An Hour a Day

Being creative for a living is not always an easy thing to do. There's bills to pay, for instance! And let's face it, most people who are creative, whether composers, poets, painters, or sculptors, find it hard to earn money being creative.

Someone once told me that he spends an hour a day on just his career. I think that's important; whether it's networking, designing your business card, researching grants -- by all means, spend an hour a day supporting your creative career.

But in the rush to tend to business, both your "day job" and your creative life, don't forget to spend time being creative. That is key, and that is the habit to develop.

I myself spend my first hour every day having coffee and composing. That's before I head out to work for my day job. Some days it is a drag because I don't feel like there's much to compose. But it's like shooting the basketball toward the hoop; you can't score if you don't shoot.

So make it a habit to be creative one hour a day. Don't have that hour? Make it 30 minutes. Or 15. Whatever works for you. Keep track of it in a spreadsheet or calendar, and add it up at the end of the week, and the month, etc. See how much time you can spend being creative!