September 9, 2019 • 18 mins
This week I'm talking about how tiny changes--taking a different route to work, stopping to notice your surroundings--can give you a fresh perspective. Can doing little things over time dramatically change your life? Spoiler alert: yes!
Here's what I discussed on this episode:
- Nicole Antoinette/Real Talk Radio
- Atlas Obscura
- Duolingo
- Atomic Habits
- Caveday
- Theodora Blanchfield/This May Be Oversharing... podcast
- Kat's social presence: Instagram | Twitter
- HTBC Instagram
You can find a full episode transcript at https://howtobecreative.org/?p=141
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:04):
You're listening to How to Be Creative, a podcast about
what it means to be creativeacross different disciplines,
industries, life circumstances,and career structures.
You'll learn tips for fittingcreativity into your daily life
and hear from a bunch ofdifferent people about how being
creative has helped them reachgoals, open doors, and live a
more rewarding--or at least moreinteresting--life.
(00:25):
I'm your host, Kat O'Leary, andI'm excited to introduce you to
some of my favorite creatives aswell as to the tools that help
me get my most crucial workdone.
Kat (00:37):
Hi, and welcome to the third episode of How to Be
Creative.
Today I wanted to talk abouttiny changes that pay big
dividends.
So what does that mean?
Well, sometimes when we want ourlives to look different, we
think it has to be this massiveundertaking, right?
(00:57):
So you need to change jobs ormove across the country, end a
relationship, win the lottery,whatever.
You know, whatever comes to mindfor you when you think about
making a big change.
And yeah, sometimes changingyour life does involve a big
thing, like one of those.
But dramatic events or choicesaren't the only way to change
your life for the better.
(01:18):
So I wanted to talk about somesmall ways to switch things up
that will hopefully result inyour feeling more energized and
having a fresh perspective, evenif the specifics of your
day-to-day life look more orless the same.
The goal here is to take some ofthese small things and turn them
into some kind of regularcreative practice.
So it doesn't have to be daily.
(01:39):
Obviously we all haveobligations including work,
family, friends, volunteer work,things like that, but maybe you
could try to incorporatesomething small on a weekly
basis to get started.
So I recently attended a retreatwith Nicole Antoinette, who is
the host of the podcast RealTalk Radio.
(02:02):
Real Talk Radio is a reallyfantastic podcasts that I've
listened to for about a year ortwo.
And Nicole has been doing theseamazing goal-setting retreats
all around the country.
And actually in the UK as well,so not just in the U.S.
, throughout the year.
So I attended one of those inearly July in Shrewsbury,
(02:22):
Massachusetts.
And one of the most valuablethings that came out of this was
that we did this two-day processwhere there were seven of us
participants and Nicole sittingaround a table for a total of
four two-hour sessions--two onSaturday, two on Sunday--and
(02:45):
worked our way through this goalsetting book that Nicole had
pulled together for us.
Um, and so, uh, one of my goalscoming out of that weekend was
to have a bigger life.
And what that means to me isthat I want to feel alive and
like I'm firing on all cylindersas many days as possible.
It's hard to maintain that amida pretty standard routine, which
(03:07):
for me looks like usually workMonday through Friday, tutoring
on Tuesdays and Thursdays,attending a committee meeting
for my volunteer work onTuesdays, writing group
Wednesday morning, meditationThursday morning, et cetera.
And I'm sure you have somevariation of that on your end
that may or may not involveadditional things like getting
(03:28):
the kids off to school ordaycare, working around a spouse
or other partner's schedule,dealing with doggy daycare,
things like that.
So all of us have stuff, right?
I think it can be very easy togo on autopilot when you have
sort of a set routine of thingsthat need to happen each week.
(03:50):
So for this week's episode, Ithought I'd share some simple
ways to get out of your routine,even for just a few minutes.
Over the past couple of years,doing little things regularly
has turned into a habit for me,and I would say my entire life
is actually different as aresult, which I guess sounds a
little bit dramatic, but inthinking it through as I was
preparing for this episode, Idiscovered that honestly it
(04:11):
really is true and I'm hopingthat you will have a similar
experience if you try to do someof this on your own.
My experience has been that thelittle things, when taken en
masse, can end up serving as thefoundation for major life
changes as well.
