Diary of an entrepreneur: when to be creative during the week

An entrepreneur has the challenge of choice. You can do so many things at the same time, you need to figure out where to put your focus. Most people try to work on their client tasks during the week, with the idea that this is when they are most productive.

There are so many things you could do, work on and get done. Some activities, on the other hand, need innovative and creative thinking.

I have switched that order around and it has worked out pretty well for me. I worked on my blog, write for other people and work on my own projects at the beginning of the week. I reserve Friday afternoon for client chores and creative work that doesn’t require a lot of focus.

Creativity is key, for anyone

Creativity is often thought of as a quality that only people with high intelligence possess. This, however, is not true. Creativity can be learned and if you are willing to work at it, there’s no reason why even those who don’t have an I.Q. over 120 cannot harness the power of creativity in their lives.

What holds people back from being more creative? Bad habits they’ve adopted over the years which may seem inconsequential but could actually be holding them back each day without them realizing it.

One of the deciding factors to me, as an entrepreneur, is the timing of creative work.

These bad habits range from procrastinating on tasks because they feel tired or distracted to general laziness or lack of motivation. The key to overcoming these bad habits is simple: determination and consistency!

I am much more creative at the beginning of the week

I am much less creative and much more busy and lazy on Friday’s. I find it difficult to be creative after a long week of work, but this is because I am not allowing myself to take the time to do creativity-related tasks.

I have come to realize that Fridays are the days where I most want to get things done – just work, without distractions. This is perfectly fine for client-related tasks, but it doesn’t work so well when it comes to creative tasks.

The beginning of the week is a lot better for these types of tasks. At this time, I’m more willing to get creative and don’t feel as tired or distracted. So this is when I get these tasks done.

How to work on bad creative work flow habits

Once you’ve decided which days are best for what types of work, it’s time you start working on your bad habits of not working enough creatively. You can begin by setting small achievable goals each day and then build from there. Use the following techniques to help you overcome your negative habits:

Set a timer for a set amount of time (15 minutes) and work on a specific task that requires creativity. Remind yourself that your goal is just 15 minutes, nothing else. You can do this every day until it becomes second nature for you to work on a creative task even if it’s just for a short amount of time.
Another strategy is to block distractions, such as the Internet and social media, during your creative sessions so you can really focus on developing your ideas. You’ll find that once these distractions are blocked off, you’ll be more productive as you won’t be tempted to check your Facebook or Twitter account.
Make a list of what’s stopping you from being more creative and then try to overcome each obstacle by taking one step at a time. For example, if you find it hard to get started with a new idea because of the fear of failing, write down ways on how you can replace this fear with a more positive one.
Get feedback from other people on what you’re doing just to get a better idea of how others perceive it and make improvements if needed.
Have fun while being creative as this will not only motivate you but also increase your productivity as well as make the experience more enjoyable.

Being more creative is not just fun, it can also help increase your productivity. If you apply these techniques, you’ll be able to harness the power of creativity in your life.

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash