Creativity Tips: Schedules Matter

Two weeks ago today I stood for the first time before the Western Wall. The Wall is the last remnant of  the Temple in Jerusalem, destroyed thousands of years ago. I don't remember ever not knowing about this holy site -- the image of the Western Wall is engraved in my memory.

I had imagined standing here -- but I hadn't imagined standing here with the Jewish Women's Renaissance Project. This group masterminded logistics. They keep 200 women on time, all the time.

To stay on schedule, we had about 30 minutes at the Wall. That meant I had 30 minutes to work my way through the crowd, reach the Wall and say a prayer. Then, most importantly, I had to find a reachable crevice where I could leave my carefully printed prayer and the prayers I had carried for my mom and a friend.

Thirty minutes. I had one eye on the Wall and one eye on my watch.

Did that create an incredibly spiritual moment? Nope. Not at the Wall. But as I stepped away, something unexpected happened. A heartfelt prayer silently poured out.

You can schedule spirituality -- we do it when we attend weekly services, light candles, meditate every morning, say a prayer before going to bed. You can also schedule creativity. Trust me, writers who have novels published don't wait for "the mood" to hit. They write. Every. Single. Day.

If you haven't blocked out time for creativity yet, do it now. Pull out the calendar and get it on your schedule. You'd be amazed at what can happen in 30 minutes.

“If you want to write, you can. Fear stops most people from writing, not lack of talent. Who am I? What right have I to speak? Who will listen to me? You are a human being with a unique story to tell. You have every right.” – Richard Rhodes

P.S. My prayer was for courage.