So I wanted to just run througha few things I've done myself
that I've gotten value out of,in the hope that either these
(04:33):
specific things will be of useto you, or possibly that
listening to this list andthinking through it a little bit
will help you figure out somethings that might be more
interesting to you.
So, trying new coffee shops.
So I don't know about you, butI'm a huge latte snob.
I'm always excited to check outa new place in the morning.
(04:55):
Maybe you tend to go to the samecoffee shop all the time.
Maybe you are a lot moreresponsible than me and make
your coffee at home every day.
And this is a pretty low-cost,low-hanging-fruit way to change
up your day.
Another way to do that that'ssimilar is take a different
route to work.
(05:15):
So if you're an urban dwellerlike me, you might take a
different train, take adifferent bus.
If you happen to walk to work,maybe walking a block or two out
of your way and seeing a newblock that you've never walked
down before, find a park you'venever been to near your home or
office.
Obviously this one's a littlebit easier in a bigger city
where there are more parks on anabsolute basis and there's more
(05:40):
ground to cover so it's lesslikely that you've seen every
park in the vicinity.
But that I always get a lot ofvalue out of, or sometimes I'll
go to a park that I've been tobefore and I will just sit and
meditate with my eyes closed fora few minutes before going on
with my day.
Go to a museum you've never beento before, with the addendum
(06:03):
that you may find that museumsin your area have certain nights
or hours where they are freeeither to local residents or to
everyone.
And sometimes those will alsoinvolve additional programming.
Another example is to look at awebsite like Atlas Obscura for
things to see or do in your citythat you may have missed.
(06:26):
So for example, I work close togrand central and I realized
recently through Atlas Obscurathat the Daily News Globe wasn't
far from my office.
So the Daily News used to be ina building on East 42nd Street
and in the lobby of thatbuilding is this enormous globe
that's absolutely beautiful, andI didn't know about it and had
(06:47):
never seen it before and it wassomething that I could just take
a little quick trip on my lunchbreak and go look at, take
pictures of observe and readabout, which was very cool.
It's sort of like going into amini museum for a quick break
from work and doing somethingnew.
It doesn't have to be anythingbig or expensive.
You can listen to a new podcast,go to a reading at a local
(07:09):
bookstore, pick up a newmagazine, try a new flavor or
brand of seltzer.
There are a lot of really smallways to create the feeling of
newness or novelty.
And I think that the reason whythat's important is that there's
been a lot of research--and youcan Google this yourself, but
I'll also include some links inthe show notes--there's been a
(07:29):
lot of research around the goodthings that novelty does for our
brains.
So it helps with learning andmotivation and it helps keep you
grounded in the present moment.
Okay.
Another idea, and I think thisis one that some people are
going to have resistance to, isto try something you assume you
won't like.
We have a lot of ideas about whowe are and what we enjoy,
(07:52):
especially once you're adults.
I think it's a lot easier to getinto the mindset of"I'm this
type of person.
I'm not that type of person.
I like these things.
I don't like these things." Andit can be easy to build an
identity around that stuff.
This can prevent us from tryingnew things because we're closed
off to the possibility that oldinformation about us has
changed.
So if someone in your lifeinvites you to join them for an
(08:14):
event or activity, that wouldn'tbe the type of thing that you'd
seek out yourself and you'd beinclined to say no, maybe try
saying yes and just see whathappens.
You might find that actuallythat thing that you thought you
didn't like--or that you knewyou didn't like five years ago--
you've grown and changed as aperson and it's now something
you're a little bit moreinterested in or open to.
Another idea is to learn a newlanguage.
(08:35):
Right?
Okay.
So this sounds like a big thingto incorporate, but what if you
just download Duolingo and picka random language?
Um, and it doesn't have to besomething like, oh, I need to
learn French for work.
Pick something completelyrandom, and then with Duolingo,
you really only have to study itfor a few minutes a day to see
(08:56):
an impact.
And the annoying Duolingo owlwill ping you if you don't do it
by close to the end of the day.
Another idea is to join a clubthat is kind of a low commitment
thing.
So maybe a book club that meetsonce a month or even once a
quarter.
Something I've also been hearingabout is people doing these
(09:18):
article clubs where you simplypick a five-page article versus
a 300-page book and you meet upwith other people and talk
through your perspectives onwhat you read.
That's something that'sdefinitely a lot lower effort
than being in a book club.
