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Creative energy needs space. While some of the artists I spoke to when
writing my book, "The
Creativity Interviews", seemed to thrive in chaos and busy-ness, most
equated creative flow with a peaceful serenity surrounded by open time and open
space. Here are specific strategies for each type of clutter.
PHYSICAL CLUTTER
If you're serious about tackling your physical clutter, I recommend the book,
"Clear your clutter with Feng Shui", by Karen Kingston. She has wonderful ideas
for clearing your clutter and also helps you to have a much deeper awareness of
how the clutter got into your life in the first place.
One simple method to get the physical clutter out is to create three piles
(boxes are helpful), labeled: Give away, Throw away and Put away. You can add
other categories if you like (i.e. recycling, repair).
TIME CLUTTER
The clutter in our schedules can lead to a chaotic life while things just
seem to "happen" to us.
To deal with your time clutter, just say "NO". This is a muscle that might need
some exercising. Put yourself and your creative pursuits first - just because
you're at home, that doesn't mean you have to be available.
MENTAL CLUTTER
Sometimes the chatter in our minds is constant and difficult to decipher.
Other times there are the same boorish and loud messages over and over again -
messages like "You can't do it!", or, "You're no good!". All of them are
distracting and make it much more difficult to hear our muse.
To quiet down your mental clutter, try writing. In the Artist's Way, Julia
Cameron recommends writing three full pages every morning. Find your own method
- write to do lists, poems, lists of everyone you're mad at, talk back to your
inner critic, write about whatever's swirling around your head. You can also
write down questions for your muse - help with a particular verse or a request
for general inspiration.
EMOTIONAL CLUTTER
Emotional clutter stems from the same pack-rat habit of not wanting to let
go. Instead of hanging onto an old sweater missing a button, it's hanging onto
an old emotion. Once an emotion is over, it's over, unless we choose to hang
onto it. That's a powerful ability we have - to either stay enraged, sad or
anxious over something that happened three days ago, or three YEARS ago, or let
go and give ourselves the freedom.
If emotional clutter has your heart tied up in knots, practice letting go.
Forgiving someone doesn't mean condoning what they've done. It means freeing
yourself and being open to positive emotional experiences.
RELATIONSHIP CLUTTER
Sometimes we hold on to broken relationships for the same reasons we hold on
to broken things: because we think they can be fixed (and that we're actually
going to take the steps to fix them), and because they're familiar and safe.
The clutter in the rest of your life blocks your communication - it's just too
hard to listen with your whole heart when there are layers of clutter in the
way. This affects your inner listening as well – your ability to tune into your
intuition, your "muse". Stage fright is a BIG form of clutter.
To improve your relationship with your audience and combat relationship clutter,
think about what they're hoping to get from your performance - maybe to be
transported by the music, to be inspired, to have their feelings put into words,
to be soothed, to be "rocked", to be energized or to be cradled. You have an
enormous power to give them these gifts.
HEALTH CLUTTER
If we're surrounded by clutter and chaos, things like eating vegetables or
walking around the block just don't seem do-able or important. And yet if we
don't take care of our bodies everything else becomes much, much harder and can
lead to fatigue, illness, trouble concentrating, pain, addiction and weight
problems.
To help hear what your body is saying to you, try keeping a record, for one
week, of your sleeping habits, what you eat, when you exercise, and how you
feel. Notice and record everything you can – when you're feeling tired, when a
specific meal makes you feel overstuffed, and how you feel in the morning after
going to bed at a certain time.
More from this author:
Clutter and Creativity Quiz
Breathing out Stage Fright
7 Things Sapping
Your Creativity Right Now
 ©
Copyright Linda Dessau, 2005.
Linda Dessau, the Self-Care Coach, helps artists enhance their creativity by
addressing their unique self-care issues. For more creativity and self-care
solutions subscribe to her free monthly newsletter, "Everyday Artist" at
http://www.genuinecoaching.com/artist-newsletter.html - also includes the
free course "Roadblocks to Creativity".
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