Don’t get lost in the mundane.

One of the things I enjoy doing the most is writing, especially these blog posts. I find inspiration in everyday life – out on a walk, driving to the store, or listening to a podcast. The last two weeks, I’ve had very little inspiration, creativity, or interest, in writing and I began to wonder why that was.

During law school, I was tremendously moved by a class on mediation. Mediation is a non-adversarial, alternative dispute resolution process. A mediator uses skills and techniques to help parties in conflict work through their challenges. I enjoyed the class so much, I took a subsequent course and continued to mediate through law school and afterwards. The application is broad and the skills don’t apply to only issues in the legal arena. They can (and should!) be used in a variety of settings and even with friends, family, colleagues, and partners in daily life. Last year when I was asked to co-teach the mediation class offered by the law school, the same course I took when I was a student, it was both an honor and a no-brainer. The class is offered three times a year and that felt like a doable commitment that aligned with my interests and goals.

A few weeks ago, I was asked by my co-instructor to help mediate cases that they had through a state-run program. Again, felt a little bit like a no-brainer to accept. I could do something I enjoy, hone my skills, work with someone who inspires me, and make a little money while doing it. Little did I know, it would end up filling a lot of my time.

When I started wondering about my lack of inspiration and creativity these past two weeks, I started thinking about this new obligation and how it fit in and consumed my time. I realized that while I don’t necessarily structure my writing time, I must prioritize writing within my time. Being busy and unorganized has interfered with my inspiration and creativity which has affected my desire to write.

I remembered this same experience when I first started budgeting and figuring finances out. When my budget was cleaned up and I knew what was coming in, what was going out, what our goals were and how we could meet them, suddenly I had all this extra brain space for other things. I found more joy in my work and in my life. Lifting the overwhelm of money made me appreciate everything more. The end result of budgeting and understanding your finances is wealth and good money habits, but a major side-effect is just as good – the removal of financial stress leads to more enjoyment of life. The same is true when it comes to exercising. The end result of exercising is a physical health, but it comes with the side-effect of good mental health and clarity.

I took last week off from writing and have spent the time trying to organize my obligations so that I can have space for creativity and writing. Sometimes we allow the things we really enjoy to get lost amongst other fleeting priorities. It is our job to make sure that we prioritize the things we enjoy by making time for them because if not, something else will always fill the space.

Being mindful with our time and our finances is underemphasized in a culture that glamorizes the busy, hustle, consumerism. We have to consciously slow down, organize, and make room to allow ourselves to be creative, inspired, and intentional. If you don't make the things that are important to you a priority, the other priorities will be quick to take up your energy and calendar.