Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hi, my name is Maria Diego. I am an artist and illustrator from Berlin in Turkey. And I give weekly articles where people who haven't held a brochure in years forever really come and learn how to connect with the inner artist and how to embrace their own creativity. As not myself and as someone who is creative on the daily, I know that it can be very hard to make time and space for it. And as works for post students working with a lot of people almost every day. I also know that I'm not the only one with this problem. Many people really to be creative but find it very hard to justify making time and space, putting a little bit of effort into the creative outlet. So in this course, I'm going to show you that that is indeed the time and a place for odd into your day-to-day life. We're going to establish an easy to maintain routine with our class project, which I'm gonna talk about in the next video, where you will learn how to promote your creativity into your busy schedule. We're also going to talk about the three main blocks, our creativity and productivity. And this will be helpful for you not only in becoming more creative, but also in tackling procrastination and the topic of how can I be productive and still enjoy it? You don't need any special skills or fancy equipment for this course. For you need is a little bit of courage and a lot of motivation and a women to be created. Again, if you think it's time to wake up your inner artist, and I'll see you in the next video.
2. Establish A Creative Routine - Our Class Project: So for our class project, we are going to establish an easy to maintain routine for your creativity that you can mode and form. However you need to fit it into your busy day to day schedule. And for that, I have provided a little weekly planner for you and you can download, you can print off if you want, you'll find it in the project class description. I wouldn't advise it to print it out just because it is easier to stick to something. It's always in your vision. So I have printed this out the size of mine that was sketch for, which is something I'll talk about in a minute. So I can just have it with me all the time and I don't be creative. Sit down because this is what was firing student as project. We're not trying to make you master artist. We're not trying to sell paintings or drawings. This is about making time and space for little creative practice each day. And we're going to try to do that for seven days straight. So for the whole week, this is why we have this little planet. Of course, you can use this planet again and again and again. I promise often while is just a ferry automatic thing that you'll do it it'll be part of your routine and you won't have to fill out this path. But let's have a closer look at this little sheet of paper I have here because what's great about this is that it's not just takeoff list of, okay, I sat down today, I was creative. It is a plan that you can fill out to your needs. So we have the first column which is I make time for today. So you can, oh, and that'll give you a sense of gratification, satisfaction. And it also says, When did I make time? That doesn't necessarily only mean to write down the time you were creative, but it also allows you to play around with the timing. Does it fits better to have five to ten minutes to be created in the morning before you go to work or right after you walk enough, pause it better in the afternoon or after lunchtime, you can figure out what works best for you. And you can try a couple of different times and just note them down and see how easy or hard it was, time and space. Now in the second one we have here is, I chose this space to be creative. That just talks about the environment she chose. So wherever you were sitting at a desk like me right now, wherever you were sitting on your badge on the couch in a little chair, maybe you were doing art, work creative outside. That's also great. So again, he, you can try and try a couple of different spots and see what works best for you when you feel most comfortable. Yep. Just find the perfect spot for you to be creative every day. That a little bit. Then the next question or the next. A statement is, today's creative experience was dot-dot-dot, then is especially for you to know how did work. How was the timeline shows how is the place I chose? Did it work out for me? Did I have struggles to they're not notes do was so stupid to me. Why am I doing this? And hopefully you see that throughout the week, as you find the right time and the right space in your home to be creative, it would be easier to create and you won't feel stuck or distracted. Now the last point is just a little foreshadowing for the next day tomorrow I12. So if something wasn't right on your first day or second day, whatever day you're on, you can write down what you'd like to change for the next day and tried to make that a reality. Now I've already mentioned sketchbooks, and this is the one thing, that one material I would advise you to get for this course and for life in general. Sketchbooks can come in various sizes and shapes, and it doesn't really matter what size you choose. I mean, this, this lovely pocket-sized once they can literally take any way you go. And they're really handy to just if you have a very busy life, to just take with you lunch break to maybe do a little doodle. But of course it can also be bigger. For example, this is my current sketchbook that I use almost every day, hopefully every day from now on. And as I said, I printed out my plan in exactly the same size. So I can just either put it on top of my sketchbook or even put it inside to remind myself to fill out my planner and work on my creativity every day. So this is the one thing you should probably gets if you want to do is close and if you want to be more creative in general, you might already have a journal or diary. You can use that as well, but I just find these blank pages a lot nicer to use political doodles or sketches then dr dt or gridded paper. But that's completely up to you, doesn't have to be expensive. Just whatever you want to get, something that looks really pretty so you, for example, I have to admit I only got this because I found it so beautiful. I haven't actually used it yet. Treat yourself to something nice with this, your creativity and you're an artist work. Thank you later. With all of that being said, of course, once you've filled out your creativity plan, you're very welcome to share it and the project gallery. If you want to get feedback or give feedback to other people who have done this course to other students, then feel free to do so. Feel free to use the discussion as well and talk about what timing worked best for you, what space work best for you if you have any advice for the others, the shadow as well. And of course, if you create something you're proud of or you see a significant difference throughout the days in your creations, then feel, feel free to share your creations as well. I'm sure a lot of the other students would love to see an eye for sure would love to see your creations. And I'm very happy to give you feedback as well as any questions. So do share them. Disgust because that's where his costs.
