Self-care for artists is something every creative should make an essential part of their daily routine. Why? Because creative self-care is not only important for our creativity to flourish but also for our body and mind to feel good. In this blog post, I have put together 8 tips for creatives to help you take care of your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being!
Self-care is important for everyone, especially in today’s busy and stressful environments. If you are an artist, then your mental resources are getting drained even more. You constantly need to have new ideas and find new inspiration to create art.
That’s why self-care for artists is something every creative should make an essential part of their daily routine.
Implementing good habits that serve your creativity will not only help you increase your productivity considerably in the long run, but also improve your mental, physical and spiritual well-being.
In this blog post, I have 8 self-care tips for you that can help you minimize stress, support your health and become more productive as an artist.
So without further ado, let’s get into it!
How do you use self-care in art?
You can think of self-care for artists as positive habits that help you lead a healthier and more balanced lifestyle.
Creative self-care can include activities that you incorporate in your daily routine, the food you eat, the things you do, and the decisions you make.
Generally speaking, self-care includes everything from nutrition, to exercise and other good habits that help you stay healthy, happy, and avoid burnout as an artist.
What are good habits for artists?
Now that you know what self-care in art means, let’s get to some concrete strategies that you can start integrating into your daily life.
Here are 8 tips for creatives to help you take care of your physical, mental and spiritual well-being!
Self-care for artists:
8 good habits every creative should adopt
1. Take breaks.
This might seem like a no-brainer, but you wouldn’t believe how many artists forget to take regular breaks – myself included!
Whenever you are working, even when it is your creative passion you feel a calling to pursue, it is important to not over-work yourself. This does not only avoid creative burnout, but also ensures that your mind and body get some time to relax.
Don’t feel guilty about saying no to tasks that aren’t a priority. You can always come back later to such chores when you are done with your priorities. This also goes for art-making itself. We all have a lot to do during our day, so it is as important to make time for art as it is to schedule regular breaks.
For some of us, making art is creative self-care. In fact, making art has proven benefits on our mental health and for some people it even has a therapeutic and cathartic effect.
Scheduling time for work and leisure largely depends on your personal situation. Just make sure to find a good work-life balance that allows you to get enough rest and energy to enjoy your creative journey!
2. Write a journal.
Journaling is a great way to stay mentally balanced and healthy. Writing down your thoughts and emotions helps you declutter your mind and let go of the things that are bothering you.
There are different ways to journal. For example, you can do something like “morning pages” – a daily practice popularized by the writing teacher Julia Cameron. Morning pages means you are writing out your feelings and thoughts in the morning, right after getting up, so you can start your day with a clear mind.
You can also do “brain-dumps” during the day where you jot down everything that is going on in your head. This can be your feelings, thoughts and worries, but also creative ideas that could be useful for your work.
Another way to do journaling is to practice gratitude, which I personally find very beneficial. Before going to bed, write down the things in your day that you are being grateful for. Pick the best thing of the day and say thank you for all the good stuff that happened to you during that day.
Journaling is a great tool for everyone who finds it hard to unwind their brain. Making some time for introspection and self-analysis does not only benefit us in our creative endeavors but also helps us feel more balanced in general!
3. Set yourself artistic goals.
A good way to stay motivated is by setting yourself artistic goals. This makes it easier to identify what you want to achieve in the nearer and longer future.
I suggest that you split your artistic goals into two categories: your short-term goals that you could complete within a couple of days or weeks, and your long-term goals that you are planning to realize within a year.
When you write out your list of artistic goals, don’t forget to add as well why you are wanting to reach a specific goal. Knowing your why is an even greater motivator to work towards the desired result.
Whenever you are feeling lost as an artist, simply go back to your list of artistic goals and remind yourself of why you are doing what you are doing.
By consulting your goal list regularly, you are more likely to remain inspired and find success!
4. Keep your workspace inspiring.
Most of us are affected by the environment we live in. That’s why self-care for artists also involves keeping our workspace nice, tidy and inspiring. A cluttered workspace prevents us from fully focusing on our creative work. We also tend to waste time trying to find the things we need to create our art.
Plus, depending on the type of art you make, an unorganized workspace can lead to accidents and health problems, for example, when you are working with toxic paints. Make sure that your studio is well-ventilated (this is not only important for traditional painters!) and avoid skin contact with potentially harmful products.
What works best for me is to schedule in some time each week to take care of household chores like cleaning and organizing. At the beginning, you might feel that that’s a waste of time, but I promise the effort will pay off in the long run.
The studio is the space where we artists spend most of our time and where we do what we love for a living. So keeping our working environment as organized and inspiring as possible will only benefit our creative process!
5. Connect with uplifting people.
Every now and then, you should make time to connect with uplifting people – both in real life and on the web.
