Creative work is generative work.

This means we are continually bringing forth something that didn’t exist before.
We are where the spark of Source energy meets its shape and form.
Even in artistic mediums that are well-worn and ageless,
we express creative energy in a way that is uniquely specific to us.
We’ve all experienced those periods when we are uber productive.
And for some creatives, their work allows them to naturally follow these ebbs and tides.

But many of us are required to produce creative work on a daily basis.
This takes a continual, reliable flow of creative energy.
And self-awareness to manage it.

Once you’ve been engaged in full-time creative work,
you soon realize that you have to learn how to keep creative energy flowing.

Creatives have wrestled with this throughout the ages,
“seeking the muse”, “finding inspiration,” etc.
What we are looking for is how to balance inflow of creative energy with outflow.
How to listen and be still to receive, then to interpret and to express.
How to balance ourselves as the conduit and the instrument of our work.

How do you find the best way to balance your creative energy?

1. Don’t fight the way nature made you.
What I mean by this, is that your personality and
how you naturally work best, is the way you are meant to be.
If your creative energy feels as if it’s flowing, it is.
Don’t change yourself just because other artists do it differently.

2. Learn what you need to nurture your best work.
How much downtime? How much time in nature?
How much time away from creative work or around diverse creative mediums?
How much sleep? What kind of music? What kind of films?
What do you need on your desk or in your studio?
Who do you need around you?
How much time present and away from social media?

3. Learn what you need to avoid.
What interferes with your ability to receive creative energy and “hear” the work?
For me, I need to avoid reading novels when I’m in the midst of writing one.
Partly because I don’t want transference to occur unconsciously and
partly because I don’t want my mind focused on another storyline.
Is there certain music that disrupts you? Movies to avoid? People to avoid?
Other creative projects that will divert or dilute your focus?

4. Learn when to wait and when to forge ahead.
There are times when you have to wait for the work to be ready
to reveal itself to you. There are time when you have to be in action
(that means at your keyboard, in your studio) for the work to “talk” to you.
We each receive work differently and sometimes differently throughout the
same project. You have to be paying attention.
You have to be present to the work even when you are waiting.

5. Learn when your characters need a break.
If you’re a writer, you need to learn to pay attention to when your
characters need a break from the scene, the story and from you.
You are there to support, coach, guide and elicit the story from them.
But let’s face it, characters get just as worn out and fed up as we do.
Give them a day off sometimes. They’ll reward you for it with fresh
energy and insight.

6. Learn when you need a break.
Technology has made our creative processes so much faster and efficient.
It’s tempting to think that this is the pace we need to keep up.
We’ve gained much from computers and digital technology; but
we’ve lost something, too. And that is the breathing spaces between.
We can create faster now, but we lose time where in the past
we would have paused.
We need to take breaks, step away from the project. Let it steep, let it rest,
let it have the breathing space it needs.
We need to take breaks to let ourselves have the breathing space we need
as well.

Keeping energy flowing is foundational to a creative career.
We will burn out if we work in spits and bursts, push too hard for too long and
do not take the time to master our own creative energy flow.
Burnt out creatives are miserable, because they lose part
of themselves that sustains their journey on earth.
Take the time to self-reflect and respect what your spirit needs
to balance creative energy.