One of the most interesting things about being a creative is that sometimes creativity doesn’t come when it’s needed most.
The past few weeks have flown by as my team & I work hard to help our clients reach their dreams with websites that work for them. However, in a lean team, that means that you work late into some nights and forget to take some time off for yourself.
It’s so easy to get sucked in the day-to-day stuff when you want to get things done. But any time that I pause and reflect, one of the most obvious things I realise is that having a work-life balance is super important.
Investing in a creative hobby that refills your inspiration
Hi, I’m Stephanie. I’m a digital designer at Creative Consillium. When I’m not at my desk, I’m either at the forest with my bike, or in my studio creating beautiful ceramic beauties. I love every minute of it because I can work with my hands as my natural talent, and my mind is free to explore possibilities of what I do.
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Last weekend, I decided to take a 48-hour break away from my laptop. I invited a few friends over and we spent some quality time channeling our creativity in a direction that had nothing to do with work. This was also fuelled by a looming feeling that I was approaching burnout.
Teamwork: trusting your team to hold the fort when you can’t
In two afternoons, we created new designs that I probably would not have thought about. We simplified the creative process, and our evenings came to their ends being incredibly relaxed from the chill weekend painting sessions.
It is an amazing feeling when you let your hands create beautiful results freely without your mind intercepting & fact-checking them. It’s even better when the people who understand your dreams fill in for you and create them when your mind is struggling to create something new.
The ability to trust your support system to help you get things done, and to guide you towards your old creative self is a gift.
After working with my friends on this creative project, I have learned the value of letting your friends / team members / support community do their thing in their own way, because we’ll all arrive at the same goal in the end. This is the exact definition of teamwork.
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This article also appeared on my personal website stephaniekabi.com on November 16, 2021.
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