“…any time you manage to find to be creative is precious.”

We all say at some point that we don’t have time to be creative, and I’ll put up my hand and admit that I do the same. Life will often get in the way of your creative time, so any time you manage to find to be creative is precious. For this reason we have to know when and how we are going to be creative; by Planning Creativity. Once this has been achieved we can focus on our workflow.

Workflow really is the key to success when trying to manage life and creativity. If we take forever to get a simple task done in our minute window of opportunity then we will never achieve anything. This is why planning in advance works so well; it means that we can focus quickly, work efficiently, and achieve our goals successfully. A sense of achievement is a driving force to be creative, meaning that creativity can become a centre point in our lives; rather than thinking it’s not important.

“…as creatives it’s what we such for; our own first impression.”

Creativity obviously relies upon your own originality and what makes you different from the rest, but in many creative practices, that difference is in the end result; the piece as a whole. This may be a personal opinion, as many creative pieces are picked apart by onlookers trying to understand the processes that made it happen, but the initial blow is with first impressions, and as creatives it’s what we such for; our own first impression.

This is where frustration lies. We fight battles with ourselves constantly as being unable to see our first impression leads to an overwhelming sense of failure. For this reason I believe that practising our process of being creative and revolutionising our workflow enables us to earn a glimpse of that first impression a lot earlier than expected.

“…if we can see an end result then we are more likely to work harder to achieve it.”

This perception is vital in making sure we perceive our creative time as important, as when we can’t see that first impression, we don’t have as much hope as we should. We need constant motivation to keep going, so if we can see an end result then we are more likely to work harder to achieve.

A few quick internet searches involving your field of creativity will come back with multiple ways in which you can increase your workflow, although here are a few ideas that may help…

• Create templates – If you find yourself repeatadly doing the same thing in each project to get started then create a template. You can do this within software (if you use it) or even simply by being prepared…
• Be prepared – Make sure that everything you need is to hand. You should think about this whilst Planning Creativity. This might involve having common tools you use, or a list of things you need to do
• Set limitations – Don’t always allow yourself to do anything. Think about the end goal and what you really need in order to achieve your goal more efficiently.
• Practise – The only way you will increase workflow is by taking the above tips and practising. Find a time when you can regularly practise, even if it’s just 30 minutes, try to do as much as you can in those 30 minutes. You might be surprised how much you get done.

Using the above ideas have helped me to increase my own workflow, and I hope they help you. There was one particular time where I spent two years trying to complete a project, and I never liked the end results. I’ve always been happier with work completed quickly, and in the same head-space as when I began. Seeing more positive results lead to knowing that I was able to achieve my creative goals more easily than I had originally expected, and I hope you find the same.