A Primer for Creative Simplicity This Year

simple ideas for a fulfilling creative year

Creative Simplicity has long been my mantra. It’s what I keep at the forefront of pretty much everything I do, personal and professional. For me the phrase embodies everything I care about, creativity and simplicity of course, but also mindfulness, intention, slow and simple living, and living an authentic life.

But you might be wondering what this actually looks like in real life, and how you can incorporate creative simplicity in your life. Here are some ideas to consider.

Start a journal

Whether a written journal and art journal, a journal you write in daily, weekly or monthly, or even a ready made journal you can fill in, getting things down on paper is the simplest way to get a better feel for what’s going on in your head.

I’ll be the first to confess that I am in my head a lot, I’ve been called a dreamer, forgetful, thoughtless, and careless pretty much my entire life. Luckily as an adult I realised that it was simply a part of my innate introversion, and not actually a character flaw.

I’ve learnt that getting things out of my head, and down on paper helps me to be less “scatty”. And my creativity blossoms when I can see connections between disparate thoughts.

“But I don’t know what to write!”, you might think. Take this suggestion from Austin Kleon (author of Steal Like an Artist) and answer the question: “ What’s the best thing that happened yesterday?”.

Or simply make a list of the things bouncing around in your head right now.

Clear out the clutter, even from just one spot

Nothing says simplicity like a clutter free space, and even if it’s just one spot, like your desk or work table, your creative mind will thank you for that clarity.

I know as creatives we like to joke about being messy and disorganised, and believe me I am both, but I also know that there comes a time when working in clutter is doing a disservice to myself.

Plus, you just might find that thing you’ve been looking for for days!

And the feeling you get from clearing one spot might be just the motivation you need to truly purge and organise your space.

Pick a simple challenge and do it for 30 days. Or 100

Emphasis on simple. In January 2016 I did the 31 Things to Draw Class at Creative Bug, and got my year and my art practice off to a beautifully simple creative start.

I love creative challenges, whether they be art related (like the 100 Day Challenge, or the Inchie Challenge), or photo challenges on Instagram. They always get me thinking more creatively, and being more mindful, as I think about how to interpret the prompts.

One of the benefits of challenges like this is that they set constraints, which help to eliminate decision paralysis, or procrastination. If a challenge seems too broad, I set my own constraints like limiting the supplies I will use, or limiting the time I will spend, to make sure to avoid overwhelm.

Appreciate the everyday

I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, “If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.”– Kurt Vonnegut

And might I add, take a photo if possible? I recently responded to a prompt about inspiration, and realised that what inspires me the most are the things I see in my daily life. It could be the colours and textures on a door, the flowers growing in the garden or in my vase on the mantel, graphic design on the cover of a magazine, the way light streams through the colourful leaves in autumn…..

Slow down and appreciate the mundane and the banal. You might be surprised what you see.