Spend some time with your family and friends doing common activities that you all love doing. Eat out in a nice restaurant, go to the movies, or visit an art show in your local community.
If you prefer to meet up with people online, you can engage with like-minded people on social media or art sharing sites. Like other artists’ work, leave them a comment, or hop over to YouTube to watch your favorite creators’ latest videos.
Engaging with people who share the same interests as you is a great way to refuel your energy stores and nurture your inner artist.
6. Use daily affirmations.
My personal favorite creative self-care strategy is using daily affirmations for artists. Affirmations are short uplifting statements that you say out loud or write down with the intention of replacing negative beliefs about your art or yourself as an artist with positive thoughts.
Used regularly, affirmations have the power to propel your mindset to a positive place and help you become a more productive and successful artist.
I’ve actually put together a set of 101 daily affirmations that I personally find very powerful and that help me a lot when I am feeling anxious and stuck in that downward spiral of overthinking my art.
I actually love affirmations and have made them an integral part of my daily creative self-care routine. Every time before I get to create something, I pick three or four cards from my stack of Printable Cards with Positive Affirmations for Artists and read them aloud.
The moment I read them, I can feel my spirits uplift and I am able to start my work on a positive note!
Stay positive with daily affirmations!
7. Meditate every day.
In a recent post, I already talked about the benefits of meditation for artists. In fact, meditation can have lots of positive effects on our body and mind. It helps our busy heads unwind and open up to new creative ideas and inspiration.
In essence, meditation is one of the best methods of self-care for artists because it is the exact antidote to the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. It helps you become present in the moment, practice mindfulness and avoid creative burnout.
Are you keen to start trying out meditation for yourself? Then I have some great resources for you to help you get started!
Easy-to-follow meditation course for beginners that gives you all the basics you need to get started with meditation and fuel your creativity!
In this Skillshare course, Dandan Liu makes you familiar with the practice of meditation in a simple and enjoyable way. Dandan is a creative herself and has been exploring meditation for more than 10 years. She has lived in monasteries around the world to deepen her knowledge about meditation.
The lessons in her course are designed in a way that makes meditation applicable for everyone, even for beginners without any previous experience. You will learn easy-to-follow methods to meditate deeply, get to know the best mediation postures to support relaxation and stability, and learn how to use your breath to deepen your meditative experience.
Beginner-friendly 7-Day meditation course that focuses on art practices and finding your unique voice as an artist.
Karelia Blum is an artist, writer and podcaster. In this Skillshare course, she shows you how meditation helps artists to discover their unique way of creative expression. The 7-day course consists of three parts. In the first part, you will get to know your creative strengths and weaknesses.
In the second part, Karelia shows you easy-to-apply techniques to enter a creative flow state. The last part will support you in finding the practices that best promote your personal creative process. Guided meditations, breathing exercises, intuitive journaling, and drawing and painting practices will help you uncover your creative skills and open up to new inspirational sources.
8. Disconnect from the virtual world.
Last but not least, when you practice self-care for artists, you should consider disconnecting from the web completely from time to time.
Why is that important in creative self-care?
Well, in this day and age, we tend to spend x hours of our day looking at the screens of our smartphones, computers, televisions, and so on. In particular, many of us tend to grab our phone every couple of minutes to see what’s going on in our social feeds, am I right?
While social media is a great tool to connect with others, it can also make us feel stressed or down, especially if we are using it too much. Social media and similar platforms are designed in a way to get us addicted and decoy us into comparing ourselves to others in an unhealthy manner. Comparing your art to other artists can easily lead to art jealousy and self-doubt.
To avoid those negative effects, it is a good idea to have a “social detox” in regular intervals. Disconnect from the virtual world and cut ties with the stress-inducing stimuli that make you feel bad about yourself and your art.
To make it easier for you to disconnect from the web, you can leave your phone in a different room. Another possibility is to turn on the Airplane Mode or Do Not Disturb Mode for a certain period of time, or simply leave your phone at home and go for a walk. Whatever you choose to do when you disconnect, do something fun to uplift your spirits!
What I find especially important is to not consult your phone in the morning right after waking up and at night right before going to sleep. The time in the morning and at night is vital for us to stay in our own energy and cultivate a positive mindset.
Once you manage your phone time in a responsible manner, you will quickly notice the benefits on your mental and emotional health!
∗∗∗
I hope that you found these 8 tips for creatives useful! They have already helped me a lot in getting over art anxiety and enjoying my creative process again! So why not give them a try?
What is your self-care routine for artists? Please leave comments and questions below or reach out to me directly via email or on Instagram. I’d love to hear from you! Make sure to sign up for my email list below so you don’t miss out on new blog posts and other cool stuff. ♥
