Hi friends,
welcome to my first post on Toast and Create. I am so happy to be creating this blog and super excited of the journey we will be going through together! So, be sure to toast up!
See, I work in a corporate creative department – and you might think there are plenty of time for me to be creative. The fact is I do, But I also have ideas of my own that keep getting pushed to “when I have time.”
I have a watercolour Instagram profile that I have not been able to update with new drawings, I have video drafts in my external disks that I have been waiting the perfect time to edit, and I have this blog that I have been thinking about starting for a long time. I’ll start with this.
The tricky part is finding the energy for those things after spending the day creating for work. By the time I have a free evening, opening another file can feel like a lot, even when it’s something I wanted to do.
I’m still figuring out how to make space for personal creativity alongside a full-time job. These are three approaches I’m trying.
1. Make the starting point smaller
“Work on my personal projects” sounds reasonable until I have to decide what that actually means.
A lot of question if I am honest. Am I planning a whole video? Writing a blog post? Learning a new tool? Suddenly, a free hour doesn’t feel long enough, so I put it off.
A smaller task is easier to approach: sketch one frame, write the opening paragraph, or test one watercolour combination.
It gives me somewhere specific to begin. If I feel like continuing, I can. If I don’t, I’ve still spent a little time on something I care about.
For this blog, that means letting myself write a rough draft before worrying about whether the website looks finished or perfect.
As a designer, I tend to overthink the final artwork. This time, I’m going to be particularly softer with myself on that
2. Try a different way of making
This is not my first time trying to build a blog. But believe me this time I am commited to Toast and Create. Why? Because I have such big thoughts and ideas that I want to share and hopefully create a community of creative individuals who thinks the same way.
I’m interested in AI at work and what it can do for creative processes and outcomes. I enjoy exploring tools, testing ideas and seeing what happens.
I also want to spend time painting with watercolours. and perhaps making it a reality where it can support as my side income.
Those interests might seem quite different, but I like having both. There are days when I want to experiment on a screen, and days when I’d rather put the laptop away and work with paint and paper.
I’m trying to leave room for whichever feels appealing that day, instead of deciding that every free evening should be used to improve a professional skill.
Sometimes I want to learn something useful. Sometimes I just want to focus on my small gig as a watercolour portrait painter.
3. Leave some things unfinished—and some evenings empty
Having several creative interests can make free time feel surprisingly crowded.
There’s always something I could learn, make or post. Even a hobby can start to feel like a list of tasks if I’m constantly thinking about what it might become.
I want to build this blog into something meaningful, and eventually earn from it. That ambition is there. But I also want to enjoy the process enough to keep going.
So I’m trying to set a pace I can manage. A painting can take a few sessions. An idea can stay in my notes until I’m ready to return to it. And an evening can simply be an evening off.
I don’t expect to get that balance right every week.
Why I’m starting Toast & Create
Toast & Create is a place for the things I’m learning and making along the way: design tips, AI experiments, watercolour attempts and thoughts about working in a creative field.
I want to share useful things, including the awkward parts of figuring them out.
Starting this blog is one of the ways I’m making room for my own ideas. I’ve spent a long time thinking about it. Now I’d like to find out what happens when I actually begin.
Do you still make things for yourself after a day of creative work? I’d love to hear what you keep coming back to.