Through reading this book, I realized that nearly everything about my regular routine as a solo entrepreneur is not optimized for maximum productivity. Talk about a wake-up call! #oops

I have the right intentions but can become easily distracted by social media notifications, client communication, or funny Facebook videos. Sound like you too?

So how can we fix this and create better daily routines?

First, I wanted to understand what my biggest red flags were and pinpoint my biggest distractions. My routine is not all bad since I get to inbox zero every Friday, journal every day, and keep a daily to-do list, but below are some of the things I need to work on.

Biggest distractions:

• Social media, namely Twitter and Instagram
• Checking my inbox every 1-2 hours
• A cluttered creative environment
• The desire to do something else like read a new book, watch a film, etc.

Red flags in my daily routine:

• Since my alarm is on my phone, it’s too easy to check my phone first thing in the morning.
• I use my mornings to schedule social media, browse blogs, and answer all of my emails.
• I read my emails throughout the day, even if I don’t feel I have enough time to answer them in that moment.
• I schedule calls all throughout the day in order to reach maximum availability.
• I still check and send emails in the evenings even when I know I should have better boundaries.
• Countless other red flags I’ll save you from having to read!

All of these red flags and distractions lead me to having a hard time saying ‘no’ when it’s in the best interest of my productive workflow and directing my attention to the work that matters most. With inspiration from Manage Your Day-to-Day, I’ve decided to design my own daily routine to try for the next month.

Here is what it will look like:

8:00 am – 8:30 am

Wake up in the morning by alarm clock instead of my phone. Phone free zone starts. Read scripture and spend time in prayer focused on gratitude. Eat a quick breakfast of yogurt and granola (my go-to!)

8:30 am to 11:30 am

Spend this time writing alone while listening to instrumental tracks. Mondays can be spent writing blog posts and newsletters. All other days must be free-writing and spent on business projects. Do not check email, do not schedule social media, do not browse the internet. (!!!)

11:30 am to 12:00 pm

Prepare and eat lunch and either read a book for pleasure or listen to a creative or business podcast episode. Do this at the kitchen table instead of my work desk. Get outside when possible.

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

Check inbox and reply to ALL unread messages at once. Schedule any additional social media posts and reply back to comments. Take care of all notifications.

1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Schedule coaching calls with clients. Work on freelance social media and content marketing projects. Schedule interviews, accountability calls, and coffee dates (ahem, hot chocolate in my case). Work on editing podcast episodes and writing show notes. Format and schedule blog posts. Finish up all work for the day, excluding my #createlounge Twitter chat on Wednesdays at 7 PM CT.

5:00 pm to 9:30 pm

Go to local creative events and get together with friends for dinner. Call friends who are out of town. Get outside once more, especially for patio season. Unwind and relax. Minimal device time.

9:30 pm to 10:30 pm

Write in my vision journal. Transition to writing in my prayer journal. Read at least 50 pages in a book for pleasure. Drift off to sleep. Repeat.

Saturday

A completely tech-free day with the exception of texting for plans and such. Get outside and explore the town. Meet up with friends and spend time with family in the evenings.

Sunday

Go to church and journal during the sermon. Watch Vikings football in the afternoon with my family. Cook meals from scratch and bake. In the evening, spend quiet time setting my goals for the week and writing down my wins from the last week. End the night with prayer and reading.

Seems doable, right?

There may be a few times where urgent meetings come up and some tasks may have to be shifted and rescheduled, but I think this is a great start.

One of the great things about writing this blog post is that I know you will keep me accountable to this daily routine. I’ll report back at the end of the month with how it went, what changes I’ve made, and if I’m going to continue the routine. In the meantime, feel free to follow along with my routine updates on Twitter and Instagram.

The post Designing My New Daily Creative Routine appeared first on Sindie.

*cue the confetti*

I’ve been dreaming about taking a solid week off from work to do nothing but create away from technology. Let’s face it, creating for the sake of creating can be hard to fit into your everyday life, especially as a full-time business owner. I have a few exciting business projects coming up and just wrapped up some freelance projects so it’s the perfect time to fit in a retreat.

