Create in the Margins: Making Time for Yourself
If you’re balancing work, family, and a house that always needs something, time for yourself can feel like the thing you’ll get to once everything else is finished.
But what if everything doesn’t have to be finished first?
In Episode 3 of You Are a Work of Art, I’m sharing how I began making room for creativity in an ordinary, busy life—from testing watercolor colors to leaving supplies within reach and giving the evening cleanup an ending.
Creating in the margins means finding a small, realistic place for something you enjoy. You don’t need a free afternoon, a beautiful studio, or a finished project in mind.
In this episode
The conditions I thought I needed before I could create.
Why simple watercolor swatches gave me something I wanted to return to.
How accessible supplies made beginning easier.
The fifteen-to-twenty-minute cleanup timer that helped me stop for the evening.
Adjusting expectations around interruptions and missed days.
What to consider when even ten minutes feels like another obligation.
How making time for myself helped me practice self-trust and boundaries.
Give yourself somewhere to begin
Choose one activity you’d enjoy that you can leave and return to. Keep what you need somewhere accessible, and consider one moment in your day when you could try it.
That might be a notebook beside your favorite chair or a pencil tucked into the page you’ve already started.
And some days, what you need may be quiet, rest, or help. Making room for yourself includes noticing that, too.
Creative Reset: Create in the Margins
You’ll need paper and a pen or pencil. A page in your everyday notebook works, too. Set aside about ten minutes.
Draw a loose rectangle inside the edges of your page, leaving space around the outside. No ruler needed.
Leave the middle empty and choose a spot in the margin to begin.
Make one small mark—a dot, circle, leaf, wavy line, or word.
Add something beside it. Repeat a shape, draw little flowers, or write about something you’d like more room for.
Notice what you’re enjoying. You don’t need to fill every edge.
Ask yourself: “Where could I make a little room for this in my week?” If a moment comes to mind, write a small reminder.
You can leave the page unfinished and come back. Your next creative moment can begin with what’s already there.
Watch the episode on YouTube to create alongside me.
A little guidance for your next creative moment
From Seed to Bloom is my free 5-day creative journey to reconnect with yourself—one 10-minute creative reset at a time.
You’ll receive the workbook by email right away, followed by guidance through five simple pencil-and-paper exercises. No artistic experience required.
Get your free From Seed to Bloom workbook
Come create with us
Join The Creative Courtyard, our free community for overwhelmed women reconnecting with themselves through creativity.
You Are a Work of Art is a podcast about life, creativity, and making space for what matters, hosted by Monique Burton.
This week, what could you make easier to begin?