Liana hosts a Balance with Liana chat at the Long and Short Reviews Yahoo Loop the first Thursday of every Month, where she answers general questions about finding balance in your life.  For more information, read the Finding Your Balance article posted below, and then join us here.   Liana also hosts a more specific chat on Tuesdays at The Bookspa Yahoo Loop, where we break it down into the areas of mind, body, heart and soul. Everyone is welcome, so mark your calendar and stop by to find out ways to take time out for you.

Ten Ways to Boost Your Creativity

As I’m blog-hopping, I read a lot about different kinds of creative endeavors and people wondering how to deal with getting stuck in the middle of a project.  I don’t have that problem to any serious degree, my problem is more like one of time management, (hence the blog-hopping), but I’ve uncovered a few things along the way that can help me get unstuck if I find myself wallowing around in a project that just isn’t going where I think it should. 

I have a tendency to think too much, to not relax enough to let my creativity flow.  So I procrastinate.  But I’m not really blocked, per se, just stumped for a while.  So here are a few things that have worked for me, to get me unstuck when my mind won’t cooperate.  My muse would do just fine, if my mind wouldn’t keep getting in the way. 

Most of these apply to writing, but they can also apply to any creative pursuit such as painting, music composition, organizing a spreadsheet, decorating a house, planning a meal, creating jewelry or other artwork, or just feeling stuck in your life in general.

Journal:  It’s just for you, nobody’s going to read it, it doesn’t have to be perfect or even make sense.  If you’re an artist, doodle.  A musician, write nonsensical lyrics.  A cook, write weird recipes.  Give yourself time to let your mind roam free, without any goal of producing something worthwhile.  Just sit down for five or ten or even twenty minutes and write whatever comes to mind.  Do it several days in a row and see if a theme emerges.  I bet it will J.

Free Associate with sticky notes:  Get a pack of sticky notes and write just one thought or word on each.  See what arises out of your subconscious.  Then lay them out in some kind of order (but don’t stop to think about it or consciously organize the words), right on the spot.  Do this on a piece of posterboard, or cardboard, whatever you have handy.  Use different colors for different thoughts or moods if you want to.  Stick them on the board where your impulse tells you that you need to put them, even if it doesn’t make sense.  Later, you can go back and try to figure out the association(s) between the words.

Better yet, do this with a couple of friends.  Each get a different color of sticky notes, and play it like a board game, where you each take a turn.  One puts a sticky note in the middle, with a word or phrase on it, and you build a spider web of sorts from there, with words that come to you as a result of whatever you see on the board overall.  You don’t have to respond to the last note posted.  Again, later you can go back and see if any pattern has developed.  But while you are posting the sticky notes, don’t stop to think.  Just go with whatever comes into your mind.

Imitate/play with your pets:  Animals have instincts.  They don’t stop to think, should I do this, or should I do that?  What if I make the wrong choice?  They just “do.”  Or, “be” as in the case of a cat basking it in the sun.  When a cat basks, it basks.  If a threat comes along, the cat will deal with it.  If hunger arises, the cat will do the same.  The cat doesn’t worry about what’s for dinner.  The cat just “is.”  And if a cat goofs up, misses the mark or whatever, they always shake it off, lift their heads and walk away unconcerned.  I’ve always admired that skill. 

Try being like a cat or a dog sometime, and just go with what your instinct tells you.  If you goof, just shake it off like a cat does.  Your instincts will get better over time. 

In the short term, playing with a cat with something soft attached to a piece of string can be soothing and relax you enough to let your mind change gears.  The same goes for rolling around on the floor with a puppy or playing fetch with a bigger dog.  The point is to give your own mind a break. 

Push a child in a swing:  This is a wonderful opportunity to get some sunshine, exercise, spend quality time with your loved one, and make a child happy.  Meanwhile your mind is free to wander.  If you can do this while playing a simple board game or building blocks, more power to you.  Or you can put on a video like Winnie The Pooh and hold the child in your lap.  The child is thrilled you’re spending time with him or her and your mind is free to relax.

