In these days of economic uncertainty when people are clinging to their jobs and trying to figure out ways to pay the ever spiralling fuel and food bills, it may seem like too much of a luxury to find time for creative pursuits. It is tempting to think of creativity as ‘not being in the real world’ and let work, family and financial responsibilities rule our lives.

Earlier on in the summer I had become very busy with my business commitments and had not done any writing for a few weeks. At first this didn’t worry me but then I really started to miss my morning writing and the act of honouring my creativity. An aspect of my life started to feel empty and I noticed a touch of envy seeping into my psyche as I enjoyed the fruits of other artists.

Around that time I spent a fabulous Saturday evening at a friend’s barbeque and we ended up sitting in their garden until quite late listening to classic music tracks – everything from the Sgt Pepper album to Amy Winehouse to Bridge Over Troubled Water. As I sat enjoying those tracks it struck me that the composers and performers of such wonderful music were probably told at some point by those around them “to go out and get a proper job” or “you’ll never make money doing that” or “you should be taking better care of your family”.

But what if they had taken that advice? Generations of music fans would have been denied these songs. We all attach our own special memories and emotions to a particular piece of music but how would we feel if that music had never existed? It was then that I realised that honouring one’s creativity was a serious responsibility and if one didn’t fulfil that responsibility then a huge loss would occur.

So how do we find time in our busy lives to be creative? It is too easy to focus on what we can’t do. We say, “I don’t have time. By the time I get the train home it is 8pm and then it’s dinner and bed.” OK, that may be the reality but what about what we can do? At the moment I can only manage ten or fifteen minutes of writing at a time – but boy does it feel good to do that.

In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron talks about “laying track”. By this she means the little and often creative activity that eventually adds up to a piece of art. It doesn’t matter, for example, how long it takes to write a book – it just matters that you keep on writing. Laying track might mean writing four bars of music or writing a single paragraph of a novel or doing a quick sketch. Every time you lay down a piece of track, you can move closer to your destination. Laying track doesn’t have to take up huge amounts of time. Some days you may be able to lay several metres of track, other days you might only be able to put in a couple of screws. Both the metres of track and the screws are just as important; both deserve a pat on the back for progress made and both will make you feel that you have fulfilled your creative responsibility for the day.

How can you carve out little pockets of time for your creativity? I have recently acquired a dishwasher and the services of a cleaner as I calculated that freeing myself from these domestic chores would save me two to three hours of time a week that I can use for my own pursuits. Set out what you can do, even if it is only a few minutes, and then with sheer minded determination make sure that you do it. How can you protect that precious creative time? Do you need to go to bed earlier, mark it out on a calendar or get buy-in from your spouse and family?

The world is a tough place at the moment and the forecasts are that it will get worse before it gets better. We can lay track and make art even as we batten down the hatches. Our creativity can flourish even if the economy doesn’t!