What does your creative practice need? 🤔

Hi Reader, 

How are you doing? (Honest answers always welcomed.)

It’s COVID anniversary season, and anniversaries can be hard, because they bring up the trauma of the original event. Often our bodies remember as much or more than our minds, so if you’re having extra physical and/or mental tension that you can’t fully explain, that’s normal.

You might feel yourself drawing further inward, with less motivation to make art, or you might be extra drawn to it, and the catharsis it provides - both (and everything in between) are valid.

This time might require extra self compassion, grace, and self care, and might affect how much you’re able to accomplish, so please practice compassionate productivity and continue to be extra kind to yourself!

💗💗💗

In the last Creative Wellness Letter (and Episode 57 of Being A Whole Person) I explored consistency and the idea of how we logistically fit a creative practice into our lives, which got me thinking about the word “practice” and its many different connotations and contexts.

My thoughts on the word have evolved over time, and yours probably have, too - I’m sure it means something different to each one of us.

(I explore this question of what it really means to have a creative practice in the latest episode of Being A Whole Person, so you can also listen in or read the transcript to go deeper after you read this letter!)

We musicians tend to use the term “practice” from a young age - I have been practicing piano for about 33 years now! Sometimes it had a negative connotation of obligation, like in college when I constantly said, “I have to practice” or “I should be practicing”, at the expense of anything fun, but I think I have healed a lot of my baggage around practice over the years.

It always felt different, almost spiritual to me when I heard other types of artists use the phrase “my creative practice,” like it was something that they really relied upon for nourishment, and since then, the word “practice” has had more sparkle.

I get where that practice-related baggage can come from.  

Embracing your creative practice means embracing the process, with all of its possible messiness, difficulty, or tedium, and openness to this discomfort is a brave act!

We often just share the end product of our art, which means that practice can get overlooked. An overnight success story with a shiny result is more pleasing to focus on, but there's so much richness in the process.

The idea of showing up to practice repeatedly, times infinity, could be overwhelming (especially if you’re hung up on perfection), but it can also be so freeing!

You get to keep practicing for your entire life.

You get to keep evolving and experimenting within the container of your creative practice.

You get to keep improving through incremental practice, even when you can't see it.

In the word “practice,” I feel an implication of resilience. Having a regular time slot for your creative practice helps you trust yourself to keep showing up, and helps you build the willingness to try again, as many times as you need to.

Practice is the vehicle for becoming the artist that you want to be, whatever that may look like. 

You get to make it whatever you need it to be to reach whatever your goals are, and that's so exciting!

If your creative practice isn’t feeling nourishing right now, here are a few reflection questions to help you shift it to more of what you need:

• Does it feel like there's anything missing from your creative practice right now (elements, activities, structure, or feelings)
• What practices do you currently have? Are they nurturing to you
• How do your various practices (creative and otherwise) inform and nurture each other?
• What practices would you like to have? What would they bring to your life?
• If it sounds overwhelming to bring new practices into your life, does it feel easy to do this practice? If not, how could you make it a little bit easier? (removing barriers, scheduling it, shifting your mindset around it, etc.)

There are all kinds of ways that you can make a subtle shift that helps make it easier to show up for your creative practice, and I'm wishing you well in yours.

If you want to share any of your answers, please do - I’m always excited to hear from you!

What are your thoughts on the word "practice"? Hit reply and let me know!

Stay well, my friends - I'm always rooting for you. My inbox is always open, so please feel free to reach out if I can help in any way. 

I always love hearing from you!

Have a lovely week! ⁠

Rebecca

• 5 Tips to Help You Get Your Shit Together as an ADHD Entrepreneur - Even if you don't have ADHD, there are lots of great tips for anyone who's been frustrated by traditional productivity tips not working for them.
• Productivity Dysmorphia: What It Is and How To Deal - I felt very seen by this - if you have ever identified as a workaholic or had trouble accurately seeing or evaluating your own productivity, you might, too!
• Protecting Your Energy - I loved this email from Austin Channing Brown on recharging yourself.

• Ep. 58: What Does Your Creative Practice Need?

• Mini-sode: Getting more done by working slowly
  
  

We don't always have to work quickly or have a lot of energy in order to get things done, even though that's not what toxic productivity culture wants us to think! I share some examples of compassionate productivity in action, for the times when you need to show up not feeling your best.

Join us in Compassionate Creativity Coworking Club 

(Your first session is free to try!)

Book a free discovery call to learn more about coaching and get a mini-session

Coaching Offerings:

• Rise Above the Overwhelm: laser-focused 1-time sessions

• Creative Flow Intensive (1 month)

• Creative Season (3 months)

• Email Coaching (monthly membership, or discounts for paying quarterly!)