What Does It Mean to “Create Every Day”?

When you consider everything a creative opportunity, life itself becomes your ultimate expression.

Creativity isn’t a talent, a technique, or a profession. It’s a way of living.

This idea seems so simple – mundane, even – that it hardly feels reasonable to write a whole piece about it. But I’m going to try anyway.

As it turns out, a lot of people don't see how creativity exists in every moment throughout the day. 

Even some creative professionals I know don’t see it.

I work as a director of editorial for a marketing agency. Every month, I lead a discussion with my team of senior writers. Most recently, we looked at a list of HBR’s top leadership qualities – creativity being one of them. 

I expected many of the writers in the group to name creativity among their strengths. But I was surprised as several spoke about their lack of it.

One described falling into the trap of writing formulaic content because they knew their clients consistently loved it. They felt like their work should be “more creative” than that. 

Others nodded.

But I shook my head. 

“Wait a minute… don’t you think it took a great deal of creativity to devise a perfect writing formula that your clients LOVE?”

We tend to focus on the output of creativity – the product.  

We get stuck fixating on the end result, wondering how creative it seems compared to someone else's output.

But really, creativity is all about the input – the process.

It’s all about the choices you make. The problems you solve. The problems you identify. The experiences you create for yourself and those around you. 

You channel creativity through arts and crafts, words and images, environments and relationships. 

You make creative choices whether you romanticize your life or veg on the couch.

I have a sticker on my laptop that says “Create Every Day.” If you read those words carefully, they reveal two different meanings. 

Initially, I only noticed the more obvious meaning: “Create stuff on a daily basis.”

Eventually, I came to appreciate the other meaning: “Create the days of your life.”

Those habits can go hand in hand, but you don’t have to do the former to do the latter. You don’t have to “write 1,000 words every night!” or “join a 100-day sketchbook challenge!” to lead a creative life.

If you consider everything to be a creative opportunity, then your life becomes your ultimate creative expression.

Many of us have buckets of creative energy buzzing around our very beings every day. 

A designer I work with calls it “rocket fuel.” 

When we don't have a creative process for that fuel to support, we risk a meltdown.

As a multi-hyphenate, I often jump from one project to the next. But sometimes I don’t really know what to do with my rocket fuel. 

When creative energy gets bottled up, it can create anything from mild frustration to a miserable funk.

It's easier to get out of the funk once I remember that every part of daily life is a chance to channel that energy. And that I don't need a specific type of output to “create every day.”

Suddenly, I become more intentional in the choices I make. And I focus more on the process and the experience than the final result.

I’ll pick out a fun outfit, even if I’m not going anywhere. I’ll bake and decorate a beautiful cake just for the pleasure of it. I’ll walk a different route, because why not?

When I embrace everything from breakfast to baby’s bedtime as an opportunity for creative expression, good things happen. 

Those little choices bring more delight into my world, aligning everyday experiences with my creative “why.”

I meet even the smallest, most mundane tasks with a lot more care, attention, and enjoyment. I end up feeling refreshed, accomplished, and grateful.

I don't have a little voice harping on about how I “should be more creative,” because I know I'm always being creative.

I never felt like I could fully express myself as an artist. I still don’t. Every media has its limitations. Even the label of “artist” has its limitations, too.

If you’re a multi-passionate person, maybe you’ve felt the same frustration.

It's impossible to capture your complete creative essence in one single work or medium. 

It’s impossible to represent your whole creative spirit through a product. 

After all, creativity lives in the input – the process! 

When you consider your whole life a creative opportunity, you’re looking at the cumulative picture of how you “create every day.” Of everything your creativity touches. Of all the facets of your multifaceted life.

That’s the only way you can ever come close to truly expressing your creative spirit. 

Your truest creative expression is YOU as a living breathing thing.

All that said, it still is as simple as this:

Creativity isn't a special talent that some people have and others don't.

Creativity is a way of living. All of us “create every day” even if we don't realize it. 

If your creative output feels slow right now (like mine does), that's okay. Let's focus on finding creativity in the input, the process, and the everyday moments. The rest will come.

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P.S. Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤️ Thanks for being here and reading this little love letter to living creatively. Drop me a line if this resonates, or forward it to a friend. New newsletters are coming your way every Tuesday morning, so until then, enjoy the rest of your week!