Daily Rituals to Honor Your Creativity | Ep. 74

Since it's Women's History Month , I want to highlight an incredible Black woman you should know about . Toni Morrison's writing ritual was sacred to her . Toni Morrison had a strict writing ritual . She woke up at dawn before her kids got up and wrote before the world interrupted her thoughts .

Her discipline and consistency helped her produce masterpieces that changed literature forever . She believed in honoring the creative process with discipline and intention . Today , we'll talk about how we can do the same . Think about how you can establish a small creative ritual inspired by Morrison's dedication . Ritual is incredibly important in creative work .

Ritual is incredibly important in creative work . Countless creatives and entrepreneurs have expressed how their routines and their rituals help to keep them sane and energized and focused , disciplined and organized around everything that's on their plate .

I have gone through different seasons of rituals so many times and in this current season , my rituals center starting my day off well , structuring my time accordingly to get everything done that I need to get done during the day and ending my nights with ease and preparation for bed . Now , what I do exactly day to day may change , but certain things don't .

I get up and I start my day with my dog . I spread my bed , I drink water , I take my vitamins for the day . I'll do my best to get in a quick workout , take my dog on a walk , come back and get cleaned

up for the day with my shower , my skincare , and most days I like to prepare myself a healthy breakfast . As of late , I'm kind of fixated on the same breakfast . I never get tired of it . I love an omelet or an egg scramble with spinach and feta cheese .

I usually will have some vegetarian sausage on the side and a couple of slices of oat bread for toast . I'll usually have a big cup of tea with that , and after I've taken care of myself and my dog first thing in the morning , I usually set in for my workday .

Whether that's working with clients or working on my creative projects , Depending on how I'm feeling , I'll usually create space for other rituals and routines that support me . So whether that be grounding in nature depending on the weather or journaling if that feels right for me to do . Making some time to read , whether that be a book

or catching up on news because it's hard for me to watch news these days , but a lot of times I don't mind digesting it by reading by the end of the night . After dinner , after I've had some time to unwind and relax , I start to prepare my place and myself for bed .

I clean up any dishes in the sink , I tidy up my space , I let my dog out , I let my dog Stormy Girl out for her last potty of the night , and then I begin to unwind for myself .

That usually means my skincare routine , taking care of anything I need to take care of in the restroom , transitioning my bed , taking any extra pillows off , pulling down covers , turning on my little salt lamp , turning on a little sound machine that plays noise

for me to help fall asleep to . I eventually want to be one of these people that puts my phone in another room or doesn't touch the phone 30 minutes before bed . But I am not there yet .

So usually part of me decompressing is a little scrolling or maybe listening to a podcast , until I start to feel pretty sleepy and then I put my phone down and I fall asleep pretty easy . Now these might sound like mundane things , but they work really well for me . They help me to feel my best . They help me to feel my most energized .

They help me to stay grounded and centered and to keep some degree of routine and ritual and structure about my days so that I can accomplish everything that I need to accomplish . These rituals support me in my creative work because when I'm feeling my best and my most grounded and my most centered , I'm often feeling the most inspired to create .

When I'm taking care of myself , the floodgates to creativity burst open . Now , everyone's creative ritual is different . Some people are religious journalers . They cannot start their day without journaling . Some people need to go for a run first thing in the morning because it helps them to clear their head and feel grounded and centered for the day .

Everyone is different . Some folks love to light a candle or an incense . Some folks love to light a candle or burn a scent first thing in the morning because that helps them to ease into their day . Rituals work because they have positive psychological benefits that support us . Rituals work because they have positive psychological benefits that support us .

Healthy rituals work because they have positive psychological benefits that work to support us . So it's important for each of us to master . So it's important for each of us to create and to master our own creative rituals . If you're a writer , maybe that means having discipline about writing every day . Maybe some days you write more than others .

Maybe you have to give yourself grace if you've been writing constantly for months and you need to take a two-week break and then jump back into it again . It's a process . If you're an artist , maybe that means creating a piece every day or every week . Maybe that means

acknowledging how you might feel in a moment , but having the discipline to create anyway , because as you create , because in creating , because by creating you are also healing something within yourself and tapping into your childlike and playful energy and your creative energy , and in doing so , that could inspire additional great works .

Maybe your own creative ritual demands that you spend a little less time scrolling or consuming other forms of content and repurposing that time and reallocating that time into creating for yourself and others .

Whatever it looks like for you , having a consistent , solid creative ritual creates a sacred practice for your work to unfold and grants you the space , time and creative energy and creativity to do so . So don't cheat yourself . Be a little selfish with your time . Create a ritual for you to pour into the things that light you up .

I challenge you to create a ritual for your next creative session . Let me know what it is in a review to the show or in a text to the show . Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the show . If this episode resonated with you , please be sure to tell a friend .

To tell a friend and to rate and review the podcast wherever you're listening to it right now . Thank you for lending me your time , your energy and your ears , and I appreciate you for being here . Have a great rest of your day or night and I'll catch you on the next episode . Bye .