Out of all the different things that help to give meaning and fulfilment to a person’s life – and make everyday existence fun and rewarding in general – creative pastimes are certainly up there.
Of course, it might be that your particular creative pastime is something that you wish to turn into a career – or, at least, that you want to ensure that you perform to the best of your ability.
There are many things that you could do in order to help ensure that you get the most out of your creative pastime. One of those things is to make sure that you are using the right tools, whether that means finding out where to source in ear monitor systems from for music or speaking performances, or whether it means finding the right distraction-free device for writing.
Here are some ways in which using the right tools can help you get the most out of your creative pastime.
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By helping to remove resistance, so that you can spend more time engaging with, and enjoying, your pastime
Many different creative individuals throughout history – ranging from authors to painters — have referred in one sense or another to the idea of “resistance.” In other words, that internal voice that tells you to procrastinate, or that tries to dissuade you from getting started by telling you that you’re bound to fail.
Resistance is an unavoidable reality that has to be dealt with in all creative pursuits – and, for that matter, with regards to all sorts of other positive practices in life that you nonetheless won’t always feel “in the mood” for. Like exercise.
Using the right tools can help you to more easily and effectively overcome resistance, by making it easier to get started on a project, and by making the work itself more enjoyable.
It might be, for example, that handwriting your notes or story drafts using a reMarkable tablet just feels much more straightforward and compelling than using your computer for the purpose.
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By helping to reduce – or tune out – common distractions
Distraction is one of the biggest overall threats to your ability to get the most out of your creative pastimes – especially because most people will typically leave their creative pastimes for evenings and weekends after work, which are coincidently the exact same times that are likely to include a heavy dose of web surfing, TV watching, et cetera.
Certain tools and apps can help you to reduce distraction, such as by blocking websites, or by helping you to focus better via specially designed musical playlists.
With less distraction, you’ll be better able to focus on things that really matter the most.
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By helping you to have better time management in general, so that you can find more opportunities to indulge in your creative pursuits
Apart from avoiding the worst distractions, it is also important to have good overall time management skills, if you want to get the most out of your creative pastimes.
As creative pastimes are often hobbies – and usually seem less “pressing” than things like work obligations – they can all too often end up being sidetracked, and put off indefinitely, to a degree to which you end up dedicating virtually none of your time and attention to those pastimes unless you have planned for them in advance.
Good time management and task management tools can certainly help you here.
