Karen Brown Tyson

Tag: #time

30 Ways to Help You Reset Your Creative Time, Mind and Soul

Since starting my business in 2018, I have been going nonstop. My days have been filled with client meetings, freelance assignments, speaking engagements, writing books, teaching classes, and community service. I’m grateful for everything God leads me to do. My public relations, corporate, and marketing communications background has helped me develop creative ways to grow my business. But lately, it seemed like my beautiful, creative life was moving into overdrive. By the time I reached August 2021, my creative time, mind, and soul were running on fumes.

As someone all about continuous improvement, I decided to use some of my Lean Six Sigma training. From my days in corporate America, I learned to use Lean Six Sigma to make things better. So, how was I going to improve my creative time, mind, and soul? I decided to hit the reset button (one of my favorite things to do).

While I was on a business retreat, I challenged myself to do one of three things: 1) Keep the habits I know work for me, 2) Return to the habits I stopped doing, or 3) try some new things for 30 days. This process helped me reset my creative time, mind, and soul while helping me find new sanity-saving routines.

Since I strongly believe in Hebrews 10:24:

We should think about each other to see how we can encourage each other to show love and do good works.

I thought I would share some of the ideas I came up with for myself and add a few to give you 30 ways to reset your creative time, mind, and soul, too. My prayer is that these ideas will inspire you to add something different to your creative life.

Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you purchase using the links.

Ways to Reset Your Creative Mind

Adjust your thinking every day.

The way you think can affect many things in your life, including how you work. For example, holding onto negative thoughts or replaying bad memories can put a damper on your mindset. So at the start of each day, adjust your thinking to focus on positive thoughts.

Read 5 pages each day.

Reading 5 pages a day is a great way to relax. But remember…if you don’t like to read, try audiobooks!

Exercise your brain.

Give your brain a break from work. Exercise your brain by learning a new language, playing games, and taking a cooking class.

Take a walk.

Going for a walk isn’t just good for the body; it’s also great for the mind. It can help improve your mood and let you clear your head at night after a stressful day.

Allow yourself to make changes in your day.

When you feel like something is off with your day, take a moment to reflect on what that might be. Then, whatever it is, permit yourself to change things up.

Schedule regular “me-time” moments.

You deserve to take a break from your hectic schedule. So make sure you have the time to relax and unwind every day.

Keep a self-care journal.

It’s important to make sure you’re taking care of yourself. I recommend keeping a journal and writing down your feelings regularly. This will help you feel better and think more clearly throughout the day.

Schedule regular breaks to unplug.

It’s important to schedule regular breaks throughout your workday to help you stay focused.

Close your eyes for 30 seconds.

You should close your eyes for about thirty seconds. It’s an easy way to relax and reduce stress.

Step away from social media one day per week.

I recommend that you give yourself a break from social media every once in a while. I do it once a week, and it really helps me stay focused.

Ways to Reset Your Creative Soul

Schedule moments of silence and solitude.

One technique I use to keep balanced is creating moments of silence and solitude. Taking time out every day for focused reflection helps reduce stress, making me more productive.

Meditate on Scripture.

Scripture meditation is an excellent way to quiet your mind and rest in the presence of God.



Surround yourself with positive affirmations.

I think the best way to achieve your goals is by surrounding yourself with positive affirmations. That’s why I created a list of my own, and I hang it on my wall so that they’re always in front of me.



Find a way to encourage someone daily.

One of the best ways to nurture your creative soul is by encouraging others. So keep an eye out for opportunities to pat others on the back or make someone smile!

Help someone in need.

Consider volunteering. Not only will you be helping someone in need, but you could also make a new friend and improve your community.

Create a wind-down routine.

It’s important to set aside time each day to decompress from work. Even if you only have a few minutes, it can make a big difference in your mental health and well-being. Try doing something you enjoy, like taking a hot bath, listening to music, or reading a book.



Warm yourself with a cup of tea.

A nice cup of tea is always soothing. If you find yourself feeling stressed, try some chamomile flowers or mint leaves for a calming effect.

Record your thoughts in a gratitude journal.

Keeping a gratitude journal is important because it will help you appreciate the little things in life.



Remove clutter from your work and living spaces.

Clutter can make even the most organized person feel disorganized. Not only does it take up your space, but it could also be a distraction! However, cleaning your home and workspace is a great way to feel refreshed. You can start by purging the items you don’t need and then organize what’s left.

Dream BIG!

The best way to take care of your creative soul is by dreaming big. Make time in your day to think of all the possibilities that are out there for you. If you need an inspiring book, consider Bob Goff’s book, Dream Big: Know What You Want, Why You Want It, and What You’re Going to Do About It.

Ways to Reset Your Creative Time

Work on your most creative and fulfilling projects when your energy level is high.

I am a morning person. I wake up every day around 4 a.m. to begin my day. My problem is that I have been trying to work all day and half the night. As you can imagine, I start to lose steam by 7 or 8 p.m. So instead of spreading my creative projects over the day, I set aside a certain amount of hours each morning. I’m using my afternoons for non-creative tasks, meetings, and emails.

Focus on 3 daily goals instead of monthly goals.

