Creative Lulls
 

Wow has it really been three weeks? So as you might know I was in New York three Mondays ago, after I arrived but my jet lag was so bad I didn't manage to anything done and then having a week away meant I had so much to catch up on that this newsletter was neglected. 

With my lull in creativity, I've been looking for my creative spark and thinking about how it comes in waves, and how some months I get more done then others. We often hear people talking about being less creative in the winter and finding creativity in the summer. But I've been tracking my creativity and have noticed patterns beyond the sun coming out. 

Like most people, winter is a nightmare for how productive I am. But this usually picks up around the New Year, I start to evaluate and put in place plans, all of which normally come to life around Spring time. It's during this time I normally pick up my blog, make wild plans for new ventures and for the most part start to think about how to put those in to practice. This lasts for a couple of months, then summer hits. The sun comes out, I find myself doing more, like going outside or going on holiday. During this time I'm often too busy to think about things, I want to spend time outside so all those creative plans start to fade away. It's not like the winter where I feel creatively unfulfilled but can't find the motivation to make anything. In the summer I don't need it, I'm happy getting on with all the fun things that summer holds. Occasionally during this time I'll get pangs of guilt, which I am now and this is what prompted this newsletter topic, but ultimately I'm content. 

From September onwards, during that brief Autumn phase we get, the creative spark returns but as winter creeps in, it is short-lived.  So my patterns show, it's those in-between months that bring the most creative fulfilment.  I think it's important to know how your productivity works because it is easy to beat yourself up when you're not getting things done.

With social media, we are made to feel useless if we're not doing something everyone seems to be working on a new business plan, creating new content and if you have spent a day watching tv and haven't posted for a couple of days you can feel like automatically you've been forgotten and left behind. 

We live in an oversaturated market and it is always to keep in mind that what you see isn't always everyone's full picture, and that social media for the most part os curated to put people in the best light. Looking after yourself isn't a bad thing and giving yourself a break when you need it will help your success more than burning out. 

So I'm interested does anyone find that their creativity works in the same way? Are you creative all year round? Which months do you see a lull? Let me know....