Here are a few signs that you may need a creative retreat too:

You are feeling drained from being on technology 24/7

This was a BIG indicator for me. Even before I was working on my business full-time, I found myself glued to my phone and laptop at all times whether it was to tweet for an agency client or on behalf of my personal brand. Having a job in social media can be so rewarding, don’t get me wrong, but it can also be very draining. Every once in a while, we need some time away from our devices.

Your self-care has been put to the back burner

We’re all busy but we should never be too busy to refuel ourselves. The kicker is I used to be awesome at self-care back in college. I knew my love languages, I knew what passion projects I wanted to devote my extra free time to, and I rewarded myself with something I loved every day (which was usually hot chocolate). It wasn’t until I did a recent podcast interview on the subject that I realized just how bad I was at prioritizing self-care now that I run a full-time business. I’m hoping this retreat will help me get back on track.

Your creativity is feeling stifled in your day-to-day routine

This is arguably the worst feeling of all. When you’re building a brand online, you can’t afford to lose sight of your creativity. It starts to affect every part of your creative process and not in a good way. I’ve always been passionate about pursuing passion projects unrelated to my brand and business so I need to reprioritize this now that I’m about 3 months into self-employment.

Maybe you’re like me and are ready to block off some time to take a creative retreat. The great thing is you get to set all of the variables like its length. I thought a 5-day week would be the perfect start for me with the flexibility to extend it 2 days into the weekend if I so choose. For you, it may be a whole month or maybe a long weekend. Whatever it is, choose what’s right for you, your creative process, and your schedule.

Let’s talk about how to actually plan your at-home creative retreat.

Because you’re not going on a vacation somewhere, it can be easy to “cheat” and return back to your everyday routine because you’re not drastically changing your creative environment but we’re not going to let that happen.

Here’s how to plan for a successful at-home creative retreat:

Set boundaries for yourself during your week off

Much of the success of your retreat will be determined on how closely you follow your boundaries. That’s why it is helpful to write them down. Of course, there will exceptions to some boundaries so they must be well-thought out and intentional. Otherwise, you’ll see your boundaries start to crumble and you won’t get as much out of your creative retreat.

My boundaries: 

• I cannot log into any social media for any reason.
• I must create an auto-responder for my email inbox so I won’t convince myself I need to check it (which I would totally convince myself I need to do…)
• I can’t access any app on my phone except my Messages, Alarm, Weather, Maps, Podcast, and Phone apps.
• Ebooks from the library are cool but I can only read the physical books I already own.
• No streaming TV shows which means no binge-watching episodes of HIMYM, The Office, or Parks and Rec which you’ve seen 4-5 times, Kayla. (note to self)
• I must cancel the #createlounge chat as my form of self-care for the week.

My exceptions:

• I can stream music through Spotify because I don’t want to live without listening to music for a week!
• I can watch any of my 3 favorite movies (500 Days of Summer, Little Miss Sunshine, and Clueless) but ONLY while I create something with my hands.
• I can use the camera on my phone to take photos but may not upload them anywhere for any reason until after the retreat.
• I can briefly log onto the internet to upload my #createlounge podcast interview and publish the already formatted blog post.

Make a list of all the things you’ve been meaning to do

Now, this is the fun part! Before starting your creative retreat, it’s good to have an idea of some of the things you’d like to do during it. While you may not have time to get to all of them, you’ll never have the “I’m bored” excuse.

• Go read at a local coffeeshop
• Paint on canvas
• DIY projects I have been pinning for years
• Visit the library and check out some new books
• Create a mini succulent garden
• Write poetry by the lake or the pool
• Go to Minnehaha Falls alone and write in my journal
• Revisit The Desire Map
• Learn how to use my typewriter
• Shopping trip for home decor and client gifts at Mall of America

Decide on things you want to do every day of the retreat

Most of these things are what I want to fit into my daily routine so this retreat is almost a trial-run.

