Why Most Creative Routines Don’t Work (And What I Did Instead)

Hey creators! Listen, I have planned a lot of routines that looked good on paper. I’ve bought the planners, I’ve downloaded the scheduling software, and I've created alarms. None of it worked. Well, it worked for a little bit, until I got burned out or took a trip or got sick…I got tired of the inconsistency and the unfinished projects, thinking I’m lazy or uninterested. I was working a day job, writing a feature, creating content every week (Chile, I’ve been posting daily. You see me?!), working on a pitch deck…and I needed something I could actually come back to without running myself into the ground. The problem wasn’t me. I just wasn’t molding my routines to fit me. My energy levels, my work and home demands, my workouts, and my rest were all a part of my life. I thought there had to be a “work/life balance,” and I realized that for freelancers, there doesn’t have to necessarily be a one-size-fits-all, but it also doesn’t have to be rigid.

I thought that I needed more motivation, more discipline, and more time. None of that was possible, nor was it helpful. Trust me. I was overplanning my days with a new planner every year (it’s still a great planner and I use it all the time), trying to optimize everything, waiting for “good days”, and building routines that only worked when I felt good. I can now scream this to the high heavens: A system that only works on your best days doesn’t work.

I got to the point where I was at my wits’ end…

and stopped trying to build the perfect routine so that I could focus on something that I could return to week after week. A few consistent work blocks for writing, filming, and editing, and set days for certain tasks have done wonders for my productivity, consistency, and mental health. It even leaves space for actually living my life cause without that, what’s the point? God didn’t put me here to suffer in work and die! I had to put humanity back into my work, and when I did that, everything shifted.

So here’s exactly what has transformed my life these past two months.

I look at the goals that I want to achieve for this year and focus on the word of the year that my church has designated. You don’t have to do that with a church; you can do your own word or come up with one with a family member or friend. Then, I give a theme to each quarter of the year. For example, Quarter 2 has been about expanding. And if I do say so myself, I have expanded my reach on the internet to all of you, networked with some awesome people, and gained more opportunities and knowledge in my craft and in business/investing. After I come up with the themes, I break down all of my goals into smaller goals/checkpoints for each quarter. After that, I break those goals into weekly tasks. Once I get down to the weeks, I want to make sure that I know what I’m doing each week with everything on my to-do list, from emails, texts, home life, and social engagements. I also give each day an objective. Every morning, I have a slow morning routine that allows me to journal, move my body, and make a nutritious breakfast before starting my remote job.

Once those duties are complete, I can focus on the creative work. Mondays are for admin work and writing. Features, books, blogs, etc. Tuesdays are filming days. On Wednesdays, I edit. Thursdays and Fridays are a little miscellaneous in that I can finish all of the writing, filming/editing, and admin work. Those days include lunch time, a rest time, and hobby time before doing a shared chore around the house. We also make our grocery list and go to the store on those days. This keeps us from getting overwhelmed by housework as well. On Saturdays, we make time for morning cartoons and homemade brunch, fun time out, and meal prepping/cleaning anything else around the house or the occasional outdoor project. Sunday is for virtual church, fun/rest, and anything else we may have missed.

Through this schedule, I have learned a lot in the past two months. I don’t need anything too complicated cause I’ll be honest. I believe that I am neurodivergent and work better when I don’t need to switch between tasks too quickly and too many times during the day. I need time blocks. I also learned that I don’t actually need more discipline, which is kinda funny considering that I’ve always received praise for my discipline. You also have to build a routine around your real life and not your ideal life. Don’t get me wrong. I wholeheartedly believe that we should live as the version of ourselves that we want to be. So if you want to be an active person, you have to live an active life. That requires you to schedule time for walks and workouts. Park farther from the store, etc. I had to consider my attention span, my outside responsibilities, and my energy throughout the month because women are ruled by the moon and never truly have peace. I also focused on showing up anyway because when I’m employing tens and hundreds of people one day, I can’t just say I’m not answering the call when their livelihoods are also on the line. I can’t be fueled by emotion anymore.

The best part of this routine is that it has changed so much for me. I have actually been finishing things, emailing people back, stopped overthinking so much, and trust my intuition a lot more. The consistent sleep schedules, regular exercise, consistent nutritious meals, and not having to rush out of the door to be anxious about how I’m being perceived at work all day have really been healing my cortisol and overall mental health. I feel a peace that I haven’t felt since the summer during Covid lockdown. I thought I’d never get that back.

So these days, I don’t feel like I need to reinvent the wheel every week. I have a cadence that I don’t need to deviate from. I know what my mission is and who I want to serve. I can keep things simple and make quick and easy swaps during my days when I need to switch things up. ‘Cause those days do come. And I can truly just focus on continuing the work instead of always trying to show up perfectly. I know now that I didn’t need a system that just told me when to wake up and arrive for work. I needed a routine that allowed me to show up as my best, most rested self because that’s how I can be my most creative, on the good days and the challenging ones. That’s what has finally made the difference for me. So if you’re trying to build something right now for yourself, don’t just do what looks good on paper. It’s not sustainable. Ask yourself, “Would I actually keep showing up to this…in this capacity?” Only you have the answer. Happy creating this week, Creators!

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