3. The Three Blocks Of Creativity: Now before we can creating, let us quickly talk about what I call the three main blocks of productivity or creating. This applies not only to being an artist and being created. These blocks can be put into any situation urine. So it could refer to your job or it could refer to family, live to the choice you need to take care of all your creative endeavors every day. Of course, a lot of excuses for not being as productive as it could be or not being as creative and as he would like it to be. And we are going to divide all of these excuses into three main blocks. And I'm going to talk about them and go through them with you. Now. This is this little guy, this little light bulb represents you and your amazing ideas and creative energy that lies within you. If you learn how to use your creative energy fully, you're going to be as brightest this little dude in everything you do, not just your creative endeavors. Everything you need to take care of wherever, your family, joke, house, whatever. But this is what you look like when you have already found your creative energy. Unfortunately, it's not always that easy to be creative and to express productivity and creativity. And there's a certain, there's seven monsters that can come up and hinder us from exploring our creativity. And here's the first one, this scary monster who is block. We are going to Title V. Now we can say that all excuses basically. And this fear behind every single excuse or apology that you made. But we're still going to talk about as single broker in the following video. Sadly enough, is not the only thing that can get anywhere. You're creating productive endeavors. There's this scary monster, this second block, which is already blocking out more of your light and you can see here, we call environments. This book deals with all your surroundings and the pressure coming from the outside of you. Again, I'm going to talk about each blog individually, free videos. So it's three videos, it's three blocks in know that there's gonna be a next one. And this third scary monster, this third block, we call time. Again, a very broad term that we're going to explore in one of the following videos timed to steels with all the excuses that sound like I'm too busy. There's not enough time to do this. I keep forgetting to, and so on. So we'll talk about this soon. But let us quickly find out where these blocks come. Why do we feel blocked so often or why did we not feel able to? And things to be more productive to immigrate? Well, it would be easy to see that most of these blocks come from outside ourselves. Of course, if you work with other people, there's always going to be in the feeling of peer pressure. You're always going to feel it. Others having expectations on what are that the colleagues and family members doesn't really matter. Everyone seems to have an expectation of what you have to do and how you have to add. So it's really easy to just say all of these blocks come from outside myself and there's not really anything I can do about it. Well, the reality, most of our blogs actually come from inside ourselves. Most of the pressure that we feel during work time or being at home with family members, trying to do everything to every chalk. Take care of the children, take care of ourselves, takeover partner. All of this pressure comes from inside ourselves, known as higher expectations on you than yourself. You always tried to be the best version of yourself that you can be very easy to not give yourself time to grieve until lacks that. I'm sounds scary. But don't worry, there is hope and there is actually good news. Because if the only person who's really putting pressure on ourselves is ourselves, there's only one way to change one of these expectations at all of the excuses. And there's only one person who can do that is us. So in the next couple of videos, I'm going to go through each block of productivity individually. I'll tell you a little bit about how they might manifest, what the excuses might sound like. And hopefully give you some ways of how to baton and debunk these myths of creativity and productivity.
