How Do You Juggle The Creative Life And Your Day Job?
It’s never easy to juggle your creative life and your day job. And there are three main reasons for me:
Turning on the creative tap takes a combo of right time/right place
Creativity tends not to be something you turn on right when you want it. And when you have other priorities, like earning a living, it’s difficult to get into the zone
Ruminating can actually help the creative process
If you have a day job, then it’s hard to stay focused on the thing you most want to stay focused on – your creative ideas
Making a living at the creative thing that moves you is not so easy
This is a cold, hard reality that needs to be faced
So, you ask how can you make the juggle work for you? Well, the key really is discipline.
When I was writing one of my manuscripts many moons ago, I had a demanding full-time job. I am creative in the morning. I wake up full of ideas and all the energy I need to put pen to paper. It’s when I’m thinking most clearly. But I had a 9-5 job, and I needed the morning to get stuff done before I hit the office. What to do? It’s obvious, I had to either get up early and put in a few hours writing first thing, or I had to change up my preference and start writing at night. So, I started getting up at 5am, I made the most of my weekends, and I actually started writing at night.
Another thing I started doing around that time was putting my sense of integrity into play. Truth is, at other jobs I would write at work, make copies of my manuscript, do research, etc. I had a real come to Jesus where I realized I needed to create a clear line of separation. I could write at lunch, on the train or the bus, but not at my desk. It felt like stealing. That took some discipline, but it was worth it. I never had to deal with guilt.
I don’t think it’s a juggle, after all. For me it’s a case of discipline. I need to be thankful for the work I have that is paying the bills, and I need to have the discipline to do my art in time afforded to me, whatever that time might be.
I could be happy as a starving artist, and I definitely went that route for many years, but it started to wear on me and actually destroy my creativity.
Discipline. Not sexy, but useful.