Let’s face it… in this day and age nobody has enough time.  Life is so busy, and there are so many things to do… it’s hard to find time for anything that isn’t essential.

Now let’s look at that again:  it’s hard to find time for anything that isn’t essential.  That’s what we say and think, but is it actually reflected in our actions?

To answer that question, first you have to determine what is essential.  The definition of essential varies from person to person… some people may find spending time with their spouse to be essential, but others aren’t even married, so obviously that isn’t essential for them.

If you compare what you just decided is essential to what you actually do, it’s nearly certain that there is a wide gap between the two.  This is where you can find time to do something that you aren’t doing now, something that is essential.

I have something that very few people seem to have on their list of essentials, but which I think is essential to a happy and fulfilling life:  being creative.

Many people give up spending time being creative for the daily grind.  They give up their drawing, painting, carving, writing, or whatever else it is that they do that expresses the creativity inside of them to focus on the daily routine of work, laundry, cooking, etc.

In doing so, they give up something that is restorative, something that does wonders for mental and emotional healing.  They also bottle up inside of themselves a growing pressure… everyone has in them a need to create, in one area or another, and failure to satisfy this need adds to the existing pressure of all the other daily stress.

So not expressing your creativity causes additional unresolved stress in your life and takes away a source of healing.  That’s not a good combination… in fact, it can be a recipe for disaster.  Bottled up creativity can be a mental drain to the point that it leads into depression, anger, frustration, and feelings of being overwhelmed and stuck in a rut.

Expressing yourself creatively doesn’t have to come in the forms normally associated with it.  You may be creative in coming up with new business plans, planning parties, or office pranks.  The benefits of allowing your creativity to come out will come regardless of the form (though negative consequences may come from some things, as in the office pranks mentioned above).

With benefits that good, and negative consequences that bad, expressing your creativity could easily be part of your “essential” list.  It’s part of mine… people ask me how I write so much and so often, and the answer is:  Being creative is essential to me, and this is part of expressing my creativity.

Is being creative essential to you?  If not, try taking some time to be creative consistently, over at least a week, and see if the change in how you feel doesn’t make you change your mind.

And that is how you find time to be creative.