4. Block 1 - Fear: Now our first book of creativity, I've titled, as I've said before, all of these blocks, them from fear. Whenever we have an excuse to not do anything to pour ce is not as important as other things. All of that comes from a fear inside us. What are we afraid of? Well, the starches, people would love to compare themselves to other people. And it's so easy to be afraid of what were the others. Think of me. What is my family going to think of me if I put creativity firstborn? So if I make time for this, even though I have so many projects I need to do, I think I'll be wasting my time. And especially if you want to become more involved with art, you're also gonna compare yourself to other artists. I mean, everyone does it. I do it all the time. I look at other artists, more established creators and Fink and never get to be as good as that. I might as well just give up. But that's just fear talking. Because how will I know if I could be as good if i don't do it. Fear can manifest itself in many different ways. It can be sheer ignorance. And it can also be very conscious about it and say, no, I'm just afraid of what people would think of me. What that would mean for my life. I would have to change my life, would have to cheat or creative routine. And that's valid. That's okay. But do you really want to let fear stop you in as one lives that you had? And I'm said before, we're not trying to make you the best artist in the world. We're not even trying to make you a famous artist or a full-time artist. This is about giving your inner child and your inner artist an opportunity to play and come out. Everyone should have that and it doesn't matter if you have been drawing since you were a child. Haven't really done that actual everyone else to do it once in a while. Think of yourself taking a telephone call or do you just sit there and talk to the person? Do you could walk around. Do you concerned cause maybe or do you take an envelope or piece of paper and just start doing things? A lot of people actually are very prone to just putting down what they think and visuals. And you might not even notice it, but you might have been created the whole time. So try to let go of that theory. There's really nothing to worry about. All you need is a little bit of time. Ten minutes a day is enough. And if you don't have ten minutes for art, then think about your day. All the things you do that you do have time for scrolling on your phone. I know for a fact that I do that way too much and I could spend so much time doing art instead of looking at social media or checking my emails. So really just trying to let go of all these priorities and reestablish your priorities as well and relax. This is not a process that needs to be done in a day. This is for you to explore your creativity and to understand that it's a valid part of yourself. And it deserves time and space in your busy schedule.
5. Block 2 - Environment: The second big block of creativity and even Productivity. Always remember you can apply it is not only super your creative outlet, but also to your job you like and general environment. This basically deals with all the surroundings around you. A lot of excuses can sound like I just, I don't know space where I could be creative P Now, it would make a mess. Would it really if you just use pen and paper? And I don't think so. But I don't have anywhere where I can be comfortable. Create something where you're going to be comfortable. I wouldn't advise it to creative on pre-vet because besides sleeping, you shouldn't really be doing anything on your bed during the day. You can sit in a comfy chair, you can sit in the path of Q can go out. The Gianni have time during the lunch break, try change of scenery and just go into another room or even outside. Take out a little sketch Berg and just do some relaxing doodles. Doesn't have to be perfect. It's just a lot of people also say, Oh my hose, very busy. Even environment homologue. I just don't have the space where I'm drunk can be destructed. That's up to you, isn't it? You just have to make clear boundaries for your family members to not disturb you during your time of creativity. If that doesn't work, you have very young children who don't understand these boundaries. Or if you have very obnoxious family members who don't respect that space, then of course, you can always choose a time where they won't be around. No one is around year 2007. And you can find little space. Again. You can go outside and just take ten minutes to yourself to do two unknowns, to just relax and explore the page, make the environment to looking toward. It doesn't always have to be stable. Desk, doesn't have to be off studio. It just needs to be you, your pen, your paper, and your thoughts.
6. Block 3 - Time: Now the third and last block of productivity or creativity is what I titled Time. And it is actually my favorite blog because it's quite easy to debunk and to battle this block. You might have a lot of excuses that sound like, I just don't have time for that because it's not as important as x, y, z. Or I just I forget again so busy no, all the time and running around and I just can't keep up with that. Well, there's very, very easy solutions to not having the time or thinking you don't. And remember that you need to take care of yourself and nurture your inner artist every day as well. Of course, our class project, our weekly planner should already help you remembering to be creative every day. As I've said in class project video, it helps if you have the plan visible before you, if you pin it to a wall or if you have it on top of your sketchbook or whatever you use to create. And another thing that's very helpful to remind yourself to make time thought is once you've found the perfect time slot for you. So once you've figured out if it works better to be creative in the morning and during lunchtime and the afternoon or evening, you can set a little reminder on your phone so you can either make it an effect in your calendar, whether it be on your phone, Google Calendar, for example, for upper Canada, or in your physical journal, your calendar, that doesn't really matter what ever you use to keep track of your meetings and everything that's coming up. Make sure to make another point for being creative and schedule a time. Again, it doesn't have to be much. It can be ten minutes. It can be as long as have time to be creative. And make sure to schedule this little creative meeting with yourself and with your artist. And if you still think, I don't even have ten minutes a day, I'm so so busy. Maybe it is time, as I've said before, to look at all the things you do during the day and see if you can change your priorities and a little bit. Because creativity and nurturing your inner child is important. It is important for you to relax, to take some time for yourself and know to yourself, like I said. So think about all the things you're doing during the day. Maybe you're checking your phone every ten minutes or something for a minute. Or maybe you have a little ritual of reading the news. Of course, keeping up with the news, it's important, but Menu spending 30 minutes on the news when actually all we need is ten minutes. So instead of browsing Instagram or Facebook, for example, you could use just five to ten minutes of your day, schedule, a little date whether you're an artist and just really use that time to be creative. You will thank me later because as soon as it's become a routine, you can feel how much more balanced and relaxed you are throughout your busy schedule.
