Doing the minimum creative effort on any given day might be the most powerful creative habit you can build.
Life shifts constantly. Schedules change, responsibilities pile up, and some days it’s impossible to give your creative projects your full attention. That’s why the common mantra “make something every day” can backfire.
The phrase suggests that each day should yield a finished product. While initiatives like Inktober, The 100 Day Project, and NanoWriMo encourage commitment, they can also add pressure.
For me, as a writer, my minimum creative effort is simple: sitting at my computer for 30 minutes to write a page of my new novel. Let me tell you: it works. I’ve proven myself that small actions accumulate over time, and repeating this action consistently pays off.
It’s deeply satisfying to know that I’ve touched my project, even briefly. Since I juggle multiple interests, I also assign specific days to different creative pursuits. That way, I rarely get bored. There’s always something new to work or experiment with!
The main take away? There’s power in focusing on minimum creative efforts. Small steps compound into meaningful projects. A single sentence added to your draft keeps your novel alive. A sketch, even a rough one, plants the seed for a larger idea. A note on your business plan keeps momentum flowing. Slow progress is still progress.
Artist Carolyn Yoo, author of the Substack See You, describes her approach like this:
I make lists of the smallest or largest actions I can do in a day to feel like I’ve meaningfully contributed to my creative work, then I’ll estimate the time it takes to do each action and order them by time period.
Carolyn Yoo
We don’t create with the same intensity every day, and nor should we. Creativity moves in seasons. Some periods are abundant and high-energy, while others call for rest and gentler effort. It’s natural. The key is to honour those cycles instead of fighting them.
When energy is low, ask yourself:
“What is the minimum I can do today to feel satisfied?”
It might not always involve direct action on your craft. Researching, reading, or simply talking with like-minded creators all count as staying engaged. What matters is connection to the work, not constant completion.
Austin Kleon, a writer who draws, puts it beautifully:
Find the one-armed, half-brained, miniature version of what you do. (…) The answer will be different for everybody. For me, the bare minimum is pretty bare. If I go for a walk, write at least two pages in my diary, and read a few pages of something decent, I can be pretty functional. (…)
Take a little time to figure this out for yourself. Once you know your bare minimum, then you can figure out what you have to do to make it happen.
Austin Kleon
So, what about you? What’s your minimum creative effort?
Try defining it today. Whether it’s a single line in your journal, a five-minute sketch, or one not saved on your phone. Then celebrate it. Those little steps carry you further than you think.
