5 Self-Care Essentials For Creative People

Working as a creative is rarely as glamorous as it’s portrayed in the movies. In reality, it’s tough.

Creatives usually don’t have a stable income; are often asked to work for free; and for the vast majority of artists, more time is spent on admin and hunting for the next work opportunity than actually making art.

This means that burnout is a common occurrence in the creative world, and many artists suffer from mental illness.

There’s also a little-spoken about issue among creatives who spend their time ‘getting into character’ — whether they’re actors, writers, or musicians with an on stage alter-ego, artists put a lot of time and energy into being someone other than their everyday self. And then when the show or the project is over, they’re left alone to find their way back to a peaceful, grounded reality.

That’s not to say that being able to make a career in this industry isn’t a privilege. It is — most artists love what they do, and express huge gratitude at the opportunity to make their art their life’s work.

But, if you work in the creative industry it’s important to take care of yourself. Your work might be all-consuming sometimes, but if you can make time each day for simple self-care rituals, you’ll be better able to enjoy your life and your work.

Try these 5 daily self-care essentials:

Shower. This one is, perhaps, blindingly obvious. But when you’re working on something that’s taking up every bit of time and energy you have, it’s easy to forget the basics. Having a quick shower in the morning or evening will help to wash off the stress and the dust — it’ll be 10 minutes well spent.

Meditate. For 5 minutes a day. That’s it - and it doesn’t need to be complicated. Sit still, close your eyes, and take 5 minutes to concentrate on your breath and not worry about your art.

Get a snack box. Fill it with nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and dark chocolate. Sometimes hours can go by when you’re absorbed in your work or racing to meet a deadline; having healthy snacks close by at all times will help to keep you going, and mean you won’t come out of the other side of your project feeling totally exhausted and drained.

Create a detachment ritual. Come up with a simple ritual that, for you, symbolises leaving your work and stepping back into you. This is really important as a creative, because it can be hard to see a clear boundary between ‘work’ and ‘life’. Your ritual might be as simple as running your hands under cool water, or doing five yoga sun salutations to mark the end of your working day. Find something that works for you.

Move your body. Every day. No matter what kind of work you’re doing, get away from it and take time each day to exercise and give your heart rate a nudge. It doesn’t have to be a ten mile run — you could go for a walk, take a yoga class, or go swimming. Anything that feels good. Movement is not only vital for good health, but it also boosts creativity.

Do you work in the creative industry? Perhaps you have some tips that I have missed! If so I would love to hear from you in the comments section below. If you have loved this blog then please let me know and share with your friends.

Until next time xxx

#creativity #selfcare #actingpure #creative