Feeling creatively stuck? You’re not alone.
One thing I’ve been working on diligently since the beginning of my sabbatical is creativity. I’ve played music throughout my childhood years and fun fact, I was an illustrator for my high school newspaper. Since I started working my creativity has definitely dipped down. I do a little bit of photography, edit videos, and played around with my ukulele here and there but nothing too much. Oh and I’ve picked up doing digital art the last two years.
One of the main reasons why I wanted to take a sabbatical was to work on my creative side. I picked up digital art so I wanted to work on my art skills. I also wanted to take more graphic art and design classes. I also love video editing and content creation so I wanted to pursue that as well. Also writing for pleasure (like I am doing now) and not reports or analysis was also something I wanted to do.
If you have been reading my past posts, you know that nothing comes as easy and this was exactly the case for being creative. For so many years I’ve suppressed my creative brain to prioritize work and other essential tasks that it got buried and became very difficult to access. Creativity is definitely a muscle. If you don’t use it, it will weaken and you need to train it to get back into it.
5 Creative Projects That Reignited My Spark
1. Kintsugi
I repaired two ceramics using a Kintsugi set I bought on Etsy. One is a fondue pot – I got this at the UN bazaar so it was very cheap but nevertheless this was the first fondue pot I wanted so it had a lot of sentimental value. It has now become my plant pot. Another is a Chinese tea set that I got at the Guangdong Tea wholesale market. Again, this has a lot of sentimental value because I haggled hard, in Mandarin, to get this set and it’s such a minimalist beautiful design. It broke into several pieces so this one was a challenge to fix as you can see – it’s not the most beautiful piece but I’m happy I can see all my hard work and elbow grease that went into it.
2. Photography
Since I moved to a new apartment in September I’ve been on a constant lookout for art pieces to decorate our bedroom – but it is so hard to find ones that you like and within your budget! I ended up doing some editing on the photos I took over the years while I was traveling, and printed black and white versions. I’m super happy how these came out and they add such a nice touch to the bedroom. It’s also nice because the photos have deep meaning to me and my husband. The one on the right is a very famous temple in Tokyo – Zojoji. I used to live near there and used to run by the temple and would offer prayers. The temple is a spiritual power spot and we also both visited here when we went to Tokyo last August. In the middle is a photo of the main square in Montpellier France. We both lived there (albeit at different times!) and when we first met in Geneva, we first hit it off talking about our time in Montpellier so it’s definitely a special place. And on the left is San Francisco, which holds an extra special place in my heart since it’s where we visited earlier this year.
3. Design classes
I recently started taking an online UX course. It’s a beginner course and I have to warn you I have no intentions of going into UX/UI. Having said that I am super interested in color theory and the user experience in terms of design so this is very interesting and I see myself being able to use it in my work in the future.
4. Logo creations
I recently helped my husband start his side business as a professional private swimming teacher (more details to come in future posts) and I am his web designer and marketing agent. As part of the launch, I created a logo and also some merch as well. This was my first time actually creating and designing a business logo but I had a lot of fun with it.
5. Video editing
I’m not sure where my love for video editing came from – I suppose from my dad who was obsessed with taking family home videos and editing them on a machine he bought. I’ve been dabbling with video editing the last few years. I played around with making longer form videos on my phone and posted a few on YouTube just to test it.
In 2024 I learned how to use DaVinci Resolve (it looks a bit scary at first, I know) and since then I’ve been honing my skills with overlaying animation. My content is not about money making, they don’t even show my face. It’s mainly vlogs with captions. I also consciously decided to put captions in Japanese, mainly so that I can practice my Japanese but also because I find that my creative brain works better in Japanese. Maybe it’s because I’ve always found creativity in Japanese culture or my Japanese upbringing. It’s such a fascinating phenomenon and I’m curious if any multilingual readers can relate? I also put in voiceovers here and there so it’s been good practice working on my recording skills. I posted a vlog on cross border shopping to France and I’m planning to publish a few more videos mainly focusing on Switzerland but also some travels.
(More info on my channel coming soon!)
How You Can Also Reignite Your Own Creative Spark
I find that creativity definitely enriches my everyday life. I find myself looking at certain ad layouts and looking at what colors they use. I watch Netflix and see how certain scenes are shot using what angle. I go to the supermarket and look at logos as a work of art. It gives me a new perspecitve of everyday things which I think is why creativity is so essential in daily life. But it doesn’t come easy if you don’t work on your creative mind.
If you’re on sabbatical:
- Start with what you already have. Look around your home, through your phone, or at skills you’ve dabbled in before. I used broken ceramics, old travel photos, and a childhood love of video editing as starting points.
- Embrace imperfection. My Kintsugi repair isn’t museum-quality artwork, and my videos don’t show my face. The goal isn’t perfection – it’s reconnection with the joy of creating.
- Mix learning with doing. Taking that UX course gave me new knowledge, but creating the logo for my husband’s business let me apply creativity immediately. Balance skill-building with hands-on projects.
If you’re still working (and can’t dive into projects like I did):
- Protect your creative time, even if it’s just 15 minutes. Schedule it like any other important appointment. Maybe it’s sketching during your lunch break or editing photos on Sunday mornings.
- Start micro-creative habits. Take one interesting photo on your commute, write three sentences in a journal, or doodle during meetings. Small actions keep your creative muscle from completely atrophying.
- Use your commute or downtime. Listen to design podcasts, watch quick tutorials, or brainstorm ideas. Even passive creative consumption can spark inspiration.
- Batch your creative time. Instead of trying to be creative every day, dedicate one weekend afternoon per month to a creative project. It’s more realistic and gives you something to look forward to.
- Start small and be patient. Your creativity didn’t disappear overnight, and it won’t return instantly either. Pick one small project and give yourself permission to experiment without pressure.