“My idea of a great day is to work on a project, have something good to eat, and maybe do a little thrift shopping too,” said my aunt who was the queen of creativity. She loved to try new recipes, create with her hands, and find the beauty within the ordinary. She taught me the value of leaving space for the richness of working on something that brings you joy. I absorbed her philosophy wholeheartedly. And now a question I often ask people who want to write is, “Are you craving a creative life?”

Listen. My aunt looked at everything with an artist’s eye – although she wasn’t an artist like our friend Vermeer who liked to paint women doing ordinary tasks. Even an unusual piece of cardboard would catch my aunt’s attention. And sure enough, somewhere down the line, my birthday gift arrived, wrapped in gorgeous tissue paper, surrounded by the finely printed cardboard she’d saved, and finished with a gorgeous bow. Martha Stewart couldn’t have done better.

My aunt knew the secret to a rich life. You need to make room for creativity. And you don’t need to wear a giant red hat to do it.

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Now, before you say you don’t have time for creativity (even though it haunts your dreams) – hold your horses for a minute. My aunt worked six days a week running a business. But in the evenings she still would putter on a project, and on her one day off she’d be outside in her garden. I never liked her crazy schedule, but I couldn’t deny that she always lived in the space of creativity. She was upcycling before the word was even invented. But she made time for it and it was one of the best gifts she gave to me.

Are you craving a creative life? You have a longing to write which means you have a desire for a creative life too. You’ve probably already dabbled in it or it’s something you’ve done forever. And then somewhere along the line, life got busy and you didn’t make time for writing anymore.

But you didn’t ever forget about it. The spark of writing never left your heart. I know that for sure. Because I was stuck in the same rut. I started writing as a kid and wrote all the way through high school and college. And then I was thrown into adult life with all of its responsibilities. Writing went on the back burner. But the desire to write never left me. It would seep into my job – I wrote scripts for television commercials and ad copy. I created cards and sold them in a bookstore. It leaked into everything I did. Writing has its own special pleasures and somehow, I found a way to keep the spark alive. Slowly I realized writing was a huge part of the richness of my life. And I made even more time for it.

Carve a slice of time for your creative life

If you love words? Well, I guarantee you love to read and there’s a pile of books by your bed. You’re probably also creative with many other things too. And all of it is part of your joyful life. But, and this is a big but, if you’re really thinking about writing again (and you must be as you are here reading this!) – you need to grab some of your creative time each week and give it just to your writing.

You don’t need hours each day to be a writer. You can joyfully write for fifteen minutes once a day, every other day, or once a week. Something is better than nothing. You can write about anything. The whole point is to just do it. The creative life asks for nothing more than that.

Write about anything that catches your eye. Like a piece of unusual cardboard. Or a girl wearing a giant red hat.

And as soon as you do this? Time will fly. You’ll feel lighter inside. And your heart will immediately tell you that you’ve stepped into something good. You’ve carved a delicious slice of creative life just for you.

My aunt would definitely approve.

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*Did you love this? Then check out Scribbly – my quirky and gentle writing program that we snail-mail right to your home. It’s a joyful kickstart to your creative life!