7. What If I Feel Uninspired?: Now that we have talked about the three main big blocks of productivity and creativity, there is one more question you might be asking yourselves, and that is, what am I supposed to create? What am I supposed to do it or do every day that I did this routine? Especially if you're just starting out and you haven't been drawing all been actively creating for the last couple of months or years, or maybe since you were a child, then it can be quite difficult to go back into creating and just letting creativity blow. Again. This course is not about making you master artist and you don't have to create anything cohesive or any beautiful paintings, drawings, whole comic, nothing like that. If you're not sure what to create, Think of these easy examples. When you sit down to be creative, one thing you can always do is to just take a breath. And instead of writing down things that come to your mind, tried drawing them, you can even use these little doodles as some kind of visual diary. So you could draw what has happened to you that day or the day before, or something that has stuck in your head that has happened. Also, if you don't wanna do this, if you need something to focus on and if you just want to practice drawing as well as being created every day, you can choose something that's surrounding you, something that catches your eye. And it can be a plant, it could be something very smallest, standing somewhere. You can take this and just try to put it on paper. There's also, especially if you've already done a little bit of art and you're a little bit more established and practiced. There's loads of challenges that you can do and little products is loaded. Websites where you can find drawing prompt. Just type in Sketch prompt or drawing prompt. And there's a lot of websites that are gonna give you a certain type and a certain randomly selected image that you can try to bring onto your paper. You don't want to do visual diary or paint something on in that surrounding you. Another very cool challenge is coming up right now actually, and it's called ink toga. And mostly you seen on Instagram or Facebook. It's a challenge where during the month of October, every day you create a little drawing, a little painting with ink. Now that doesn't necessarily mean you need to get a quill and get income. Do beautiful drawings. It could be just a by rho or a fountain pen that you draw. And throughout the month, you're gonna create a really beautiful, cohesive paintings or drawings just with one medium. That can be really helpful, especially if you're starting out and you're not quite sure what to use to describe your regular fountain pens or five room and started giving away. There's other challenges on the Internet as well. Of course, something I would also recommend to you do is check out other courses on skill share that will teach you a special skills for drawing. So you could look at a portrait class, for example, or you could look at water color flower videos. There's so many videos here on Scotia, and I'm sure you've checked out quite a couple of lessons already. Why not apply one of those listens to this practice as well and just spend five to ten minutes or if you have the time even more each day on learning about creativity with another course, combining it with your routine. There's so much you can do and there's really no pressure. Because remember, the only pressure you have comes from inside yourself. And it's up to you to change that, relax, and just create free.
8. Get Out There And Keep Creating!: Now that you've learned about all the blocks of creativity and productivity and have hopefully established a routine that works for you, just for him, but that really is no oppression. And this is all about reconnecting with your inner child, with your inner artist. Just allowing yourself to relax on the page and create free. Of course, this is not just a one-week thing. The idea of this course is that you can take the plan and the routine that you've made and just apply it to your life from now on. So I hope you found a way that works for you. If you have any questions still, boy, if you'd like to discuss something, you can even message me directly or you can put it down in a discussion box. I'll be sure to be checking out all your questions or even your experiences on how this went for you. And I just want to mention this again. If you do create something you're proud of, especially if you link to Nova Scotia, cause with, please feel free to share your creations in the project gallery with other students and myself. I would love to give you feedback on it and see all your beautiful creations. And it's a great way to show the other students what you've learnt and told about how this routine and maybe have another skill share course has helped you to be more creative. So do share and do discuss, and I'm looking forward to seeing all your beautiful creations.
Maria Degel, Artist and Idea-machine
