The pandemic hasn’t really affected how I work as I typically work from home and on my own. However, the COVID-19 pandemic certainly had its strain in other areas of life that can, if not managed, affect my creativity. For example, not being able to catch up with Friends, my daughter being home more, my partner working longer hours, keeping up with regular exercise and the general personal stresses that come with a pandemic. But adversity is not a reason to step back, it’s a reason to dig in. To get creative!!

I found new ways to move my body. Exercise and movement have been shown to increase the feel-good chemicals such as endorphins and serotonin. It can relive stress, improve your memory, improve sleep patterns and increase overall fitness. Again, with a two-year-old distraction, it became about being inventive and building in exercise to the mum/work balance. Walking to day care instead of driving. Parking further away in the carpark during the one trip to the supermarket. Getting her involved in a kitchen or backyard workout. Mini human push-ups are hilarious and too cute! It wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t greatly rewarding for my waistline, but it was much better than nothing at all. And let’s be honest, I was in my activewear anyway. I had no excuse not to move.

I invented strategies to get “five minutes of mine” (a strategy borrowed from an Instagram mum/entrepreneur). This was TOUGH. This was the biggest juggle of all. This was riddled with guilt… at the beginning. As each week passed, it became less about guilt and more about relief. I needed that quiet 5 minutes to clear my head and reset. Reset my to-do lists and chores. Reset the back from sitting in my office chair all day. Reset the eyes from staring at a screen endlessly (Work and Bluey definitely increase the screen time quota). It was that moment to be still and sip a warm coffee/tea and breathe. No more rushing. No more panic. But deep breathes and to be still. I dare you to try. Its only 5 minutes!

I delved into a world of imagination. A two-year-old at home can be a disastrous distraction. But with the promise of limited lockdown I tried to make use of all the back-up games and activities I was keeping for rainy days into play. We painted paper, cardboard (from another iso project and cubbyhouse). We made obstacle courses. We built indoor cubby houses and forts. We made cake and cupcakes galore and used every sprinkle and edible bead in the local supermarket. We made a chalkboard and let our imagination guide us to figure out these shapes we created.

It was tough. It was exhausting. But from getting creative by necessity, I took away little sparks of ideas for next logo, an upcoming cover project, and a new draft for brand collateral. It sparked design joy inside me again. And I am grateful for that.