I keep a running list in the notes section on my phone: potential candidates for my word of the year. I love the simplicity of this practice, choosing one guiding focus for the whole year instead of setting a bunch of goals I’ll most likely give up on before January is over.
This is the seventh year I’ve chosen a word. When I look back over the previous words I’ve picked, they’ve all served me well. They’ve all been good words, and have each helped me in their own way. But this year, I noticed a pattern. They’ve all been leading me in the same direction. In one way or another, they’ve all been geared towards productivity.
This year, I was ready for something different. Something with a little more pizzazz. More fun, less goal-oriented. I had a few different ideas on my list, but as 2023 drew to a close, one word kept grabbing my attention: creative.
While I’d say I’m overall a fairly creative person, I am guilty of letting a lot of things get in the way of my creativity. And, of course, there will always be things that must get done—laundry, dishes, packing lunches, driving my kids around. However, I know I’m making a (sometimes subconscious) choice to let the other things get in the way. Things like fear of looking silly or self-doubt. Feeling like I haven’t “earned” the time to spend on creativity.
I’ve been feeling the beginnings of a shift to a new season: I’m in the last few years of my thirties, and in the fall, all three of my boys will be in school full-time. After over a decade of having at least one foot in the little years, I’m getting ready to fully step into the next stage of motherhood.
And I know exactly what I want more of in my life during this next season: creativity.
I want to write more, yes. But I also want to experiment with watercolors—even if I’m embarrassed to show anyone the results. I want to pick up something obscure at the thrift store and see what a can of spray paint does to it. Spend an hour trying to make addresses on envelopes look pretty just because. Try decorating cookies for the fun of it. I want to sit at the kitchen table with my kids, surrounded by cut-up magazines and glue sticks. Finish the cross-stitch kit I picked up on a whim.
As I’ve thought about how I want to infuse 2024 with more creativity, I realized I wanted a way to check in with myself and see: how am I actually prioritizing creativity in my life?
I came up with five questions that I plan to answer at the end of each month, and I made a fun little printable that I’ve got on the bulletin board above my desk to keep them fresh in my mind.
Going forward, I might share some of my answers to these questions at the end of each month, but I said I was going to transition to shorter and (slightly) more frequent Substack posts in 2024. This is already getting long and I have some links I want to share!
January Links
Writing: I was thrilled to have an essay published in Literary Mama this month.
Reading: Thoroughly enjoyed Hello Beautiful and sobbed my way through the end. Also got very caught up in The Martian and flew through The Book of Lost Names (a re-read for book club). My oldest and I have been reading The Wild Robot Protects together, and on his own, he’s been working his way through the Land of Stories. My younger two have been enjoying the Puppy Pirates series, and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read The Little Snowplow out loud this month.
A few random things I’m loving: As part of infusing more creativity into my life, I’m committing to painting my nails more fun colors this year instead of always choosing some shade of pink. I love Olive & June Quick Dry and my first forays into more adventurous colors have been vintage and minty. (I have to be honest, though—I went pink with pointe this week.)
A new year is the perfect time for new office supplies, right? Compendium spiral notebooks are my favorite, and I scooped up a new one before kicking off the spring round of Creative Cohorts. I also finally got a bulletin board to go above my desk after wanting one for over a year, and I’ve had the best time deciding what to put on it (it’s the little things, right?).
My minivan doesn’t have Bluetooth, and the only reason I care about this is that my phone doesn’t get loud enough for everyone to hear in the car if I want to entertain my kids with something other than the radio. For Christmas, I got this Bluetooth converter, and now my kids can listen to audiobooks and podcasts in the car, which is a game-changer (they fight so much less when there is something interesting to listen to!). They’ve all enjoyed Sound Detectives and my ten-year-old is really loving Greeking Out, especially since he got the book for Christmas.
Help, please? I’ve recently realized that a hole in my wardrobe is a good casual tennis shoe that will look good with jeans (and yes, I’m still mostly wearing skinny jeans and I don’t care that they are “out”). If you have a pair you love, drop a link, please!
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I love this little list, and want to see the results of your watercolor experimentation! I'd love to try that at some point too.
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