Last week, I shared Part 1 of this series about creative habits, in which I talked about setting myself a routine for my creative time that I’ve found to be sustainable and keeping me motivated. Over the past few years, I’ve discovered all kinds of ways to trick my brain into getting excited, motivated, and ready to get things done. These are usually very small little habits that serve to prep me for getting to work, so that when it’s time to get moving, I feel like I’m mentally already ready to go. One of my favorite new habits that has helped me, I call Waking Up my Space. 

During COVID, a few months into committing to a regular every-other-day routine to work on my art, I started this habit that has stuck with me for over a year now. I’m not entirely sure where I got the idea from, but I started going down to my basement art studio early in the morning... not to work, but to wake up the space. I would turn all the lights on, clear any bits off my work tables, light a candle, and put some music on to set the right mood. Then, instead of getting straight to work, I’d leave! I’d go upstairs and spend some morning time with my family for an hour or so before everyone was off to do their school or work. Afterwards, I’d go back down to my studio and find it ready and waiting for me.

The first time I did this, it felt like such a different way to greet my creative space for the day. It felt almost like treating it as a person, or something with an energy all its own. I did this for a week or two, and noticed that it began making me actually excited to get into my studio, instead of feeling like I was dragging myself there. The entire time I would be upstairs in the living room with my family, having breakfast or chatting about the day, in the back of my mind, I knew that my studio was already awake and ready for me. Almost as if my space itself was excited for me to get there. It stirred something in me, a mutual excitement to go join it and get making. 

This simple habit also changed my relationship with my studio space over time. My studio is in a dark, dreary half-finished basement…. not exactly the place anyone would prefer to have their studio. But, it is where I HAVE a wonderful studio. Something I’m so grateful to have. 

As soon as I started to wake up that space in the morning and greet it with love and appreciation, my feeling of “dark and dingy basement” shifted to something more like “perfectly imperfect creative sanctuary”. It made me love it, warts and all. In fact, it made me love it so much that I ended up doing some light renovations to it over the winter to make it more lovely. My husband built me custom work tables. We replaced an old, damaged wall with a beautiful, clean, white wall. He built me a wonderful pegboard to display all my finished work on. We added in a built-in storage shelf for my photo gear, creative books and more. I think my desire to improve that space came so directly from this simple daily habit. It seems that meeting my space with love and getting it ready ahead of time had transformed my motivations to spend time there, and to do it often. 

What sort of habits do you have that might help other folks get into their creative energy? Do you wear a certain “uniform” or outfit that says “It’s time to make!” Do you journal each morning maybe to get the juices flowing? I’d love to know what gets you moving and making!