And if you don't know anyone whohas an article club, you can
(09:39):
always just start one yourself.
And it's actually also a greatway to form a new type of
relationship with people youalready know.
Another idea is to think ofthings you loved as a child but
don't do anymore.
So for me, this has beencrafting any sort of visual
arts.
Um, recently I've started makingpompoms, I've started doing
(10:02):
these alcohol ink art paintingsthat are very, very cool.
Things like that.
When you're a kid you are moreopen to trying things and being
bad at them, right?
You're not going to sit down toan art project when you are
seven years old and thinkthere's no point in doing this
if it's not going to end up inthe Met Museum.
(10:25):
But as adults, we can often getinto this mindset that all of
our time needs to be spent onthings that we're good at or
that have some sort ofcapitalistic purpose for us or
that will somehow move usforward.
And I've gotten a lot of valueout of accepting that there are
(10:45):
certain things that I'm justgoing to be bad at and that
doesn't mean I should avoid themand to just sitting down and
doing something really simplewhere I end up with a finished
product at the end.
Um, I also think art as amindfulness practice has been
pretty significant for me overthe past couple of years.
I definitely tend to sit downand just zone out when I'm
(11:07):
making one of these alcohol inkpaintings and it's become one of
my favorite ways of kind ofgetting in quality time with my
creative self.
So actually that segues nicelyinto my next bullet, which is
learn a new art form.
So in my case I just mentionedalcohol inks, that's actually a
very, that's a great possibilitybecause I'm someone with pretty
(11:32):
much no visual artistic skilland I've been blown away by the
quality of the works of art thatI've been able to produce using
this method.
I will try to include someinformation about that in the
show notes.
I'm not sure what resources areonline for it, but it's
something that I've begun doingin the last I three months and
(11:54):
it's now something I do on asemi-regular basis and they're
absolutely beautiful.
They look kind of like, thereare a couple of things they look
like.
So one, they kind of look likethose oily stickers that we used
to have when we were kids.
I don't know if anyone knowswhat I'm talking about.
And then they also kind of havethis glasslike finish to them
where they sort of look like aslice of agate or crystal, which
(12:19):
is very cool.
So then I wanted to talk alittle bit about what if you are
interested in formalizing this alittle bit more.
And, um, for example, what ifyou're interested in developing
some kind of daily creativepractice?
So I recently read this greatbook called Atomic Habits by
James Clear, which looks at theimpact of tiny habits on our
(12:42):
behavior.
For example, it can be dauntingto set a goal of, let's say,
writing for an hour every day,right?
Maybe you can keep that goingfor a day or two or even three.
But then you skip a day and thenit's hard to get back on track
after that.
So what if instead of committingto an hour a day, you said, I'm
(13:02):
just going to write for fiveminutes, that's a pretty easy
goal that most of us can set andfollow through on.
Most of us can find five minutesin every day, right?
So I thought that was a greatpiece of advice.
And another example he gave wasif you're trying to develop a
habit of flossing every day,start by just flossing one
(13:23):
tooth.
In most cases with flossing,you'll start, you'll do one
tooth and then you'll end updoing more than one tooth.
Right?
And he, he also gave the exampleof someone he knew who had been
trying to start an exercisepractice and finally just made
the simple commitment of goingto the gym for five minutes
every day.
(13:44):
And that ended up becoming abigger commitment because the
guy figured out, oh, well, ifI'm going to take the time to
get ready to go to the gym,travel to and from the gym, I
might as well stay a little bitlonger than five minutes.
Once I managed to, you know,make that commitment and stick
to it.
And one tool, I really like tostick to these habits once
(14:06):
you've created them.
It's called Way of Life.
So it's an app--it's definitelyon iOS; I believe it's on
Android as well.
I'll include the link in theshow notes.
And this is an app that just hasthese simple checkbox journals
for habits you're trying to formor avoid.
So, for example, if one of yourdaily goals is to write a
thousand words every day, whenyou open up the app, it will
(14:30):
have a series of check boxesthat will form a chain after I
think three in a row.
And if you don't fill it out,it'll prompt you.
I think you can set, set theprompt to go off whatever time
makes the most sense for you,but it'll remind you that you
haven't done the thing yet.
And I think for that app, I'drecommend doing things that are
(14:50):
very manageable.
So let's say you set yourreminder to go off at 9:00 PM.