Clean your house:  This includes folding laundry, sweeping the floor or (I recommend) washing it by hand (as opposed to just sailing through with the mop), doing dishes, dusting, or anything you can do without having to think about it.  Your hands and body are in motion, you’re burning calories, your house is getting cleaner, and your mind is again free to wander.  Painting walls works for this, too.  Or gardening, or weeding. Or simply watering the plants. 

Read something totally different from what you are working on:  If you write non-fiction, read fiction.  If you write fiction, read non-fiction, or read something in a genre totally different from yours.  Good writing is good writing.  Bad writing is bad.  You can learn something from every book you read, good or bad.  Reading is also a passive activity.  Writing and editing are active.  Again, it’s a way for your brain to switch gears and relax. 

If you do art work, go to a show or page through books in a totally different medium.  The same goes for music.  Listen to something totally different from what you are trying to create.  Either go to a concert you wouldn’t ordinarily be caught dead at or listen to some CDs.  Not with judgment, but just for the experience.  If you feel like your life is in a rut, go do something you’ve never done before.  Just one step outside the box is enough to get you kick-started into trying new things again.

Take a nap:  Pose a question in your mind about whatever is blocking you, ask for an answer to the problem, then forget about it, let it float away, put on some soft music and go to sleep.  This does not always work the first time, or even the first few times, but eventually you will relax enough for your subconscious mind to come up with a solution.

Brainstorm with a friend:  You can do this by phone or email.  Play what if.  What if my character did this?  What if I re-wrote the scene from another point of view?  What if I turned the painting upside down, or composed the song backwards?  Think outside the box.  Or, in a personal situation, play “What is the worst that can happen?”  Eventually you’ll come up with scenarios so outrageous you’ll both be laughing, and who knows, you might unveil a kernel of truth or a new idea along the way. 

Create a collage:  This is one of my personal favorites.  Get a piece of posterboard.  You don’t have to use the whole thing.   A half or a quarter will do—whatever you have time for.  Go through magazines and tear out whatever appeals to you.  Then arrange them on the posterboard, and see what emerges.  If you do artwork, simply mix and match colors.  If you write, you can create collages for your books, your characters, or yourself.  This will work for any situation you can’t seem to get off of your mind.  For more information on creating a collage, read the article below this one J.

Go to a conference or a workshop:  Even if it’s not in the area you write or paint or cook or do crafts in.  Learn something new, or revisit an old interest.  Get inspired by what others are saying and doing.  I’ve never been to a workshop or conference or class that I didn’t come home with a host of new ideas.  Sometimes just being around real live people who do the things you do and think the way you think is enough.

Create a Collage for 2009

A couple of weeks ago I was flipping through some old Oprah magazines, looking for pictures and quotes I wanted to use to make a collage of all the goodness I want to bring into my life in 2009.  Oprah puts out a very positive magazine, so I like getting ideas from that one.  I made a poster-size collage six years ago, as a creativity exercise with some writer friends, and didn’t think much of it, other than it was a fun thing to do.  But I liked it enough that I framed it and put it up in my bedroom. 

Then the oddest thing happened.  Within a few years, everything that I had put into that collage, which was about the things that fed my soul, showed up in my life.  I kid you not.  Without even thinking of it, just having it on the wall, my subconscious mind went about creating the circumstances that would be needed to bring the things in that poster into my life.

You can call it weird, but I know it happened.  One day I looked up at this poster I hadn’t paid much attention to over the past couple of years, had barely looked at—you know how we tend to not see what is in front of us every day--and realized everything in it was now in my life.  I was stunned.  I’d read about this kind of thing happening, the power of intention and all that, but…

So over the holidays I created a new collage, one for 2009. 

