How to do a refreshing mental rest to spark your creativity

I took two days and did a mental rest and the effects were so wonderful, I had to share.

Why Mental Rests are important

If you don’t know me I’m Angie, the Purple Craft Diva, and owner of Five and Seven Jewelry Co. To be transparent, I work a full-time job and run 2 businesses. Listen, I’ve been firing all cylinders at the same time for way too long.

Yep I’m one of those crazy people, just walking around thinking I’m Wonder Woman. I keep telling myself it’s fine and that I’m strong enough to accomplish it all. But is that really the honest truth?

I have a feeling, that if you are reading this, you probably are juggling WAY TOO MANY tasks yourself.

As a society, we require a lot of each other. We are living in an era of immediate gratification. People can get everything they want with the snap of their finger or the click on a website. If you step back you will see that we find ourselves operating life aggressively to get more accomplished in less time.

Our “To Do Lists” have become a compilation of overextended commitments. Some others put on us and some we put on ourselves.

Thankfully, taking time to do a mental reset proves to be super beneficial, just by calming your mind and removing distractions for a set amount of time.

But I can do it all, right?

Shockingly, our mind and heart tell us we can do everything. We want to accomplish tasks and hit goals. We want to help others and have fun.

Who doesn’t wanna be great?

Unfortunately, reality tells a different story.

In my life, I found myself starting to fail at everything.

I started failing at my job, failing at my businesses, failing at being a friend, failing at being a family member, etc.

Basically, my mind was exhausted and I didn’t even really know it.

So unplanned, I took two days from work, a Thursday and Friday, and did a reset of my mind to enhance my productivity in Creativity.

Busyness stifles creativity

So, I had to let my mind rest! Not only for my physical and mental health, but also for my love to be creative.

Creativity is soooo important (I talk about it in depth HERE). Listen, how can we be creative when our minds are jam packed with checklists, to do lists, alarms, tasks, and deadlines. When our mind is full of clutter we have no room to let our mind wander and explore creativity.

You can’t think outside the box when not only is your box full, but the next 10 boxes next to it are packed too.

How do you refocus? How do you have time to plan for the future. You have to reduce the busyness and create space for your mind to rest.

Creative People get burned out too

As creatives, our mind is always on the go, coming up with the next technique the next outfit, the next painting, the next craft, etc. It can be overwhelming to the point where it can shut some creatives down all together

The overwhelming amount of ideas can turn into Extreme procrastination. I’ve seen it happen many times in creatives.

We’re too overwhelmed to focus on one thing, so we do nothing.

For me, that resulted in having 10 projects that I started and never finished, having to do lists at work that I’ve never accomplished, and blog posts in my notes section that never made it to the website.

These are tell tale signs that it was time for a mind reset.

What is a mind reset?

A Mind Reset is when you remove all the clutter in your mind and press the reset button through rest and relaxation.

Whether you take 30 minutes or a week, everyone needs a reset occasionally.

Mind resets are an effective way to calm your mind and start fresh with a clearer thought process.

In essence, you are taking the eraser to your whiteboard and wiping it clean.

For example, during my reset I only did things that positively added to my mental health. Yes, I took multiple naps a day. Sure did!

I washed clothes and cleaned up, because it actually was becoming overwhelming to look at the junk.

There was not work done on any projects for work, business or personal.

I barely even crafted. Can you imagine? LOL

During this pause, I only did things that made me smile or enhance my happiness meter.

Happiness or Bust!

Create your own “Agenda of Nothingness”

Only you can create the perfect “agenda of nothingness” for yourself. You know what calms you and helps you focus.

So here’s my step by step process for setting up your mental reset:

Schedule a set time for your mental rest and COMMIT TO IT! Where it’s 2 days or 30 minutes, make yourself do it. If you have problems saying no to tasks or have a hard time shutting off, find an accountability partner that will lovely push you to decompress.
Make a list of things you will not touch or bother during your rest. For me, I committed to not checking my work email. Unless it was an emergency, I also decided not to respond to work texts or calls. Now that one was HARD. Other suggestions on things to avoid:

Social Media
News
Uneasy relationships
Stressful projects
Lots of housework, unless it helps you feel calm
Bills
Loud noise
Hard conversations
Etc.

Make a list of things that you want to accomplish to bring you peace. Remember, the goal is to rest our mind, so anything overly complicated or requires a lot of thought you shouldn’t do. Here are some suggestions:

Freeflow crafting like coloring, scrapbooking, paint by number, sketching, etc.
listening to music
TV that makes you laugh or feel happy and loved
massages
baths
Time at the park
playing with kids
dancing
reading a book
sleeping in, naps, or going to bed early
cleaning and organizing – if that gives you peace
try a new restaurant
journal
spend time with family you haven’t seen

Decide from your list, what you can actually accomplish during your respite. Don’t over crowd the schedule. That can make it feel stressful.
Just do it.

This is so important for Creative people

Creatives need space in their mind to come up with more ideas. No, we will never get rid of the stresses of the world. That’s part of being human, it’s part of being an adult.

But we can choose how we handle and react to the cares of the world. That’s where mine resets come in and can be so beneficial. You are telling your mind that you are purposely reducing stress to increase success.

You are creating room for creativity.

Mental Rest is an investment in you

It’s important to take time for mental rest and relaxation as a regular part of your schedule. Allowing your mind to calm and recharge will result in a better tomorrow, where you can approach your work with renewed creativity and focus.

While taking a pause may feel weird, your brain needs time to process information, make connections, and rejuvenate in order to perform at its best.

By prioritizing mental rest, you’ll find that your ability to generate fresh ideas and accomplish hard challenges is significantly enhanced.

Ultimately, if you invest in your mental wellbeing, you’ll reap the rewards in your work, life, and future.

Until Next Time, Stay Crafty

Angie