There are certain things thatyou're not going to want to do
after 9:00 PM.
Right?
And then another thing that Iprobably talk about a lot that I
think can make a big difference,if not in the specifics of your
life, um, then in your feelingsabout your life is mindfulness.
(15:15):
So in order to be more mindful,um, which is something that I've
found really kind of helps withevery area of my life, it helps
me manage stress.
It helps me make better use ofmy time.
It helps me value things more.
Um, a way to do that is to set areminder on your phone for a
time each day that works foryou.
And that can also help.
(15:37):
It can also help if you tie itto another habit.
So for example, you can say toyourself, um, after I take a
shower every morning I do mymindfulness practice, or after I
wake up in the morning, I do mymindfulness practice before I
get out of bed.
And this can be meditation, butit also could be just kind of
slowing down, paying attentionto the world around you for a
minute or two, things like that.
(15:58):
So, to give an example, Irecently,, I attended a Caveday,
which is, Caveday is thisorganization that runs these
productivity sprints.
And so I was at an in-personCaveday a couple of weekends ago
and we did this mindfulnesspractice where we were each
(16:22):
given a raisin and we were askedto simply place the raisin in
each of our mouths and not starteating it yet, not start
chewing.
And then the the leader of theCave walked us through this
mindfulness practice.
And I'm not a big fan of reasonsthat said during this practice,
(16:43):
I actually found that the flavorand the raisin was a lot more
complex and layered than I hadknown.
And I enjoyed eating a raisinfor the first time, probably
since I was a kid as a result,which was interesting to me.
So it can be something reallysmall.
It can just be paying moreattention to something you look
(17:04):
at every day.
So after a while, if everythingin your surroundings is the
same, it all kind of blends intothe background.
So just pick one thing that youhaven't really observed in
awhile and pay attention to whatcolor it is or how big it is, or
, um, how, how the light ishitting it, things like that.
(17:24):
So these are just a few thingsto consider incorporating into
your life, but I bet you cancome up with some more that are
more in line with your owninterests and maybe a better fit
for your, how your life isstructured.
So next week I will be chattingwith writer Theodora Blanchfield
on creativity as a mental healthpractice.
I hope you'll join us.
In the meantime, you can followus on Instagram at
(17:45):
@howtobecreativepod.
Outro (17:51):
So that's this week's episode of How to Be Creative.
As always, you can find shownotes including a complete
episode transcript and links toeverything discussed at
howtobecreative.org.
You're listening to How to Be Creative, a podcast about
what it means to be creativeacross different disciplines,
industries, life circumstances,and career structures.
You'll learn tips for fittingcreativity into your daily life
and hear from a bunch ofdifferent people about how being
creative has helped them reachgoals, open doors, and live a
more rewarding--or at least moreinteresting--life.
(00:25):
I'm your host, Kat O'Leary, andI'm excited to introduce you to
some of my favorite creatives aswell as to the tools that help
me get my most crucial workdone.
Kat (00:37):
Hi, and welcome to the third episode of How to Be
Creative.
Today I wanted to talk abouttiny changes that pay big
dividends.
So what does that mean?
Well, sometimes when we want ourlives to look different, we
think it has to be this massiveundertaking, right?
(00:57):
So you need to change jobs ormove across the country, end a
relationship, win the lottery,whatever.
You know, whatever comes to mindfor you when you think about
making a big change.
And yeah, sometimes changingyour life does involve a big
thing, like one of those.
But dramatic events or choicesaren't the only way to change
your life for the better.
(01:18):
So I wanted to talk about somesmall ways to switch things up
that will hopefully result inyour feeling more energized and
having a fresh perspective, evenif the specifics of your
day-to-day life look more orless the same.
The goal here is to take some ofthese small things and turn them
into some kind of regularcreative practice.
So it doesn't have to be daily.
(01:39):
Obviously we all haveobligations including work,
family, friends, volunteer work,things like that, but maybe you
could try to incorporatesomething small on a weekly
basis to get started.
So I recently attended a retreatwith Nicole Antoinette, who is
the host of the podcast RealTalk Radio.
(02:02):
Real Talk Radio is a reallyfantastic podcasts that I've
listened to for about a year ortwo.
And Nicole has been doing theseamazing goal-setting retreats
all around the country.
