My Controversial and Messy Approach to Creative Habits

If you can’t seem to find yourself in the usual routines or productivity advice, you’re not alone.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve never been good at following the crowds — or any kind of rule set for that matter. It’s not for lack of trying: when I was young, I felt that not being able to fit in meant something was wrong with me. I learned by being bullied and laughed at in school that being the black sheep can cause severe emotional damage to someone.

Throughout the years, I learned to appreciate myself and those sides of me differentiating me from other people. My decision to live an artistic life was probably heavily influenced by my feeling of not fitting in.

The vehicles for my creative expression are music and writing. As far as I can remember, I always played music: I started around the age of 3. And as far as I can remember, I always loved reading and writing: my mom is an avid book lover and she taught me to read way before I entered school.

She used to tell me: “Books are your best friends. If you love reading, you’ll never feel alone.”

Growing up without any brothers or sisters, this made sense to me and books became a safe haven for me to dive into and explore, especially when I was having such a hard time with kids at school.

I’m now nearly 40 and I earn a living from both my passions. It’s been a long and complicated journey, not only one of learning to master my crafts but also of self-realization and self-fulfillment, an adventure where I had to confront the deepest and darkest parts of myself in order to grow and become the artist I am today.

My creative habits changed a lot through the years but it’s been a while now that I feel I found my groove: I’m able to work with my craft while enjoying what I do and letting my creativity shine in the process.

But here’s why I told this story: I would've never got to that place if I’d force myself to follow the rules and advice other people gave me.

It’s only because I had the audacity to contradict almost every piece of advice I received that I opened up new possibilities and new sets of practices for…

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