How I Prioritize Creative Self-Care While Juggling Multiple Responsibilities
Does life ever feel like a nonstop juggling act—keeping everything in the air while struggling to find time for yourself? If so, you’re not alone. I’ve been there too, more times than I can count.
That’s why today, I’m sharing my personal journey of balancing a full life with creative self-care. I’ve broken it down into clear themes so you can easily take away practical tips and inspiration.
Whether you're navigating work, relationships, or the endless demands of daily life, let’s explore how creative self-care can transform chaos into something more nurturing and joyful. My hope is to remind you that it’s okay to be a work in progress and that no matter how long you’ve been creating, prioritizing yourself is an ongoing practice. Let’s dive in!
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Finding Joy in the Process
For context, I’ve been creating for a really long time and have always had to juggle multiple things at the same time (which has practically become part of my process and default way of working at this point). Although my creativity is my go-to self-care tool to connect within, relax, and unwind, it hasn’t always been this way.
The truth is that as someone who went to art school, I struggled for years with the external pressure to be productive, approaching creativity from a very intellectual place, and constantly feeling guilty (stemming from having to justify my joy for creating).
This left me feeling really dissatisfied with my educational experience, burned out, and disconnected from the real reason I started to create in the first place. I felt I wasn’t encouraged to trust myself, pay attention to what I wanted to say, or how I wanted to feel while making things.
As a result, I ended up trying to do what everyone else did, constantly keeping myself busy, and always trying to do more. It was like no matter how much I did it was never enough. This is when I realized that creating is a form of self-care and joy for me. So, I wanted to have a good time while doing it, instead of torturing myself.
Making this discovery helped me to course correct and align my creative process with this intention. I started to let go of external expectations and validation. And, instead I began to focus on enjoying the process of creating and tuning in with myself. I started to ask myself—what do YOU want to share? What do YOU want to explore? How do YOU want to feel as you make things?
And, this is by far one of the most important lessons I have learned along my creative journey and want to pass along to you. What do YOU want your creativity to be for you?
Creating Small Moments of Creativity
Now, another practical lesson I’ve learned is that you don’t need hours to nurture your creative spirit. Sometimes, all it takes is five minutes. Here are a few simple ways I incorporate creativity into my day:
Take a Walk and Daydream: A short walk can do wonders. Let your mind wander and soak in the world around you.
Curate a Mood Playlist: Music is a powerful trigger for creativity. I love making playlists that match my mood—be it calming tunes for relaxation or energetic punk rock for a burst of inspiration.
Quick Reads for Inspiration: Even a five- or ten-minute read can spark new ideas or help you reconnect with your feelings.
Expressive Writing: Spend 15 minutes jotting down your thoughts. It’s a great way to clear your head and track your inner dialogue.
Art Journaling or Doodling: Keep your creative tools handy. Even a quick sketch or a few scribbles can open up new pathways for self-expression.
The beauty of these small rituals is that they aren’t another item on your endless to-do list. They’re moments of intentional self-care, little pockets of time where you can just be—without pressure, without judgment.
Your Turn: What’s one small, playful way you can bring creativity in your daily routine?
Setting Boundaries and Prioritizing Yourself
Next, let me share with you some of the creative rituals that I protect and why they matter. Some of my favorite practices include— art journaling, expressive painting, collage, loose drawing, and journal writing, and I make time for them even when life gets busy.
I balance my creativity and busy life by setting boundaries. I’ve learned to differentiate between my workdays and my sacred creative time. On workdays, I handle all the external demands—my day job, client work, coaching, content creation, and the like. Then, when the weekend rolls around, I intentionally leave my schedule unstructured. This free time allows me to choose what feels right in the moment, whether that’s painting, reading, going out with a friend, or simply doing nothing at all. I don’t have to wait until the end of the year to feel like I have time for myself and my own creative explorations.
As mentioned earlier, one of the hardest lessons I had to learn was letting go of the guilt that comes with putting my needs first. For years, I was a people pleaser, always prioritizing others over myself. At the core of prioritizing our creativity, what we're doing and saying is this— my joy matters, my feelings matter, how I feel MATTERS.
Part of our creative practice is learning to choose ourselves over and over, especially when there are always other things asking for our time and attention. Honoring your need for creative self-care is a way of not only building a relationship with your creativity but also one with yourself.
Your turn: If you could carve out 30 minutes for a creative ritual, what would that be? What would that look like?
Creating Space for Creativity Without Guilt
Now I want to share a little bit about how I create space for creativity without feeling like I should be doing something else. This section is more about the mindset shifts that I had to make in order to make this happen.
Letting go of perfectionism and productivity. The biggest shift happened when I allowed myself to PLAY and EXPERIMENT without expectations.
As an artist/creative, my biggest nightmare has always been making ugly art. But one day I tackled it head on. I started to make ugly art on purpose. This helped me to realize that putting paint on paper wasn’t that serious and I could relax.
I learned to sit with my feelings and get curious. Instead of rushing to judgement and trying to get rid of them. I also learned to stop worrying about doing things the right way and instead focused on trusting myself and paid attention to how I felt as I created things. This was very healing!Embracing and protecting my creative time. Now, I make room for regular breaks, schedule dedicated time for creative sessions, and clearly set my boundaries to keep distractions at bay.
Expecting resistance and working through it. Instead of getting discouraged or getting down on myself when I’m struggling to get started, I have strategies to move forward. These include—setting an intention for my creative session, establishing some go-to warm up exercises, and having my tools ready and available before sitting down to create.
Letting creativity be a form of active rest. Rest isn’t just about sleeping or doing nothing—it’s about recharging. As someone who thrives on creativity, I learned that rest doesn’t mean inactivity. Sometimes, it means diving into a creative activity that helps me unwind. Whether it’s watching a movie and sketching along, or simply sitting with my thoughts while doodling, these moments of creative rest have become essential to sustaining my overall energy.
Your turn: What is a mindset shift that you would have to make to allow yourself to create without feeling like you should be doing something else?
Key Takeaway
Remember, creative self-care is personal. It’s about experimenting, learning, and most importantly, enjoying the process. There’s no need to rush, no need to compare, and definitely no need to be perfect. Your creative journey is a beautiful, evolving practice of self-love and discovery. So, don’t put too much pressure on yourself!
Let’s Work Together
If you’re looking for more ways to infuse creativity into your daily life—or if you’d just like a little guidance as you explore your own creative path—I invite you to sign up for a free 30-minute Discovery Session. Let’s explore how you can make your creative self-care a priority in a way that feels joyful and authentic.
Renata is a creativity coach empowering neurodivergent and multi-passionate women of color, to use creativity as a tool for self-discovery and healing, so they can let go of feeling inadequate and insecure and start experiencing more confidence and self-acceptance. She’s currently offering a free copy of her therapeutic art making workbook when you sign up for her email list. Sign up here to get your free copy.
