Whether you are thinking about learning to paint or have started your painting journey, you may have found yourself saying "I just haven't got the time right now." "I'll do some painting tomorrow/next week/when life calms down"
When we really stop to think about it though, is it really true or do the words tumble out of our mouths before thinking about it? Sometimes, when we have spent so long working our way through a never ending to do list, doing what we need to get done, looking after those who need us, doing something for ourselves can feel selfish and unnecessary.
The thing is though that doing something for ourselves, making time for a little down time actually helps to recharge our batteries and restore our energy levels. Without including a little creative 'me time' it is easy to keep running and get burnt out.
So what do we do when we are finding it hard to grant ourselves time?
Well, in those cases we (and our students) log in to the mindset sessions in our Beginners Masterclass not only for a reminder of the importance of taking time out just for you but also for a few methods to help you take time for you in a balanced way so you can still work through your to do list AND fit in time for you with out feeling that all too familiar guilt.
We also take a moment and ask ourselves how we can fit in a little painting practice in to those chunks of wasted time in a day. Here's our favourite ways to build in a little creativity to a busy day...
1. Practice our brushstrokes during breakfast.
Whether you choose to paint with water or your paints, we love spending 5/10 minutes while we have our morning coffee or breakfast practicing our comma strokes. No fancy patterns just the repetition of each stroke and the slow, calming movements of our brush. The perfect way to keep us focused in the present moment instead of allowing our mind to race ahead to what our day might hold.
2. Grab your brushes and paint your way through your phone calls
Do you often find yourself doodling your way through conversations? We do. That's why we swapped our pens for our brushes and paint our way through them now. This is our go to method of keeping our calm while listening to endless elevator music when we are on hold too. What used to be a stressful waste of our day can now be the highlight as those waiting times seem to suddenly speed up when we are in the flow ;)
Do you often find yourself doodling your way through conversations? We do. That's why we swapped our pens for our brushes and paint our way through them now. This is our go to method of keeping our calm while listening to endless elevator music when we are on hold too. What used to be a stressful waste of our day can now be the highlight as those waiting times seem to suddenly speed up when we are in the flow ;)
3. Practice with water while the kettle boils
The wonderful thing about Folk Art painting is that we can really improve our skills by repeating the brushstrokes time and time again. This practice does not need you to use paint you can simply wet your brush and use water on your kitchen countertop or on paper. So...on those busy days; when our kettle boils, when we are making dinner, we practice. We paint the brushstrokes and watch them evaporate in to thin air. Using these small pockets of time allows us to squeeze in 10/15 minutes of practice and encourages a little calm in to our day.
Have you got a tip that helps you sneak a little creativity into your life? Share it on social media and tag us #youcanfolkit