And actually in the UK as well,so not just in the U.S.
, throughout the year.
So I attended one of those inearly July in Shrewsbury,
(02:22):
Massachusetts.
And one of the most valuablethings that came out of this was
that we did this two-day processwhere there were seven of us
participants and Nicole sittingaround a table for a total of
four two-hour sessions--two onSaturday, two on Sunday--and
(02:45):
worked our way through this goalsetting book that Nicole had
pulled together for us.
Um, and so, uh, one of my goalscoming out of that weekend was
to have a bigger life.
And what that means to me isthat I want to feel alive and
like I'm firing on all cylindersas many days as possible.
It's hard to maintain that amida pretty standard routine, which
(03:07):
for me looks like usually workMonday through Friday, tutoring
on Tuesdays and Thursdays,attending a committee meeting
for my volunteer work onTuesdays, writing group
Wednesday morning, meditationThursday morning, et cetera.
And I'm sure you have somevariation of that on your end
that may or may not involveadditional things like getting
(03:28):
the kids off to school ordaycare, working around a spouse
or other partner's schedule,dealing with doggy daycare,
things like that.
So all of us have stuff, right?
I think it can be very easy togo on autopilot when you have
sort of a set routine of thingsthat need to happen each week.
(03:50):
So for this week's episode, Ithought I'd share some simple
ways to get out of your routine,even for just a few minutes.
Over the past couple of years,doing little things regularly
has turned into a habit for me,and I would say my entire life
is actually different as aresult, which I guess sounds a
little bit dramatic, but inthinking it through as I was
preparing for this episode, Idiscovered that honestly it
(04:11):
really is true and I'm hopingthat you will have a similar
experience if you try to do someof this on your own.
My experience has been that thelittle things, when taken en
masse, can end up serving as thefoundation for major life
changes as well.
So I wanted to just run througha few things I've done myself
that I've gotten value out of,in the hope that either these
(04:33):
specific things will be of useto you, or possibly that
listening to this list andthinking through it a little bit
will help you figure out somethings that might be more
interesting to you.
So, trying new coffee shops.
So I don't know about you, butI'm a huge latte snob.
I'm always excited to check outa new place in the morning.
(04:55):
Maybe you tend to go to the samecoffee shop all the time.
Maybe you are a lot moreresponsible than me and make
your coffee at home every day.
And this is a pretty low-cost,low-hanging-fruit way to change
up your day.
Another way to do that that'ssimilar is take a different
route to work.
(05:15):
So if you're an urban dwellerlike me, you might take a
different train, take adifferent bus.
If you happen to walk to work,maybe walking a block or two out
of your way and seeing a newblock that you've never walked
down before, find a park you'venever been to near your home or
office.
Obviously this one's a littlebit easier in a bigger city
where there are more parks on anabsolute basis and there's more
(05:40):
ground to cover so it's lesslikely that you've seen every
park in the vicinity.
But that I always get a lot ofvalue out of, or sometimes I'll
go to a park that I've been tobefore and I will just sit and
meditate with my eyes closed fora few minutes before going on
with my day.
Go to a museum you've never beento before, with the addendum
(06:03):
that you may find that museumsin your area have certain nights
or hours where they are freeeither to local residents or to
everyone.
And sometimes those will alsoinvolve additional programming.
Another example is to look at awebsite like Atlas Obscura for
things to see or do in your citythat you may have missed.
(06:26):
So for example, I work close togrand central and I realized
recently through Atlas Obscurathat the Daily News Globe wasn't
far from my office.
So the Daily News used to be ina building on East 42nd Street
and in the lobby of thatbuilding is this enormous globe
that's absolutely beautiful, andI didn't know about it and had
(06:47):
never seen it before and it wassomething that I could just take
a little quick trip on my lunchbreak and go look at, take
pictures of observe and readabout, which was very cool.
It's sort of like going into amini museum for a quick break
from work and doing somethingnew.
It doesn't have to be anythingbig or expensive.
You can listen to a new podcast,go to a reading at a local
(07:09):
bookstore, pick up a newmagazine, try a new flavor or
brand of seltzer.
There are a lot of really smallways to create the feeling of
newness or novelty.
And I think that the reason whythat's important is that there's
been a lot of research--and youcan Google this yourself, but
I'll also include some links inthe show notes--there's been a
(07:29):
lot of research around the goodthings that novelty does for our
brains.