You might want to try one, too.  All you have to do is go through magazines and clip or rip out pages that have something on them that appeals to you for some reason.  A picture, a quote, a splash of color, even.  Some of the stuff I ripped out made no sense.  But it came together for me when I put the collage together.  And you don’t have to use everything you clip out.  I now have two files, one of pictures and one of quotes, to use for future collages.  You can do them randomly, like free-association, or choose a theme. 

It was a wonderful way to relax and have some “me” time in the midst of a very busy season.  It’s also a great way to get rid of all those old magazines you have lying around and don’t know what to do with, too.  If you don’t have time to do a full poster-size one, do a smaller one.  There are no rules to this sort of thing. 

You’ll be amazed at how creative it makes you feel. 

And, in a couple of years, you’ll be even more amazed by what happens.

Take care, God Bless, and let me know how it turns out for you.

Finding Your Balance
By Liana Laverentz

About a decade ago I realized my life was out of control, and basically not my own anymore.  I was allowing myself to be pulled in a dozen different directions, and was getting nowhere on doing what I wanted to be doing, what I needed to be doing, for me.  Self-sacrifice for others is all well and good, but if you don’t take time for you, to replenish your well, one of these days it will simply run dry, and when that happens, it isn’t pretty.  Been there, done that.  A couple of times.  I seemed to be a slow learner. 
Or maybe it was just that I cared too much about the people in my life and not enough about myself. 

So I took a hard look at myself, and my life, and sorted out my priorities.  I whittled them down to seven, and decided I would do nothing, say yes to nothing, that wasn’t on the list of seven. 

You can pick five, you can pick ten, you can pick three or twelve or nine.  The goal is to figure out what your priorities are, and let that list be your guide, whatever the number. 

But I’ve chosen seven, in order of their priority in my life:  my son, my significant other, work, writing, fitness and martial arts, the house and kitties, and friendships.

At first, whenever something came up that needed to be done or attended, I evaluated it in the light of where it was on The List.  If a friend called to invite me to do something on a Tuesday or Friday night, unless it had something to do with 1) my son, 2) my significant other, 3) my job or 4) my writing, I said no, thank you, and went to my karate class. 

The good news is that eventually, people stopped asking.  (Or maybe the bad news, considering my friendships got totally neglected during this time period as well—more on this, later.)

There’s always that guilt factor when you say no, but I’ve learned to deal with that, too.  I’ve had to, to save my own sanity.  Dispensing with guilt in my life was one of the most freeing things I ever did.  And, guess what?  It didn’t turn me into a self-centered b*tch or completely amoral person, either.  It just saved me from being guilted into doing things I didn’t really want to do. 
Now I just smile and say, “No, thank you, not today,” or “I won’t be able to make that,” and leave it at that.  No explanation, no excuses, no openings for argument. 

But I do it nicely and, more importantly, I do it without guilt. 

Back to balance.  Well, that first effort was a good one, but didn’t work very well.  I never seemed to get past the fourth item on the list—the reality was that karate ended up taking precedence over writing, mainly because karate was scheduled at a certain time two nights a week and my writing wasn’t. 

So while I said writing was a priority, it wasn’t actually happening. 

And I was getting frustrated.

I re-evaluated the situation and came up with a different plan.  On my refrigerator, I have four magnets that say, Mind, Body, Heart, and Soul.  I stared at that for a while one day, we writers are wonderful at staring at what seems to be nothing for hours at a time, then made a list of some things to go under each category. 

Mind – reading, writing, learning new things, helping my son with his homework, meeting challenges at home and at work
Body – exercise, karate, stretching, Tai Chi, housework (yes, housework)
Heart – my relationships with my son and significant other, being a friend, community service, making soup
Soul – practicing my spirituality, my writing, listening to music, engaging in intelligent conversation, cleaning and organizing things
I’m not trying to put anyone down with that intelligent conversation category.  There’s nothing that makes me feel more alive than an in-depth conversation about just about anything.  I am a writer.  I am curious about all things.  When I come out of my cave, I want to know all about what’s going on around me.  In as much detail as possible. 

