I spend most of my time in the “reactive” zone rather than the “creative” zone. I picked up this book (that my son brought over) and flipped through the pages. I read about taking time to be creative. I recognized right away, the meaning of “reactionary workflow” — responding to text messages, email, pings, and rings — “trying to stay afloat.”

It’s interesting that being creative is a Godly attribute. Yet, in our telestial world, we often get channeled into the mundane, repetitive actions that are required for living — making money, paying bills, cleaning up, reacting to the demands of life.  Add a spouse and some children in the mix, and you are more at the “reactionary overflow.”

Our family finds humor in the fact that each of my children went through the phase of yelling for me from the bathroom — “yo, mom, wipe my butt” or  “wiping assistant, I need some help here.”

We become great servants when we’re moms. And truly, service to others brings joy. But being creative brings joy too. Didn’t God “create” the world? Didn’t He and Jehovah enjoy organizing and creating?  It’s good and Godly to be creative, to have humor, and to serve others. But let’s not forget the humor and creative part — let’s not let the reactionary part of our lives just grind us down.

Once again, everything takes effort. And today, we are easily distracted by so many things.

How to include creative time in your life:

1.  Build a daily routine.

2.  Analyze what time of the day you are the most creative and have the most creative energy.

3.  Include time and focus for being creative as part of your daily routine.

4. Divide your time into creative time and reactive time.

5.  With kids, it gets tricky — look for and set aside creative time, even if it is early in the morning.  Of course, sleep often takes top of the list.

6.  Set aside a place in your home — where you go to be creative.  (like bedtime rituals for children, your mind learns to respond)

7.  Make sure you don’t burn-out. Get enough rest, eat well, exercise, and meditate.