There are a lot of things that boost my creativity whether I'm going through a drought of inspiration or if I'm stuffed full of ideas in my head, planner, and phone. I find that my creative juices very much burst out of the glass at times and at other times I'm cramming the straw into the bottom of the glass to slurp up whatever is left. When I feel like that straw is coming up air-only, I turn to a few different sources to restore faith in my creative tendencies.
Books. Cookbooks, idea books, books of photography, DIY/handmade books, basically anything bound together with flipping pages. Even novels inspire me from time to time. When I can't think of a single creative thought I turn to a book to inspire me and get me creating/baking/thinking. Cookbooks are good when I feel like I need to get into the kitchen and relieve some stress. In creating foods in the kitchen created by others, I always either add my own twist on things or get inspired to create a spin off dish.
ABM's
photo idea book did wonders for my creativity, even just in terms of my life in general and photographing the every day.
Coffee + an empty desktop. When I flip open my computer and there aren't any unfinished projects popping up in photoshop or a half finished blog post looming over my internet pages, I feel like I can conquer the world. While I sip my coffee I check out the blogs I read on the regular (see a few in the blogroll on the bottom right of this blog), and
pinterest for whatever new and exciting my favorite followers are pinning. Usually just by doing that the creativity starts coming in like a wave and my blank sticky notes don't know what hit them.
Surroundings. Sometimes when I know I have a lot of blogging to do I head over to a Barnes & Noble or a Starbucks just to get a nice coffee and a change of scenery. I get a lot done in these types of places for whatever reason, and it's nice to get away from the house sometimes so that I can come back feeling accomplished. On the flip side of that, sometimes I get the most inspiration from my desk. If I give it a good clean, put some new stuff on the shelves or pin something new to the corkboard at my eye level, I find that I can get a
sh*t ton done in no time and feel really inspired to jot down some new ideas while I'm at it.
Shopping. I know,
I know, this seems like a scam, but I promise, it's not! After a good walk around Michael's or Paper Source I could have a week's worth of ideas in my head and a fresh new creative mindset. Even taking a trip to lush or sephora inspires me because I do like to post about beauty and makeup from time to time. It half gives me an excuse to try new makeup (it's for the blog, wallet...get on board!) or buy a bath bomb or seven so I can read a book or scour pinterest on my ipad for an hour in the steamy water and clear my head. Hey, whatever works psychologically, I can sell it myself with ease.
There are definitely a few other random things that get me going creatively, but these are my go-to's and they haven't failed me yet!
Every blogger has a different way of keeping organized, and I'm pretty pleased with my way. I have a sugar paper la planner from target (was only sold last summer for back to school) with simple monthly spreads that just about fit the perfect sized post-it and have enough room for all of the other bits and bobs.
I always write in pencil when I'm planning, even though the post-its make it so I can move things around. This might seem silly, but I think other office supply lovers will relate to me when I say I have a favorite type of pencil, the papermate clearpoint mechanical pencil. I use the small neon post-its, and each of the four colors are used for a different category to help me get an overall idea of the balance of a month with just a glance. I use two Russell+Hazel to-do lists for each month, one for things I want to do during the month (books to read, project life spreads to complete, 30 days of: installments) and another directly underneath (see photo below) for photos I need to take for different posts. I like that there's a tick box at the end of each line so that I can have that really satisfying feeling of crossing something off once it's finished #nerdalert.
When things are going really well, I can normally fill up a month with posts before the previous month is even halfway through. This is when I'm feeling inspired, and have a lot of projects and recipes backed up to get through. I keep post-its along the side of a month if I don't know when I'll have time to complete the project, but know that I'm going to get to it at some point soon. Some of the ones shown in the picture below have been rolling from the previous month for a couple of months now, but all will get done at some point because being physically able to see them lingering there lights the fire under my tush a bit.
On the side of the planner, I use a weekly to-do list that I found in Target's dollar spot. I use this to keep my daily lists in check, considering my month is a bit broader. Things to get done like emails, Chelsea Dogs posts, shopping, appointments, etc. all go onto that list and get tucked into the monthly page. It's nice to have the planner as a mobile unit that can come with me anywhere I bring my computer to get work done. I've seen other versions of editorial calendars that are either cork boards or calendars that stay put on a wall, but for now I don't have one single place I work, so this calendar is great for on-the-go if you too work in multiple places (like starbucks, outside, or the dining room table to name a few) but need to refer to your calendar often.