So it helps with learning andmotivation and it helps keep you
grounded in the present moment.
Okay.
Another idea, and I think thisis one that some people are
going to have resistance to, isto try something you assume you
won't like.
We have a lot of ideas about whowe are and what we enjoy,
(07:52):
especially once you're adults.
I think it's a lot easier to getinto the mindset of"I'm this
type of person.
I'm not that type of person.
I like these things.
I don't like these things." Andit can be easy to build an
identity around that stuff.
This can prevent us from tryingnew things because we're closed
off to the possibility that oldinformation about us has
changed.
So if someone in your lifeinvites you to join them for an
(08:14):
event or activity, that wouldn'tbe the type of thing that you'd
seek out yourself and you'd beinclined to say no, maybe try
saying yes and just see whathappens.
You might find that actuallythat thing that you thought you
didn't like--or that you knewyou didn't like five years ago--
you've grown and changed as aperson and it's now something
you're a little bit moreinterested in or open to.
Another idea is to learn a newlanguage.
(08:35):
Right?
Okay.
So this sounds like a big thingto incorporate, but what if you
just download Duolingo and picka random language?
Um, and it doesn't have to besomething like, oh, I need to
learn French for work.
Pick something completelyrandom, and then with Duolingo,
you really only have to study itfor a few minutes a day to see
(08:56):
an impact.
And the annoying Duolingo owlwill ping you if you don't do it
by close to the end of the day.
Another idea is to join a clubthat is kind of a low commitment
thing.
So maybe a book club that meetsonce a month or even once a
quarter.
Something I've also been hearingabout is people doing these
(09:18):
article clubs where you simplypick a five-page article versus
a 300-page book and you meet upwith other people and talk
through your perspectives onwhat you read.
That's something that'sdefinitely a lot lower effort
than being in a book club.
And if you don't know anyone whohas an article club, you can
(09:39):
always just start one yourself.
And it's actually also a greatway to form a new type of
relationship with people youalready know.
Another idea is to think ofthings you loved as a child but
don't do anymore.
So for me, this has beencrafting any sort of visual
arts.
Um, recently I've started makingpompoms, I've started doing
(10:02):
these alcohol ink art paintingsthat are very, very cool.
Things like that.
When you're a kid you are moreopen to trying things and being
bad at them, right?
You're not going to sit down toan art project when you are
seven years old and thinkthere's no point in doing this
if it's not going to end up inthe Met Museum.
(10:25):
But as adults, we can often getinto this mindset that all of
our time needs to be spent onthings that we're good at or
that have some sort ofcapitalistic purpose for us or
that will somehow move usforward.
And I've gotten a lot of valueout of accepting that there are
(10:45):
certain things that I'm justgoing to be bad at and that
doesn't mean I should avoid themand to just sitting down and
doing something really simplewhere I end up with a finished
product at the end.
Um, I also think art as amindfulness practice has been
pretty significant for me overthe past couple of years.
I definitely tend to sit downand just zone out when I'm
(11:07):
making one of these alcohol inkpaintings and it's become one of
my favorite ways of kind ofgetting in quality time with my
creative self.
So actually that segues nicelyinto my next bullet, which is
learn a new art form.
So in my case I just mentionedalcohol inks, that's actually a
very, that's a great possibilitybecause I'm someone with pretty
(11:32):
much no visual artistic skilland I've been blown away by the
quality of the works of art thatI've been able to produce using
this method.
I will try to include someinformation about that in the
show notes.
I'm not sure what resources areonline for it, but it's
something that I've begun doingin the last I three months and
(11:54):
it's now something I do on asemi-regular basis and they're
absolutely beautiful.
They look kind of like, thereare a couple of things they look
like.
So one, they kind of look likethose oily stickers that we used
to have when we were kids.
I don't know if anyone knowswhat I'm talking about.
And then they also kind of havethis glasslike finish to them
where they sort of look like aslice of agate or crystal, which
(12:19):
is very cool.
So then I wanted to talk alittle bit about what if you are
interested in formalizing this alittle bit more.
And, um, for example, what ifyou're interested in developing
some kind of daily creativepractice?
So I recently read this greatbook called Atomic Habits by
James Clear, which looks at theimpact of tiny habits on our
(12:42):
behavior.
