The 20-Minute Solution: Enhance Creativity and Mood in Minutes
3 simple steps can help boost your creative output and elevate your emotions.
Posted December 28, 2024 | Reviewed by Margaret Foley
Is it possible to turn that frown upside down simply by creating art?
My simple answer is “Yes!”
Why do I say this so readily? Because I know it’s true. I’ve experienced the elevation of emotions after a creativity session. But I’m definitely not the only one who has discovered this truth. Merely engaging in creative activities can boost mental health. A survey from APA found that about half (46 percent) of Americans "use creative activities to relieve stress or anxiety , such as playing the piano, crocheting a blanket, dancing with friends, or solving crossword puzzles” ( Creative Arts: Enhancing Mental Health Well-Being , 2023).
And I figured out a way to actually measure the changes and shifts. And you can, too. (For more details, read " How Creatives Can Instantly Benefit From Journaling .")
Step 1: Consider your creative outlet.
When I write these posts, my primary intention is to benefit artists, musicians, gardeners, carpenters, and quilters—artists/makers/creatives working in any art form.
Some art forms indeed require more setup and cleanup. An oil painter needs to squeeze out those toothpaste-like ropes of color before they can begin to paint. Once done, they must also clean up their palette so their tools remain useful and in good condition.
But even a painter can measure their output and create without the messy part of their creation. And just getting started can be a huge obstacle to overcome.
What I'm saying here is: No excuses. Let’s create.
OK, so we're in agreement.
Step 2: Consider your output in a brief 10-minute sprint. (Yes, I know I said 20 minutes above, and we'll get there, but we first need to establish a baseline.)
Dr. Peter Elbow developed this practice for his college writing students who suffered from "writer's block." Ten minutes of stream-of-consciousness writing without the fear of being graded provides students the freeing opportunity to write.
“The idea is simply to write for ten minutes (later, perhaps fifteen or twenty). Don't stop for anything. Go quickly without rushing. Never stop to look back, to cross something out, to wonder how to spell something, to wonder what word or thought to use, or to think about what you are doing. If you can't think of a word or a spelling, just use a squiggle or else write, ‘I can't think of it.’ Just put down, something” (Elbow, 1998).
Step 3: Measure your output.
It’s easy in writing. We simply look at the word count, which is often displayed on the screen. If writing by hand, you can stop and count the words.
But we can apply this freewriting approach to other art forms. In 10 minutes:
This short sprint provides a baseline to help you gauge the time and effort required to work on "real" projects.
Granted, large projects—like writing a novel or painting a mural—require numerous hours.
But knowing how much you can do in 10 minutes will help you understand how much time that novel will require.
Building Time Awareness
Creatives sometimes suffer from time blindness , which is a persistent difficulty in perceiving and managing time. We grapple with the idea of estimating time to completion, and we often grossly underestimate that time, requiring us to endure the stress of an impending deadline.
If you can paint half of the background on a 16-by-20-inch canvas in 10 minutes, then you know you could finish that job in 20 minutes.
For me, 20 minutes is a sweet spot. Not too long and not too short. Plus, three 20-minute sessions fit nicely into an hour.
For today’s session, my word count is 473. If I go at this for two more 20-minute chunks, I'd have nearly 1,500 words. I'd have a standard-length novel if I did that every day for 30 days.
Sometimes, the hardest part of the creative process—regardless of the art form—is getting started. The second difficulty is staying on task.
Jump-Start the Creative Process
The 20-Minute Solution, with its finite structure and focus, provides a jump start to the creative process.
The added benefit of being creative and working on art in any form is that the process elevates the mood. The positive effect can be achieved in just 20 minutes.
So gather your supplies, set your timer, and get started. And if you're like me, you might begin by setting your timer just to collect those supplies. That's all right. There are still more hours in the day.
Creative Arts: Enhancing Mental Health and Well-being . (2023, July 14). American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved December 28, 2024, from https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/creative-arts-enhancing-…
Elbow, P. (1998). Writing Without Teachers . Oxford University Press.
Time Blindness . (n.d.). Psychology Today. Retrieved December 28, 2024, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/basics/time-blindness
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B. Morey Stockwell, Ph.D., has been coaching creatives around the world and is an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell & Fitchburg State University.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.