How to Make Art When You’re Tired, Busy, or Discouraged

 How to Make Art When You’re Tired, Busy, or Discouraged

Let’s be real: out of “tired, busy, or discouraged,” tired is the one that gets me the most. I have sleep issues. Maybe you do too? It’s frustrating, it’s real, and sometimes it means I don’t make art. Not because I don’t want to, but because I just can’t.

Same goes for the ultra-busy days (or weeks) and the ones where everything feels kind of heavy and gray. Do I make art on those days? Not always. Sometimes I just need to rest, and that’s okay. But other times—especially when I want to create but feel stuck—I try a few small things that help:

1. Put art on your calendar. Yes, I know. Easier said than done. Especially if you are the one in charge of your schedule. But when I honor my own word—when I show up because I said I would—I feel better. It becomes less about productivity and more about trust. With myself.
2. Make a warm cup of tea and just sit. Sometimes I walk into my studio, tea in hand, and sit quietly with my supplies. No music. No phone. No pressure. Just me and the possibility of making. That quiet presence almost always sparks something.
3. Let go of outcome. Do it for you. When discouragement creeps in, it’s easy to stop making. That’s when I remind myself: this isn’t for the world. It’s for me. The world doesn’t get a vote. I let myself feel whatever I need to feel, and then I sit in my space, pick something up, and start. Even if it’s just smudging pastels on scrap paper.
It doesn’t always fix everything. But it always helps something.

What about you?
What do you do when art feels far away but you want it back?
Let’s talk about it in the comments or over in The Creative Collective - this is the kind of thing we all go through, and sometimes just sharing helps a lot.