Make creativity a daily habit
My favourite 15 minute creative activities anyone can try
Hello, I’m Molly, a full time creative based in the Scottish Highlands. Subscribers can enjoy weekly posts around the themes of slow living, thriving in a creative career, books & nature. Members get access to ALL my work, including video tea times, slow letters and seasonal book reviews.
Curious? Click subscribe and lets get started…
One of my intentions for this year was to have fun with my creativity.
I chose the word ‘fun’ deliberately, as although I felt I had improved in terms of spending more time on creative projects in 2024, I was still taking this far too seriously.
I was shackled by my perfectionist nature. Frozen by the fear of failure. Stunted by the innate feeling that I needed to share my work. Or even monetise it.
All this meant that I’d keep putting off creative projects. Preferring to use my free time to stay within my comfort zone, indulging in well-worn hobbies like reading or walking in nature.
I do believe in the power of setting intentions for ourselves. By using the word ‘fun’, this year, I have slowly begun to shift my mindset. Now I see these creative projects as my play time. It is a space where I can experiment. Allow my creativity to flow without fear of failure.
It is the one area of my life that I don’t have a plan. Even if I have an original idea about what I want to create, I’ve found that it rarely turns out that way. I’ve had to learn to trust the process and enjoy being a complete beginner again.
How I’ve made creativity a habit
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learnt over the past few months is that these creative projects don’t have to take a huge amount of time.
Without being fully conscious of it, I’ve fallen into the habit of doing something creative most days. I would say, in an average week, I’m likely to spend at least 15 minutes a day on one of my various hobbies. And this is enough to satiate my inner artist. Turns out, she was never as demanding as I made her out to be.
There are a few strategies I’ve implemented to nurture this habit -
Have prompts ready. As I said, I don’t over-plan my work, but it can be useful to have some ideas or prompts close to hand as something to get you started. I have an ongoing list in my pocket notebook that I can go back to whenever I’m feeling stuck.
Nurture a portfolio of hobbies. I like to have a number of activities that I can choose from. This means that there is always an option to suit my mood, energy levels and time constraints.
Find inspiration. I love to watch YouTube videos and Skillshare* classes to find ideas and enhance my creative skills. However, I would caution against spending too much time on these platforms, as you don’t want it to distract you from actually starting (talking from experience here!). After all, one of the main benefits of many creative hobbies that they can be done offline and provide a break from screens.
*You can get a 30-day free trial with Skillshare by using this LINK
My favourite creative activities
These are a sample of super simple activities that I have been enjoying over the past few months.
Collaging (junk/art journaling - see image above) - this is the hobby that got me back into creating art. The great thing about collaging is its accessibility, as it doesn’t take a huge amount of skill and it can be done with pretty much anything.
Sketching or doodling - the great thing about this activity is it can be done anywhere (I like to take my sketchbook away on van trips) with very little materials.
Some ‘blob’ monsters that I had such fun creating! Painting backgrounds - I can still find water-colouring quite intimidating, especially if I’m trying to recreate an image. To get around this, I like to paint backgrounds, where I can play with colour without feeling the need to follow a tutorial. This can also provide a great starting base to collage or draw over at a later point.
A painted background with an ink flower drawn over the top Making cards or gifts - handmade cards are a lovely thing to receive, so I’ve started doing this now and again for my loved ones. I’ve also made bookmarks by cutting out pretty paper and sticking it onto card, so I can write a message on the back, and I love to pair this with thrifted books that I think friends will enjoy.
A card I made for a friend’s birthday Colouring - there are so many beautiful adult colouring books available now. Again, this is a super accessible hobby and it’s something that I like to do in the evenings as I find it a great way to wind down.
Aesthetic bucket lists - I love to create a collage at the start of each season, which I pair with a bucket list of activities I’d like to complete. Even if I don’t complete everything on this list (which I often don’t) it’s a fun way to celebrate the turning of the seasons.
My spring collage and bucket list
Enjoying this post? Then you can support my work by buying me a coffee. As this is my full-time job, any small gesture of support is truly appreciated, so thank you!
I hope this post has given you some ideas and serves as a reminder that art really can be for everyone.
Until next week,
Molly xx
This is an inspiring read Molly. I’m feeling very stuck at the moment. I want to start some kind of junk/art journaling. I’ve got everything to get started except the permission slip I need to give myself. I’m stuck overthinking it and worrying it’ll all go wrong (stupid, right?).
Your ideas and examples give me hope. I could easily start with just doing some colouring to get used to putting colour on paper and I love your Spring Bucket List idea!
Thank you Molly for some lovely ideas. I journal and have started to add photos to my writing ( it’s something for my children for when I’m not here ha ha) but you have given me great inspiration to add more creative designs. I have recently subscribed to your Substack and I am looking forward to your tea time chats. Wish I had done this earlier!! Thanks again for sharing your life with others and giving a 59 year old woman, living simply and intentionally in West Wales such joy and great book recommendations too. X