For example, it can be dauntingto set a goal of, let's say,
writing for an hour every day,right?
Maybe you can keep that goingfor a day or two or even three.
But then you skip a day and thenit's hard to get back on track
after that.
So what if instead of committingto an hour a day, you said, I'm
(13:02):
just going to write for fiveminutes, that's a pretty easy
goal that most of us can set andfollow through on.
Most of us can find five minutesin every day, right?
So I thought that was a greatpiece of advice.
And another example he gave wasif you're trying to develop a
habit of flossing every day,start by just flossing one
(13:23):
tooth.
In most cases with flossing,you'll start, you'll do one
tooth and then you'll end updoing more than one tooth.
Right?
And he, he also gave the exampleof someone he knew who had been
trying to start an exercisepractice and finally just made
the simple commitment of goingto the gym for five minutes
every day.
(13:44):
And that ended up becoming abigger commitment because the
guy figured out, oh, well, ifI'm going to take the time to
get ready to go to the gym,travel to and from the gym, I
might as well stay a little bitlonger than five minutes.
Once I managed to, you know,make that commitment and stick
to it.
And one tool, I really like tostick to these habits once
(14:06):
you've created them.
It's called Way of Life.
So it's an app--it's definitelyon iOS; I believe it's on
Android as well.
I'll include the link in theshow notes.
And this is an app that just hasthese simple checkbox journals
for habits you're trying to formor avoid.
So, for example, if one of yourdaily goals is to write a
thousand words every day, whenyou open up the app, it will
(14:30):
have a series of check boxesthat will form a chain after I
think three in a row.
And if you don't fill it out,it'll prompt you.
I think you can set, set theprompt to go off whatever time
makes the most sense for you,but it'll remind you that you
haven't done the thing yet.
And I think for that app, I'drecommend doing things that are
(14:50):
very manageable.
So let's say you set yourreminder to go off at 9:00 PM.
There are certain things thatyou're not going to want to do
after 9:00 PM.
Right?
And then another thing that Iprobably talk about a lot that I
think can make a big difference,if not in the specifics of your
life, um, then in your feelingsabout your life is mindfulness.
(15:15):
So in order to be more mindful,um, which is something that I've
found really kind of helps withevery area of my life, it helps
me manage stress.
It helps me make better use ofmy time.
It helps me value things more.
Um, a way to do that is to set areminder on your phone for a
time each day that works foryou.
And that can also help.
(15:37):
It can also help if you tie itto another habit.
So for example, you can say toyourself, um, after I take a
shower every morning I do mymindfulness practice, or after I
wake up in the morning, I do mymindfulness practice before I
get out of bed.
And this can be meditation, butit also could be just kind of
slowing down, paying attentionto the world around you for a
minute or two, things like that.
(15:58):
So, to give an example, Irecently,, I attended a Caveday,
which is, Caveday is thisorganization that runs these
productivity sprints.
And so I was at an in-personCaveday a couple of weekends ago
and we did this mindfulnesspractice where we were each
(16:22):
given a raisin and we were askedto simply place the raisin in
each of our mouths and not starteating it yet, not start
chewing.
And then the the leader of theCave walked us through this
mindfulness practice.
And I'm not a big fan of reasonsthat said during this practice,
(16:43):
I actually found that the flavorand the raisin was a lot more
complex and layered than I hadknown.
And I enjoyed eating a raisinfor the first time, probably
since I was a kid as a result,which was interesting to me.
So it can be something reallysmall.
It can just be paying moreattention to something you look
(17:04):
at every day.
So after a while, if everythingin your surroundings is the
same, it all kind of blends intothe background.
So just pick one thing that youhaven't really observed in
awhile and pay attention to whatcolor it is or how big it is, or
, um, how, how the light ishitting it, things like that.
(17:24):
So these are just a few thingsto consider incorporating into
your life, but I bet you cancome up with some more that are
more in line with your owninterests and maybe a better fit
for your, how your life isstructured.
So next week I will be chattingwith writer Theodora Blanchfield
on creativity as a mental healthpractice.
I hope you'll join us.
In the meantime, you can followus on Instagram at
(17:45):
@howtobecreativepod.
Outro (17:51):
So that's this week's episode of How to Be Creative.
As always, you can find shownotes including a complete
episode transcript and links toeverything discussed at
howtobecreative.org.
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