Essentially I am a creative person. I am ok to own this now at this stage of my life. That means I am honouring my values associated with it and protecting those values to stay in integrity with myself. I like periods of time to come up with my own ideas and to implement them. Time to be creative.

Time is the important word here because our time, my time, is precious and a dwindling resource. Most people have a time cramp. How often have your heard someone say I wish time could stand still! Well it can if you set it up right.

Today, I am talking to the entire workforce. People who are starved of creativity and want more of it, active creatives. I have some super creative clients who are artistic professionals who want to keep their creative cup filled. Recreational creatives and closet creatives. Yes, I know you are out there and I love you.

I do not want to excommunicate you. I know there are people who fantasise and dream of living a more creative existence. You can be creative. It is totally possible and not so difficult.

Creative people, survive when it all gets messy, make their own careers, create their own rules, are innovative, learn to master their own minds, and nurture their own self-respect. I have some simple tips and ideas on how to be more creative. Who knows what you will achieve?

I have noticed from coaching hundreds of people from all walks of life, most want to live a more creative existence. People yearn for it, hiding in group pods, cramped office spaces and even in traditional studios and artistic work spaces. Even highly creative individuals suffer from bouts of apathy and a lack of creative punch.

What hinders creativity is distractions, interruptions and a lack of concentration. Basically the world and everyone and everything in it. The entry point into this experience of being creative is through establishing flow. Flow is a state, a feeling of abundance that allows you to get the creative work done and dusted.

Striving for this optimal experience adds to our happiness and improves the quality of our life and work. This is the ultimate life goal and each of us is responsible for it. It is up to us to control our inner experience. To be or not to be that is the question.

I was born into an environment where creative things happened. Mum played piano, my father sat passionately typing as a journalist with loud classical music. I was granted the space and time to dance, sing, act, learn my lines and practise my craft of acting. It was fantastic. We were very people busy. There was an unwritten rule: find what you are good at and work real hard at it.  What was present was a strong work ethic. A commitment to developing ourselves. We took the time to develop our skills with earnestness and authenticity. I could work or maybe it was just “play” for hours and come up with something that was original for me. If I couldn’t do it, then I was highly frustrated and the next day went back to the drawing board.

I believe we can all do this. Creativity is not just for special people who were born with the magical creative gene. I am not that special. Creativity is on tap. If the conditions are right you can have some too. Our brain even likes it and releases healthy doses of feel good chemicals. We get high on life and on our work.

In my mind creativity is the ultimate goal. There is a joyful process you can follow. First strive for as much FLOW as you can create. I say “create” because you have to take it for yourself. You have to cave it out of “time”.

What exactly is a flow experience? Flow is a state of gratification we enter when we feel completely engaged in what we are doing. That’s it.

What stops flow is interruptions, distractions, technology and how we set up our environment.

Flow drives us to creativity and outstanding achievement.

The conditions you want to set up are:

• Great inner clarity by establishing your own rules to learn the skill

• Decide on the mini- goals yourself and what you want to achieve in the moment – know that the activity is do-able for you

• Provide some feedback for yourself or ask someone to mentor, check in or buddy up with you

• Get completely involved – facilitate concentration and involvement by turning off your mobile, putting an out of office on the door, saying no to requests that you would normally say yes too, putting on classical music.

• Create timelessness. Make control possible by being disciplined and blocking out blocks of time

• Say “no” to others

• Feel a sense of serenity with no ego. Don’t worry about whether it is perfect and give yourself permission to make mistakes

Whether you have a teenager who is struggling with his studies, an important project due or whether you’re day to day activates feel dissatisfying, put your attention on creating more flow, even if it is creating more of it in the midst of a traffic jam, experiment and put some nice music on. Strive for seeking more experiences where time stands still and you will get more done and feel more inspired, more creative and satisfied.