Committing to Self-Focus

12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women
By Gail Meekin

Second Gateway – Mastering Your Challenges as a Creative Woman

Secret 5 – Committing to Self-Focus

Many Creative women have more ideas than lifetimes; they continue to generate new ideas, but never complete their projects.

That’s me! But even before reading this book I decided that I was going to try harder this year to focus and complete more projects. Self-focus in this newly creative life of mine is a challenge. Creatively working for someone else was easier to manage my time. I went to a place of work (usually) and deadlines were imposed by someone else.

During my cancer treatment, my schedule was created by doctor’s appointments, side effects, fatigue and my forced self-care. As I got healthy, I filled my time up with many things, partly because I was so happy to feel well and have energy again. I think I was also trying to fit everything in “while I still had time”. Much of what I was involved with was creative but not necessarily self creative. I volunteered in many places… for non-profit organizations, my son’s school and fundraisers. I often adjusted my schedule to “cover” for others whose schedules would not allow them to volunteer.

Being overly involved in the lives of others can actually be an escape from testing out our own creative power.
Your creativity has to be a priority for you before anyone else will take you seriously.

Part of my self-focus in 2009 has been to say “NO” to many things. I said no to a few committees and volunteer opportunities. I am taking my creative time more seriously. I am more committed to scheduling time to create, to submit pieces to magazines, to blog, to take photos, to sell my work on etsy, on cafepress and to build my website and business.

I still feel like I am juggling many things, but they are self-creative.

I’ve had to learn to walk by the weeds, blank out the peeling paint in the porch room, and live with closet chaos.

This one is hard for me. I do not have a studio outside the home. My studio is a small table in the living room. I have to learn to walk by the kitchen and not load the dishwasher. I have to stop myself from throwing a load of laundry in the washer. Doing just a few things around the house that take a few minutes, but before you know it, it is time to pick up the kids and nothing creative has been accomplished. Someday, even if I have a separate studio with a door, I will always struggle with this one. I have gotten better, but I this is where I really have to self-focus!