Creativity Friday: starting rituals

I’ve just gotten back from vacation, after sending off my new book proposal to my agent. In some ways, it was perfect timing: I finished one cycle of work, had my break (more about that in a future post). Now I need to start anew.

While I was mulling this over, I came across this blog post from two years ago. It seems appropriate for today. So I’m reposting it—enjoy!

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It’s strange to be starting a new cycle. Now that I’m beginning a new book, I’m in the midst of preparing the creative field for it. This involves straightening up my studio, clearing the clutter off my computer desktop and household tasks. These activities help me start a big project without feeling that there’s something that I’ve forgotten that needs to be done. In a not-so-subliminal fashion, these are rituals to ready my spirit for the task at hand.

Appropriately enough, this week’s Alyson Stanfield’s Art Marketing Action newsletter is all about starting rituals. She and Eric Maisel, author of Creativity For Life, A Writer’s Paris, A Writer’s San Francisco, suggest using starting rituals as a way to begin creative work each day — a little different yet not-so-different from what I’m doing here, with my big clearing and preparing.

Eric writes, “One of the best ways to help yourself create every day is to craft a starting ritual that you begin to use regularly and routinely. When your ritual becomes habitual you will find yourself moving effortlessly from not creating to creating.”

Here are a few of his suggestions:

~ Do something physical like yoga, tai chi, or stretching. After five minutes of exercise move directly to your creative work.

~ Meditate for five minutes. Once you’ve calmed your mind, mentally bring forth your creative project and hold it gently until you feel ready to proceed with it.

~ On a sheet of paper, write down one goal for your upcoming work period. The goal might be “finish my current painting,” “go deep,” or “have some real fun exploring.”

~ Choose a small object like a pebble or coin to serve as your talisman and lovingly squeeze it several times before beginning to work.~ Set a clock radio to go off as your signal to start. Pick a station whose music energizes you or soothes you. When the music comes on, enjoy it for a few minutes and then move decisively to your work area.*

Eric also mentions an important point: “If the ritual you choose doesn’t take hold, craft or choose another one until you find the perfect starting ritual for you.” In other words, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

After I thought about it, I realized I have my own daily starting rituals in the studio. Basically, anything can serve as a starting ritual. The important thing is that you perform it with intention. Here are a few of mine:

~ Light some incense to focus my thoughts.

~ Make myself a cup of tea. The automatic action of boiling the water, chosing the “right” cup, the “right” type of tea helps me transition into creativity.

~ I have a singing bowl that I sometimes use to mark the start of my work day — a different kind of starting bell than the Stock Exchange, but a bell nonetheless!

~ I check my e-mail and voicemail before I dive in. A distraction perhaps, but helps me to feel that I’m on top of everything so I can work in peace.

~ And, most importantly, I write a list of what I intend to accomplish during my work session. This really works — nothing like writing your intentions to get results!

Another suggestion: As you finish your day creating, try to leave a clear place to start your next work session. It really make it less daunting to begin work — sort of like lying out your school clothes for the next day. I often resolve to edit what I’ve written that day, organize reference, or stretch watercolor paper — something that doesn’t feel like a big leap into the creative morass but makes me feel that I’ve gotten something accomplished. Then, once I get my feet wet, I can venture into deeper waters.

And what about you? What are your starting rituals?

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*Excerpted from the Art Marketing Action newsletter © Alyson B. Stanfield. Her mission: Alyson takes the mystery out of marketing your art and making more money as an artist. To sign up for her newsletter, visit http://www.ArtBizCoach.com. My very creative friend Karen Zuegner recommended this newsletter to me, and I really find it inspiring.

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