We all lead busy lives, and for many of us, our busyness takes over from everything else. We often find ourselves saying things like, “Oh I can’t possibly do that, I don’t have time”, or “Oh yes, it would be lovely to do that, but I just don’t have the time”!

In a world where everything has been made easier for us, we still find ourselves bogged down with not having enough time for the stuff we want to do.

I can’t tell you how many times I hear people saying I’ve stopped drawing now because I can’t fit it into my busy schedule, and my thoughts are always, gosh that makes me so sad. That we allow ourselves to choose things that don’t bring us joy over things that do – why do we do that?

New Year’s resolutions are a thing, I know many people set resolutions, whether it’s to exercise more, lose weight, or maybe stop smoking or drinking. New Year’s resolutions seem to be all about stopping something bad, or starting something that doesn’t always fill us with joy, even though it might be really good for us; I’m thinking exercise here for me!

Why not set a resolution that gets you started with something joyful, that you look forward to doing, that will have an incredible effect on your mindset and mental health and that will actually allow you to do all the busy things you do on a day-to-day basis better.

Creativity is known for opening up the mind, when we’re being creative we start to use different parts of our brain, we start to be able to solve problems better, we become calmer, and our stress lessens. How amazing is that?!

Choosing to pick up a creative hobby in 2024, or carrying on with one, is an incredibly wise choice, it will benefit not only you but those around you.

Using the excuse of not having enough time is just that, an excuse. Everyone has the ability to be able to prioritise what they do on a day-to-day basis and I guarantee that there will be things you do that you don’t need to, and making time available for creativity, even if it’s just 5 minutes, will have a huge impact on your life 🙂

When I first started drawing I had a full-time job with a daily 2-hour commute, I was married, had three children, horses and a dog. I was busy! I got up early to sort children and horses, then got myself to work. At the end of a busy day, I’d get home and sort out the children and horses, make tea, do all the stuff I needed to do, and only then did I have the time to sit and draw. I could have genuinely made the excuse of having no time, but I decided that creativity was a priority for me, so I made time. I stopped doing things that didn’t benefit me. Ironing – a total waste of my time and, quite honestly, I haven’t ironed anything since 2016!

If I hadn’t prioritised my creativity, there is no way I would be where I am today. I would probably still be working 9-5 in a job that didn’t really fulfil me.

Make time for things that are important to you. Life is short, so fill it with things that make you happy. Yes, we have to work to pay the bills, but we aren’t working 24 hours a day. If you have an inkling that you want to be more creative, then do it! Make 2024 the year you put yourself first and add creativity into your life, you won’t regret it.

I’m going to be opening my Ignite Membership in January, so if you’d like to start your creative journey, with a wonderful community of like-minded artists, you can join my waitlist here.