Why You Need a Creativity Day

She had a margarita in her hand and she was laughing as the Miami sun beat down on our backs. A full day of magic had just transpired and I was looking at this powerful woman, a client I had been working with for over a year, in a brand new light. She was glowing, confident, and care-free. In less than 24 hours I could barely recognize her. This is what happens when you infuse creativity into your life. This is what occurs when you give yourself a "creativity day," and this is why you need one too.

Adulting: the Killer of Dreams

As adults we always want to find solutions, fix problems, analyze and ponder. Our brains are always a wash with thousands of thoughts, ideas and concepts. But sometimes we get overwhelmed in the thoughts, we get stuck in an analysis paralysis, and we spend so much time putting out fires and fixing things that we don't even remember what "fun" is anymore.

I am ever so blessed to have two beautiful daughters. Whenever I am getting too serious and find myself locked in my "grown up brain," my children will run up to me with sparkly paint on their chubby fingers and implore me to get on the ground and start playing. As children, we understand that creativity is expression. We don't have to "be creative" or "turn creative mode on," we simply are creative in our being.

Adulting is the killer of dreams. Having a creativity day gives you the room to get out of your adult brain and engage in play. There are many amazing benefits of play, the most important of which is to decrease stress and depression and increase feel good hormones. But since you're an adult and I am sure you are thinking to yourself, yes but what is the ROI on taking a creativity day? I will simply say: increased productivity, boundless energy, and clarity of direction like you've never seen before.

What is a Creativity Day?

We checked in to the Miami South Beach hotel and put on our flips flops to head to the pool. Sitting on the most comfortable daybeds on the rooftop pool, we start the day off by setting intentions and writing from the heart. This is her creativity day! My client is excited to get some branding photos taken the next day. As we begin I remind her that this is her day and she gets to turn off from the distractions of everyday work. Still, her phone dings, the emails pop in, she feels the urge to go back to putting out fires. Adulting sucks. But soon she realizes how the distractions are a metaphor for so much more in her life, she puts the iPhone away.

After a delicious Mexican lunch at the rooftop cantina we meet for some movement, dance, and more play. She is guided into a soft meditation and after some deep relaxing, we are ready for some painting! We take a full hour to paint with thick, luxurious acrylic paints and she is so calm and relaxed as she slaps the paint against the canvas in an intricate self-guided design. I believe that creativity heals. I believe that creativity connects us to the soul. I believe you do not need to teach creativity, only to guide the student back into their realm of mastery.

By the end of the day after coaching, painting, dancing, playing and being my client is radiant. She looks like a superstar and people even stop to talk to her on the Miami streets. Everyone is a celebrity here. We toast with a margarita by the pool as the day comes to a close. It couldn't have been a more perfect day.

A Day for You or You and Your Team

There is a power is stillness, silence, and clarity. If you had six hours to get away from the office with your team, where would you go? What would you do? Creativity allows us to think outside the box, the come up with new and impactful solutions. Creativity breathes live into the mundane. When you force creative people (everyone) into cubicles away from the sun and ask them to deliver and produce work void of "fun," inevitably the work will soon begin to suffer.

A creativity day could be exactly what you or you and your team need to start believing again. I believe it was Journey who said "Don't stop believing," but when was the last time you asked, "do I believe in this? Does my team believe in this?" Because guess what? Everyone on your team has to be on board. Suzie in accounting has to be on board. Craig in digital marketing has to be on board. Everyone has to believe in the dream! And what I see time and time again is that the motivation is gone because the play is gone. Teams that thrive understand the importance of work-life balance, incentives and giving people something fun to wake up to in the morning.

Give yourself a creativity day (ask me how)! You are bound to see the instant, quantifiable benefits that your grown up heart needs, but even more so, your inner child is going to love you for it.

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Suki Eleuterio is a Creativity Coach, blogger and podcaster. She leads VIP Creativity days for clients and teams across the United States. Her writing has been featured in the Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen and OmYoga magazine.