of attack for work, and crossing off tasks as you complete them, will make it easier to let go at the end of the day. If you don’t complete a task, push it to the top of the next day’s list, and write without worry. Using your off-time to focus on something you’re passionate about, can re-charge you for the next day of work
2. Schedule Your Creativity: After you’ve made your writing to-do list, take a look at your schedule to determine when you have time to tackle your goals. Once you identify the days and/or hours available in a given week, save that time in your phone or add it to your calendar. Make your writing-time a priority.
3. Plan for the Busy and Slow Seasons: Most jobs and careers have busy and slow seasons. Others have shifts in demand throughout the day. Use this to your advantage. Mentally prepare yourself for the busy times by setting the expectation that you will have less energy to spend on writing. Use this time to brainstorm new article and book ideas or revise old projects. When “work” slows down, add more substance to your writing agenda. With more energy, slow work periods are great times to start new writing endeavors or research some of the potential ideas that you came up with.
Setting boundaries is key to every aspect of our lives, including our writing. Intentionally schedule your writing time, and don’t feel guilty about it. Your creativity will thank you!