But I don’t have time for idle chit-chat or small talk, because I need to get back to my cave.  I also have ADD tendencies, and so I need my lists and such to stay focused. 

In fact, why don’t we take a break right now, so that you can make up your own list?  Create your list of priorities, in order of importance, and then your mind, body, heart and soul lists, with at least five activities listed under each.

No one will see this list but you, so be honest with it.  Don’t write down what you think you should say.  Write what you really feel.
Then come back when you’re done, to find out what you need to do with it.

Part two…

So…back to the mind, body, heart and soul list.  You know and I know that Life just loves to take over and blow our perfectly planned schedules to bits.  So I decided I wouldn’t be greedy.  I’d only ask for two hours a day to work on balance.  I’d shoot for 30 minutes in each area to be happy.  Mind?  Thirty minutes a day of reading, or researching, or helping my son learn something new. 

Body?  Go to the Y, go to karate class, or yoga or Tai Chi class.  No time to drive anywhere?  Stay home and stretch a bit.  Or pop in an exercise video.  Just do one exercise-related thing every day, and keep it varied.  We spend so much time sitting anymore, whether we are writers or not, that we need to keep our bodies at least flexible to avoid major problems when we get older.

Heart?  Call a friend, reach out to someone in need, make soup and take it to someone having a rough time.  Some people like to bake for others to show their concern.  I love to make big pots of soup and share it.  It settles me.  My motto is, “When in doubt (about anything, actually), make soup.”  There’s nothing like the aroma of freshly made soup wafting through the house to let me know all is right with my world.  And by the time it reaches that point, when that comforting aroma starts to reach me in my cave, I have pretty much resolved whatever was troubling me when I started to make the soup.

Soul?  Half an hour of spiritual reading, or meditation, or good conversation.  Writing, most definitely writing.  And usually when I start writing, I get more than half an hour in.  Much more.  Because once I start, it pretty much takes blood on the floor to make me stop.  It’s the getting started that is the hard part, for me.  I have so many other things I need to be doing.  Like the laundry.  I am sorry, but I am one of those oddball creatures who needs to have a relatively clean house before she can write.  At least the common areas – living room, kitchen, dining room.  My home is always open to friends in need, and should one show up, I don’t want them to be greeted with chaos.  I don’t much like walking into chaos myself, when I walk through the door. 

So guess what?  Cleaning comes under the heading of spiritual in my book, because one, I am taking care of, or being a good steward of, what the good Lord or the universe or whomever you choose to call it has bestowed upon me, and two, a clean, organized house settles my soul.  That’s just the way it is for me.

But back to the plan.  Half an hour each, for mind, body, heart and soul.  You can see how, once you establish your priorities, pretty much everything you do each day can fit into one of those categories.  Some how.  Some way.  And to keep it all in balance, I use the three-day rule.  Because, face it, Life happens, and we get off track—especially if you’re like me and have those pesky ADD tendencies. 

So…if I haven’t cleaned anything in my house in three days, that moves into priority mode for the next day.  If I haven’t been to the Y in three days, that moves to the top of my (mental) list for the next day.  (I don’t keep an actual list for day-to-day activities—I like to be more spontaneous than that—but I do keep track of what I’ve been up to in my mind).  If I haven’t read anything in three days, I’ll choose that one next time around.  If I haven’t spoken to a friend to ask how he or she is doing in three days, I will call or email someone.  If I haven’t had some quality time with my son or significant other in three days, I will make time for that.  If I haven’t written in three days…

You get the idea.

I have found that this method works for me, and still allows for Life’s little diversions, like flat tires and frozen pipes and sick kitties or parents or children.  Two hours a day for “me” to replenish my well, is all I ask.  When I get more, I am thrilled, but I need at least that much to keep from feeling overwhelmed by all I have to do.  And the more I practice this method, the more I’m discovering little pockets of time for “me,” which in turn gives me more energy, and allows me to give more to the special people and groups in my life, the ones I really want to spend my time with.