Where Creativity Hides When I Don’t Have Time To Chase It

On April 1, I started a new job with a training period that’s both extensive and intensive. As of yesterday, I’ve completed five weeks of it. During that time, I was only home one day each week—and too tired to think straight the rest of the time.

Life has a way of stretching us thin. Some seasons demand more than others, and it raises an interesting question for creatives: How do we stay in a creative mindset when we barely have the time or energy to create?

Usually, I’d say writing is how I unwind. It helps me decompress, especially when I’m stressed or overworked. But there are times—like now—when I end the day so mentally drained that writing just isn’t an option.

So, what then?

I pay attention to the little things.

First, the old saying “truth is stranger than fiction” proves itself again and again. I find that real-life moments—odd coincidences, random interactions—can feed the imagination. For example: the night before I started my new job, a bird got trapped inside my house. The next day, during my very first shift at a high-security facility, another bird somehow managed to breach the building. Coincidence . . . or a cosmic wink?

Another source of inspiration? Dreams. When I’m especially exhausted, my dreamscape turns vivid—sometimes beautiful, sometimes disturbing, often bizarre, and occasionally hilarious. Its like my subconscious goes off-script in the best way.

So, here’s how I keep my creativity alive when I can’t actively write: I observe. I collect. I document. Sometimes I jot things down in a journal, but more often I just open my phone and record a video—capturing the moment, the idea, and how it might one day become a story.

It’s not writing, exactly. But it keeps the creative fire burning. Got a better trick? I’m all ears.