Although I have a planner that outlines my monthly goals, I’ve been using daily goals to make it through each day. Using a combination of notebooks and Post-It Notes, I write out my 3 most important daily goals each morning.

Build a habit of single-tasking

In my attempt to do as much in a day as possible, I fell into the trap of multitasking. Instead of getting more done, it only left me feeling overwhelmed. So, using my PomoDone App, I switched to single-tasking by focusing on one task at a time.

Adopt the time-blocking method

Time blocking is a technique used to plan out every moment of your day in advance and dedicate specific time blocks for certain tasks or responsibilities. Once I started time blocking, I felt more control over my time and the tasks I needed to complete.

Batch email time

Nothing kills your creative time like email. Don’t get me wrong; I love email. But when I found myself reading every email as it popped into my inbox, I knew I had a problem. So, I decided to schedule the times when I would read and respond to my emails. Then, outside of my scheduled time, I turned my email off to avoid interruptions.

Start a creativity journal.

The best way to ensure that you stay inspired and creative is by journaling. The process of writing ideas down will help you keep track of the concepts, and it allows for reflection, which can serve as inspiration in future challenges.

Switch up your work environment.

To focus better, don’t be afraid to move to a different work environment. Clear out distractions like clutter and use sounds, light, plants to help guide your attention in the right direction.

Don’t let productivity kill your creativity.

Productivity is vital in any business, but don’t let that stand in your way of being creative. If a cluttered desk or work table helps you think and works for you, don’t feel the need to change. Instead, focus on surrounding yourself with the things you need to keep your creative juices flowing.

Make time to daydream.

I can remember when people would say, Get your head out of the clouds! While this statement was meant to stop people from daydreaming, the clouds may be the perfect place for creative entrepreneurs—schedule time to daydream or brainstorm new ideas or products.

Test your ideas.

As your ideas move from daydreams to actual products, make time to test your ideas. With each test, you will be inspired to make changes and keep moving forward.

How have you reset your creative mind, soul, and time?

September 9, 2021
Advice to Busy Parents Eager to Make Time to Write Everyday

If you are a busy writer-parent, you probably have faced the “I don’t have enough time to write” moments more than once or twice. You are not alone. Lots of writer-parents feel the same way. Here are a few tips on how busy writer-parents can fit writing into their day

Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.

1. Identify the obstacles preventing you from writing.

First things first: many writers say that finding time to write is one of the biggest obstacles they face. If you consider yourself part of this group, tackle this issue before starting your next writing session. Make a list of the things preventing you from writing. Be honest. For example, every night after the children go to bed, you vow to write for one hour. Unfortunately, that never happens. You either end up finishing work from your day job or falling asleep on the couch before you write 50 words. If this sounds familiar, decide what steps you can take so you can write whenever you want.

2. Take small steps to make time toward your writing goals.

For each of the obstacles you identify, select one or two you would like to change. It’s easy to see from the previous example that writing at night is not working. One small step to address this obstacle would be to move your writing time to the part of the day when you don’t have to meet a work deadline or when you have the most energy. For example, you could get up 30 minutes earlier each day to write. If you write at the start of the day, make sure you are writing when the house is quiet, and there are no distractions. I know lots of writer-parents you use the wee hours of the morning to their advantage.

3. Make time to write in daily spurts.

The thought of writing 10,000 to 20,000 words per day can be overwhelming. Instead, think about writing within a short amount of time, like 10, 15, or 20 minutes. To determine how many words you can write within this time, set your smartphone’s timer for one minute. Using the writing prompt below, write for one minute without stopping:

Write a break-up letter to Writer’s Block, starting with, “Dear Writer’s Block, it’s time for me to say goodbye.”

If you wrote 50 to 100 words in one minute, you could probably write 500 to 1,000 words in 10 minutes. Now, determine how many minutes you can spare each day to write.

Check this out: Book & Baby by Milda M. De Voe

MidWest Book Review

“A thoroughly comprehensive and ‘user-friendly’ instructional manual in both organization and presentation, “Book and Baby” is especially and unreservedly recommended”

Writers on the Move

“Most professional writers have a list of their favorite books about writing.
Here’s a new book that’s going at the top of my list.”

4. Make time to write by creating a writing schedule.

Look at your calendar and find 10, 15, or 30 minutes each day to write—schedule writing meetings. Use a shared electronic calendar to allow family members to see when you plan to write. Ask your family members not to disturb you during your writing time but let them know you will be available after writing.

5. Learn to write anywhere.

Train yourself to write in different places where you have to wait. For example, if you arrive in the carpool line 15 to 20 minutes early each day before school ends, use that time to write. Other places to write while you wait include the doctor or dentist’s office, the car dealership during maintenance appointments, Starbuck’s during your child’s tutoring session, and while your baby takes a nap.

6. Make time for family.

Once you finish your 10, 15, or 30-minute writing session, resist the temptation to write more. Instead, reconnect with your family. Let your spouse or children tell you what they would like to do. Take a walk, plan a fun activity like a trip to the aquarium or catch up.

For the writer-parent, each day may be different. Don’t beat yourself up if on some days you do not accomplish as much writing as other days.

Just keep writing.

