Editorial TeamAre you creative? Or is that something regulated to the back burner of your busy mom life? Is it only thought about in terms of creating a side-hustle crafting business.
As a busy working mom, it is hard to find time for anything extra. Your days are consumed with juggling clients, homeschooling kids, or racing to the office for your 9–5. Then managing homework, toddler tantrums, and teen angst. On top of all that, there is always the expectation to be fed. Every. Single. Night.
It is an understatement to say that working mom life is busy, and it can feel completely overwhelming. If we can just make it to bedtime, it will all be ok, right? It feels like every day we are searching for the elusive work life balance.
In the midst of all the crazy, called life, do you want to reclaim it? Are you losing your energy and your joy?
This is not a post about going from corporate workhorse to momtrepreneur. It is about finding your energy and your joy right where you are. It is about reclaiming moments in your day to find expression.
How to do we, as busy moms, find the time?
The Problem with Time
Yes, there is one problem with time. It is limited. An average person’s life span is 4,000 weeks. Put like that, we really have a limited amount of time.
For moms, it feels like others consume all our time—husbands, kids, clients, work. So many things conspire against us. We don’t have time for anything else. Especially, something that is creative.
If there isn’t a specific, tangible benefit to any activity we do, then it doesn’t have value. It is not worth pursuing. We feel obligated to make sure that every minute of the day has a measurable outcome. We are supposed to work toward our goals, hustle in our business, or work toward a healthy lifestyle. And we must be good at it all.
Unless there is a direct, measurable benefit, we shouldn’t waste our time. Right?
Where Does Leisure Fit In
Since leisure doesn’t provide a tangible or monetary benefit, we shove it aside because we just don’t have time to do it. The pursuit of the futile is unproductive and doesn’t add value. Or so we think.
Leisure is different for everyone, but the pursuit has common characteristics. Leisure activities provide relaxation, self-improvement, pleasure, and reduces stress. It also improves your immune system, memory, self-esteem, and sleep.
We can’t place a monetary value on these benefits. Nor can we measure them well. But we know that everything in our lives is improved when our stress level is lower, when we get better sleep, and our brains are firing on all cylinders. I think the value we need to place on all this is priceless.
At this point, we are convinced that leisure is a necessary part of our mental self-care. That doesn’t mean it is easy to add. Our busy lives aren’t changing. We need to fit it into the margins of our day.
The Outlet for Leisure—Creativity
Let’s focus on adding creativity for leisure. There are so many activities that fall under this umbrella that the choices are almost limitless. It is a leisure activity that is easy to add.
However, this is the one that we are the most self-critical and fearful of. Especially if we are type A, high-powered business moms. Creativity is not something we venture into. We create a wall of separation between our right brain and our left brain.
We need to break down this wall, so our entire brain is working for us. This will not only provide a leisure activity, but it will improve your ability to make decisions and come up with creative solutions for home and work.
My husband tells me there is a hidden creative that I hold hostage inside of me that is just banging on the door to be let out. Yet, I keep the creative locked away because I don’t think I am good at it. Truthfully, I’m not. But when I let the creative out on sabbatical, it brings me great pleasure.
Conquer Your Fear
Trying anything new is a fearful process. We are superb and playing out all the worst-case scenarios that can happen. Here’s the thing with pursuing a creative endeavor. Nobody has to see it. You are pursuing this for the pure pleasure that it brings you. To distract you from the difficult client, and to give your mind a moment of rest.
My three-year-old daughter loves life. The thought of her brings delight and joy to everyone. You can’t be around her and not laugh and smile. Mom, we can learn an important lesson from her. Sometimes we just need to enjoy things like a three-year-old, and to appreciate the value of our own joy.
Conquer the fear of wasting your time. Or of not providing monetary value. Conquer the fear of a task not adding value. Put aside the anxious need to use time well. There is freedom in pursuing something that you can be bad at without caring.
Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you? Elizabeth Gilbert
Creativity Improves Your Work
Success with painting leads to success with many things. It carries over into every part of your life. Bob Ross
Pursuing something creative will have a direct impact on your work. You are stretching your brain and activating parts of it you may not use regularly. Creativity draws on your entire brain.
Taking a moment to disconnect will lower your stress levels, fuel your imagination, get ideas flowing freely, and allow your brain to make connections. This will cause you to come up with better ideas, more creative solutions to problems, and you will be less stressed.
Conclusion
Mom, if you want to improve your mental self-care, then creativity needs to be a priority. What will you pursue? Art, creative writing, dance, music, there are so many things to choose from. You can appreciate the value of your own joy.
Bio: Jodie is the rebel mom behind lifeunboxed.blog. She helps momtrepreneurs break free from the 9-5, be their own boss, raise their kids, and enjoy their lives. Jodie gives moms the tools they need to be successful on their own terms—in any field or career path.
She is a wife, homeschool mom of 6, writer, podcaster, and accidental entrepreneur.
Jodie was working from home and homeschooling her kids before it was cool. She has been running her successful virtual assistant business (jodierperry.com) since 2014.
She understands the challenges of raising your kids, running a business, and keeping your sanity…most days. She shares her experience with other moms so they can confidently work from home and homeschool.
Connect with Jodie: lifeunboxed.blog, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Podcast