To ignite a daily fire in the fireplace requires that you bring in the wood and place it in the hearth, then strike a match to set it ablaze. In the same way, to ignite your creative fire you must have certain habits and rituals that will fire up your enthusiasm and energy, allowing you to plunge into the joys and mess of creating an artistic work.
In her book The Creative Habit, the famed choreographer Twyla Tharp says emphatically that creativity has much less to do with talent or genius than with hard work. Tharp, who is in her late sixties, illustrates by saying she gets up every day at 5:30 a.m. and heads to the gym for a two-hour workout with her trainer. She says that, because of this kind of dedicated habit associated with her creative work, she is able to feel confident when she has just five weeks to create a new dance for a major performance venue. She has prepared her body and her mind well, beginning with a daily ritual.
It's the ritual of calling the cab that actually gets her in motion, she says. The well-established routine of making the call gets her past the resistance that might arise about being too tired or otherwise reluctant to put herself through the hard routine at the gym.
Set Up Habits and Rituals That Inspire You
So, what are the daily or frequent habits and rituals that activate your creative productivity? Here are five examples of habits you can borrow from successful artists, along with rituals to set the stage for each habit:
Habit #1: Be observant and make a record of what you observe.
Ritual: Carry a notebook and pen or pencil with you everywhere you go to do a quick sketch, jot observations, or make a note of dialogue you overhear.
Habit #2: Study the work of artists you admire.
Ritual: Keep a set of books by your reading table or bedside and spend 15 minutes or more reading before going to bed. Or check out the arts calendar each Sunday and select a show to attend.
Habit #3: Practice, practice, practice what you want to get better at.
Ritual: Set a specific time to practice each day or on certain days. If you begin with a specific activity such as sitting in a certain place or turning on a certain light, you set up the habit to take on a life of its own.
Habit #4: Take time for solitude to give your muse a chance to play and have its say.
Ritual: Have a pen by your bedside and pick it up as soon as you wake, using it to record your creative ideas before you engage with other people (even before your coffee). Your muse will soon get in the habit of showing up for the appointed time. Or plan a weekend a month when you retreat to your bedroom or a quiet getaway place, and always start the weekend with a set activity such as lighting a candle.
Habit #5: Celebrate your successes. You may want to recall yourself at your best to boost your confidence during slumps.
Ritual: Create a screensaver of an art piece of yours that you're happy with, or display a testimonial quote from an admirer.
Being creative is most satisfying when it moves from an idea in the mind into the actual creation of an artistic work. That happens more easily and more often if you have habits and rituals that light your creative fire. When starting or renewing a creative habit, build in a ritual to start you off each time you do the activity. Be sure to do the ritual every day for at least 30 days to make it stick. That ritual, faithfully practiced, will become like a book of matches you can count on set off that creative spark.
