Learn to Create More and Consume Less
Imagine one of those really cool scales with two sides that I think people used to weigh gold on or something like that. Now imagine on one side you place all the hours that you spend creating and on the other side you place all the hours that you spend consuming. Now sit back and imagine which way the scale will tip.
Obviously you’ll really have to consider and observe the amount of time you are spending consuming (if you have an iphone, check screen time!! It’s very eye opening), but I imagine that for a lot of us, the consumption side is way too high.
Here’s the thing - consuming is easy and mindless while creating is difficult. But here’s another thing - too much consuming drains our energy and leads to doubt and comparison while creating is energizing and rewarding and leads to long term progression and improvement and growth. Uhhhh, why am I not spending more time creating!?!?
Sidenote, I would never want to act like consuming is evil because there is DEFINITELY a place for consumption. For me personally, consuming other people’s incredible content and work is what introduced me to the world of painting and creativity! Without consuming what other people had created, I never would have been exposed to so many possibilities and goals and dreams that I could aspire to. Consumption has inspired me to try new things, release new art, and make connections with like minded people.
BUT it is so incredibly easy to go just a little too far and start to tip the scale in favor of consumption over creating. It becomes a habit to consume whenever we have a spare moment. And when that happens we all of a sudden go from feeling inspired to constantly questioning ourselves, feeling like we’re falling behind, seeing others succeed when we are in a slump, and overall falling into the comparison trap that I wrote about here.
It’s pretty easy to recognize when we’ve gone way too far with consumption without balancing it out by creating. But it’s a lot harder to know when to stop before we go too far. So here are some very practical suggestions that I’ve found useful in helping me favor creativity over consumption.
Set limits!! And really actually stick to them. For me, my social media accounts are still relatively small so I have a goal to spend only 20 minutes each day on social media. Sometimes I come in under that and sometimes not! The important thing is that you set yourself a realistic goal and then go from there. Both the instagram app itself and iphone have really great tracking tools that will lock you out when you’ve spent too much time. USE THEM.
Choose times of day (or maybe even days of the week!) that are completely digital free. If you have set work hours, consider splitting them into digital time versus digital free time. If you have blocks of time that you spend with your kids or time that you want to spend on yourself and your development CHOOSE TO MAKE THOSE TIMES DIGITAL FREE. All the content you are used to consuming will still be there when you are done your digital free time so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Split your day into large blocks of time (~2-4 hours each), choose which ones you’re okay with consuming media in and which ones you aren’t, then stick to it. (also read this book)
Don’t consume right before creating. It’s really no good for your morale and it makes it incredibly difficult to stay true to yourself after you’ve just taken in what everyone else is doing. It’s hard enough to be creative without adding all the noise and pressure that consuming can create.
Choose to periodically step away from digital energy drainers. Think about which forms of consumption leave you feeling exhausted and then choose to completely abstain from those for several days in a row. This might sound crazy to some of you but even if it’s only a few days, you will gain a lot of perspective and give yourself a total reset by totally stepping away. Whenever I start feeling overwhelmed, unsettled, exhausted, etc. I choose to delete Instagram and only come back when I feel ready. We don’t realize how much influence certain consumption has on our everyday lives until we completely remove it. Trust me, it’s a game changer.
Find an alternative. Most of what draws us to consume more and more when we want to consume less and less is that it’s habit. It’s habit to pick up our phones whenever we have a few slow moments in our day or we want an easy distraction. So instead of opening instagram or browsing the web, find something else that you could just as easily consume whenever you need that little break in your day. An easy alternative is a good book. You can easily download books from your library onto your phone using OverDrive. Then next time you find yourself reaching for your phone, you can immerse yourself in a good book that you’ve been wanting to read instead of consuming so much content, leaving you feeling scattered and overwhelmed.
Remember, you possess the power to control what you consume! Really consider the power that you are giving to what you consume. What we allow into our lives shapes how we feel, what we do, how we think, everything! Especially things we allow into our lives on a daily (sometimes several times a day) basis. Make sure that the way you are spending your time is reflective of who you want to be as an artist and as a person. And ultimately this will open the floodgates to new creative time and energy!
Did you find this helpful? Follow the links below to read more of this series on overcoming creative stumbling blocks. And share with others who need to hear this!
Overcoming Discouragement in Creativity
Overcome Comparison in Creativity
Interested in listening to and/or watching this content and many more helpful topics? Watch my Skillshare class Creative Stumbling Blocks and How to Overcome Them for free!