• Read scripture right away in the morning over breakfast.
• Write and reflect in my prayer journal every morning.
• Spend lunch away from any texts, books, journals, anything.
• Hand-cook at least one meal a day (and I’m loose with the term hand-cook!)
• Listen to a sermon podcast in the evening or while I make and eat dinner.
• Write in my vision journal every night before bed.
• Read at least 50 pages before bed.

Block off days to blend your creative projects

Now it’s time to start planning a loose schedule of what you want to do when. I knew that some days I wanted to be totally chill and around my apartment and others I wanted to be out and about whether that’s to explore, shop, or gather inspiration.

I also decided to block off days and times to meet up with friends. If you decide you want your creative retreat to be totally solo, that’s fine too. While I decided to make some plans with friends, I wanted to make sure it didn’t take away from the time I wanted to spend creating on my own too.

Monday: Shopping day at Mall of America and around Minneapolis, end the day by going to my bible study

Tuesday: Go to a nearby library to check out some books, shop mid-morning for art supplies, paint and try some DIY projects, go to Minnehaha Falls, end the day with going for a motorcycle ride (bucket list item #1!)

Wednesday: Spend the whole morning and afternoon on creating anything and everything with my hands, end the day with a local #createlounge meetup

Thursday: Go to the lake in the morning with some local business owner friends, write by the pool at my apartment and take a nice nap, end the day with paddle boarding with Jenna (bucket list item #2!)

Friday: Minimize some of my apartment belongings and start organizing (with many solo dance parties in between), go to a coffeeshop to read in the afternoon, spend the night relaxing (candles, painting nails, facial, all the pampering stuff)

Weekend: Travel home to spend time with my family, help with landscaping and planting, do any extra DIY projects that make sense

The post Crafting an At-Home Creative Retreat appeared first on Sindie.

As creatives, we are naturally more in tune with our surroundings. This can be a good thing until it hinders us from creating our best work when we feel something is off aesthetically.

If you’re anything like me, you probably have a Pinterest board dedicated solely to ideal workspace and office inspiration. While we may not have a beautiful attic studio with skylights or a she shed hidden in a well-kept garden just for writing, there are things we can do to make the most of the creative environment we have around us.

Carve out creative corners

While a dedicated office space is ideal, many of us may share creative space in rooms with other uses. Living rooms, kitchens, guest bedrooms, you name it. Until you can design that dream workspace, create a small corner where you can set up your make station. This may be as simple as setting up a desk where you work or a reading chair where you brainstorm. This helps you dive more quickly into your work, knowing that space is dedicated to creating.

Make it feel like home

Nothing says your creative space like some intentional personal touches. Add some photos with loved ones on your desk or place that souvenir your best friend got you when she visited her favorite vacation spot. The more it feels like home, the more time you will want to spend there, which leads to more creating.

Create an organizational system that works for you

There’s nothing more distracting than having a workspace that feels off because of your organization, or lack thereof. Whether you create best in organized chaos (guilty!) or you like everything to be out-of-sight, keep your space tailored to you. (Psst, this goes for all of the systems in your business too.)

Don’t forget to add light

The number one thing I look for in a creative or living space is natural light. Natural light is said to increase our performance, efficiency, focus, and productivity. It also makes for the best photos. Yes, I’m looking at you, visual creative friends. If you like working at night, there are natural light lamps that can help, although nothing is quite like the sun.

Surround yourself with colors that fill you with joy

For me, I love calm blue hues, tints of turquoise, and touches of succulent greens. Basically any color you can find near the ocean. Maybe for you, it’s neon, bright colors or maybe you’d prefer rich, jewel tones. It can be anything from prints on your wall to colored pens to fun notebooks.

Change it up when needed

Sometimes you just need to create projects in a new environment. Go to a coffeeshop, a nearby park if it’s nice out, or even take a trip to the library. You could even go on a work date with a fellow local creative who can trade their company for accountability. Changing up your environment will help refresh and rejuvenate your creativity.

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