Injecting variety into your schedule can make you more creative and productive

December 6, 2019
7:00 am

Creativity is something that’s incredibly important to my work. Sometimes creating ideas and then enacting them is really hard. But it’s exactly what many of us must do as virtual assistants.

There are two ways to approach creativity. You can wait for divine inspiration to strike and create (impressively) when it does. That’s a great feeling and it’s fun! But, what do you do when inspiration’s been AWOL for a while? Just sit around and twiddle your thumbs?

For me, I’ve found that creating structure is what I need to stay productive. Otherwise, I could put off my projects indefinitely since I’m not feeling ‘inspired.’ The structure helps me become a more skilled creative, plus keeping a regular schedule helps me finish my work by or before deadline and cuts down on feeling pressured. And that, of course, keeps my clients happy too.

But structure can be tricky.

Too much structure and suddenly, my creative energy becomes blocked, and I can’t get things moving. That’s where variety comes in.

I’ve worked office jobs before, in the courts, in the non-profit sector, and dealt with the front office as a teacher. Although I enjoyed the social aspects of this work, my body and mind often craved a less structured work environment where there was more room for creativity to flourish. What I love about my work from home as a virtual assistant is that I can get work done depending on my mood. For example, if I am feeling sluggish in the morning, I can start with something that doesn’t take much brain power, and later get into the harder stuff. On the other hand, if I am feeling wide awake and refreshed, I’ll tackle the hardest tasks first.

Adding newness to your schedule

Variety really helps you stay creative. The thing is, it’s easy to fall back into a variety-less existence. So, I’ve made three categories of activity that have helped me, and that you can introduce to your life. I’ve separated them by small, medium and large acts, and recommend making time for some of each.

Small acts of variety —

taking a shower
trying a new lunch
drinking a new type of coffee, tea or flavored water
running up and down the stairs (a favorite of mine)
dancing with headphones on
stretching as you get up to do other things; listen to what your body wants
doing a short home yoga routine

Medium acts of variety —

eating lunch at a nearby restaurant or friend’s house
leaving the house for errands
doing a longer home yoga routine
starting an art journal
signing up for art, music, or yoga classes
working in a coffee shop or coworking space
taking a walk around the neighborhood or somewhere you’ve never been
taking the afternoon off for a trip somewhere close by
going to a part of town you’ve never visited
going to a new grocery store and making some food you’ve never attempted
checking out an art museum in your city
switching your schedule on its end for a day, starting work in the evening after a day of fun, for instance

Larger acts of variety –

Taking a week or two off and leaving your house and environment
Visiting a new city or country or foreign culture, especially as a solo traveler
Doing a silent meditation retreat
Committing to on-going volunteer activities, such as becoming a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)

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I get caught up in my work and don’t want to get up and take a break. I know many of you can relate. But I am always amazed how getting up for a shower, some yoga, or just to pet my cat can totally change the energy. It’s worth it.

Although this is my first full time year as a virtual assistant, I decided to do a couple of big things to break up my days and improve my work health this year. Neither were small decisions for me, either.

I hired a business and mindset coach who is helping me visualize the life I want to live, and then build and uplevel my business around that vision.

I also signed up to be a volunteer to the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival and stayed in Bali for a week. As an introvert, I was dreading leaving my house but when I got there I really appreciated hearing intriguing authors from around the world speak. It was such a good break from my routine and helped reaffirm that travel is a big part of my vision and that virtual assistance helps make that real. Talk about shaking things up!

Take a look at your schedule and decide on some activities–preferably from the small, medium, and large categories–that you can work into your schedule.

As you can see from my experiences, these acts, whether small or large, can positively upset your routines and help remind you of your goals. They can give you distance from day to day tasks and help reaffirm if your current life is fulfilling or if anything needs to be tweaked. Shaking up your routine will give you a bigger picture.

What if you don’t know what you want to do?

Introducing variety into your schedule takes getting in touch with your intuition. What do you want to do right now? The more deep listening you do, the less it will tell you it wants you to sit on the couch and watch Netflix. Or maybe it will tell you that it wants you to reserve one day on the weekend for binge TV watching, because maybe you haven’t been honoring your body with rest.

Introducing variety also takes trusting yourself. You have to believe that despite adding fun and newness to your schedule, you will still get your work done. It might feel counterintuitive, or like you don’t have time. But, you’ll find that adding variety to your schedule will actually make you a more creative problem solver with millions of ideas you’ll actually have the bandwidth to enact.

Willow Paule is a creative virtual assistant who has also operated a freelance photography business since 2009. She puts her small-business experience to work in helping small business owners with problem-solving and creative projects. In her free time she enjoys people-watching, photographing diverse festivals and working on creative projects. Follow this link to get in touch for a free consultation or visit her website for more info.

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