Finding Time For The CreativeBehind The Bend

Our community is full of creators. Creating to express themselves. Creating to be fulfilled. Creating to simply create.

Finding time to create often gets pushed aside in favor of tasks that have immediate outward results (i.e. work, taking care of children, social functions).

We at Bend fall victim to this all the time. A city like Los Angeles is full of distractions leaving us feeling like a puppy seeing a ball, lake, or forest for the first time while pushing us away from the projects we love.

In order to combat the aforementioned temptations & responsibilities, here are some strategies we’ve enabled to make sure we find the appropriate amount of time to create:

- In order to put in the time, you must set aside the time. Start by dedicating 20 minutes a week to your creative endeavors. Whether you paint, make music, write, build furniture, or shape surfboards. Mark your calendar, share that calendar with all of your loved ones, and shout from the mountains that “NO ONE MESSES WITH MY CREATIVE TIME”. 20 minutes doesn’t sound like much. Keep it small so it is not overwhelming. Let it build as your passion grows.

- Find other people you can create with. People who share similar interests, with whom you can freely float ideas. These are great people to create with. They will hold you accountable and take your projects to the next level.

- Get to know your creative community. Here in LA, Creative Mornings hosts free monthly talks from local creatives (free coffee and breakfast is a plus). It’s quick too, 8:30am – 10:00am, one Friday a month. Hosted in 164 cities around the world.

- Make your needs, don’t buy them. Next time you think about buying something, try to first make it yourself. Whether a bookcase or clothes, the process of figuring out how to make something then actually making it is super creative and fulfilling.

Last bit of advice: Get out there. Get creative. Share with us anything thing you stumble upon along the way.