I’d love to help you as you take the next steps in your writing life. To get started, complete this form to let me know about your current nonfiction writing project and needs.

May 19, 2021
How to Bend Time to Fit Writing into Your Busy Life
Do you wish you could somehow bend time to fit writing into your busy life? If so, you are not alone.

I meet many new, aspiring writers who want to or have attempted to write. However, whether it’s their full-time job or other commitments, they cannot seem to squeeze writing into their day.

I know what it’s like to want to write with a full schedule. As a corporate communicator, I used to dream of writing. But after a busy day full of projects and meetings, I sometimes found it hard to write after hours.

This post pays homage to time-crunched people with full-time jobs — either in the home or outside the home – who dream of writing after hours. Today’s post highlights some productivity tips on how to bend time to fit writing into your schedule. While I don’t tout these tips as a panacea for all of your writing pains, they can help you make time to write.

Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using the links.

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it.” – Charles Buxton

Bend time by dividing tasks into 3 categories.

Like a lot of writers, I am guilty of underestimating time. I used to think, ‘This shouldn’t take too long to write,’ or ‘I have plenty of time to write this piece of content,’ only to run short on time in the end.

But once I took time to study time, I learned to see time differently.

There are lots of great books on time and project management. One example, Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done by Charlie Gilkey, challenges readers to bend time.

First, it’s important to understand that we work on projects, not just ideas. Yes, we start with an idea for a book or the idea to start journaling. But eventually, the idea turns into a project or a habit once a plan is developed.

As we consider how best to manage our time while writing, we can apply three concepts, which include:
- Chunking. Split projects into logical, achievable parts.
- Linking. Join chunks together.
- Sequencing. Link chunks together into a logical order.
Below is an example of what these three concepts look like as part of my blog writing process.

Use blocks to manage your time each week.

Once I started to apply chunking, linking, and sequencing to my writing process, I decided to deal with my relationship with time.

I’ve always been fascinated with time — finding time, making time, being on time. As a professional communicator and writing coach, I help clients plan their time, find better uses for their time, and make timelines. When it came time for me to focus on my writing, I had to find a time management system that worked for me.

I went through several systems before I settled on managing my time in blocks. Time-blocking is the process of planning every part of the day, then designating specific time blocks for tasks and projects.

I realize this may seem like a lot of writing (see also ‘How To Write A Lot‘) and planning. But once I filled my calendar with the tasks and projects I needed to work on for the day or the week, it was harder for other things to creep into my schedule and rob my time.

To manage my time blocks, I use the PomoDone App. This app is an easy and fun way to track my time blocks using the Pomodoro technique. The app includes a countdown timer and allows you to connect to your Trello project management board.

If you want to drill down further, Gilkey suggests dividing your time into four basic blocks.

Limit your focus to one project at a time.

As part of your writing time, you may have several writing projects you want to complete. Outside your full-time job, if you dedicate eight hours a week to work on writing eight projects, you may think that’s doable. But is it really?

If you spend eight hours per week working on eight different writing goals, you could make a dent in each writing project. But if you’re left with a computer or notebook full of unfinished projects, narrow your focus to one writing goal at a time.

Now, I realize you may be a multitasking genius with more than one writing goal on your list, but hear me out. If your after-hours writing time is limited to four or eight hours per week, consider working on one writing project from your list for one, two, or six weeks.

Shortly after I decided to start my blog, I decided to write my first book. As you could imagine, both were time-consuming. Before moving to my book-writing dream, I got the website set up then put it on the backburner. Then, I decided to focus my attention on writing my book. Once the book was published, I returned my attention to my website and blog. With both writing goals complete, I launched the book and the website at the same time.

Once you complete your one goal, move on to your next goal. Achieving each goal one at a time is motivating. As you check off each goal, take a moment to celebrate and reflect. Before you know it, you will achieve your writing goal.

Please don’t get frustrated by the amount of time it takes to write.

When you only have a short amount of time to write, it’s easy to get frustrated by how long it takes you to complete your writing projects.

Recently I attended a webinar where the instructor asked everyone to list their most important writing goal. As each person shared their answer, many writers added how disappointed they were about how long it took them to write a book or get their writing out into the world.

If this is you, don’t get frustrated. Outside of everything you have to do each day, there are only so many hours in a day for you to write. Embrace the time you have to write, no matter how small.

But if you want to know how you’re spending your time, you can always use a time tracker.

Use a time tracker to list everything that needs to get done each week or your writing goal. List the top things you want to get done each week and each day. Third, make time to write – even if you only have 30 minutes to write.

Summary

To bend time to our advantage when writing, we divide writing tasks into three categories — chunking, linking, or sequencing. As we add our writing projects to our weekly schedule, we can apply focus blocks, social blocks, admin blocks, and recovery blocks. And unless you work as a freelance writer or communicator, you should try to focus on one project at a time, especially if you work a full-time job.

The bottom line: I’m busy; you’re busy; everyone is busy. But if we want to write, we have to make time to write.

I’d love to help you as you take the next steps in your writing life. To get started, complete this form and make a 30-minute appointment to talk about your current nonfiction writing project and needs.
March 5, 2021