There are days when I sit down to work on a craft project, read the book that’s been waiting on my library app, or finally try that new recipe I’ve saved for weeks. Then it happens.
A text arrives.
The dryer buzzes.
A package arrives at the door.
The phone dings with an important reminder.
I take care of whatever interrupted me, fully intending to come back in just a few minutes. Somehow, one interruption leads to another, and before I know it I’m doing something completely different. By the time I return, the momentum is gone.
Ironically, I have the opposite problem with laundry.
I’ll start a load, move it to the dryer, then wander off to write, read, or something else. More than once I’ve walked into the laundry room the next morning only to discover yesterday’s clothes still sitting in the dryer.
For years, I assumed I simply needed better time management.
But over time, I realized I was asking the wrong question.
Maybe We Can’t Manage Time After All
We are often told to “manage our time better,” “get organized,” and “take control of our schedules.” While I believe planning is valuable, I’ve come to see that we don’t actually manage time.
We steward it.
God has given each of us the same twenty-four hours a day, but He has also entrusted us with something just as valuable: our attention, our energy, our gifts, and our creativity.
The Apostle Paul reminds us: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time…” (Ephesians 5:15-16, ESV)
He wasn’t encouraging believers to squeeze more things into the day. He was calling us to live intentionally.
Years ago, when I was homeschooling and caregiving, I wasn’t setting healthy boundaries. My calendar gradually became filled with everyone else’s priorities, leaving very little room for my own. The activities that renewed my heart—writing, reading, creative projects, quiet Bible study—were always the first to disappear.
Over time I realized those were the very things I needed to stay emotionally and spiritually healthy.
The Discovery That Changed My Thinking
Recently I came across an idea that explained something I’d experienced for years but had never been able to put into words:
Not every task uses the same kind of time.
I’ve noticed there are certain things I can accomplish almost anytime. If I have ten free minutes, I can answer emails, fold a load of towels, or make an appointment. Those kinds of tasks fit nicely into the little spaces throughout the day.
But creativity doesn’t seem to work that way. Whether I’m working on my book, studying God’s Word, making cards, or planning a home project, I need time before my mind really engages.
Why Creative Margin Matters
I believe creativity isn’t simply a hobby—it’s part of how God designed us. We were created to imagine, build, solve problems, and bring beauty into the world. That’s why making space for creativity isn’t selfish; it’s one way we faithfully use the gifts God has entrusted to us.
Researchers have found that creative work often involves moving back and forth between exploring ideas and evaluating them. Whether you’re writing, quilting, painting, or decorating a room, your mind needs time to settle into the work before it begins making meaningful connections and progress.
That’s why interruptions can feel so frustrating.
Years ago, when I worked as a marketing manager, I often spent mornings writing advertising copy or brainstorming campaign ideas. If I had a meeting in the middle of that process, it was difficult to return to the same creative flow afterward.
At the time I thought I needed to manage time better.
Now I understand that different kinds of work have different costs when they’re interrupted.
That isn’t laziness. It isn’t poor organization.
It’s simply the way many creative tasks work.
Creating Creative Margin
Like many people, I believed the time management experts who said that if I simply blocked out 15 or 20 minutes each day for myself, I’d finally make time for creativity.
Sometimes that works. But for many creative activities, I discovered it wasn’t enough.
Personally, I can’t really settle into a good book for just fifteen minutes. By the time I’ve connected with the story, it’s time to stop. The same is true for writing. Ideas need room to develop before they begin to flow.
That’s why I’ve started thinking less about finding extra minutes and more about creating creative margin.
Creative margin means protecting longer blocks of uninterrupted time for the things that restore you and allow you to use the gifts God has given you.
That may look different for each of us.
Maybe it’s scheduling appointments on just one or two days of the week.
Maybe it’s silencing notifications for an hour.
Maybe it’s blocking out creative time on your calendar before everything else fills it.it.
What gets left off your calendar may actually be what belongs there first.
Living with Intention
Midlife often brings more interruptions, not fewer. Aging parents, grandchildren, volunteer commitments, church responsibilities, plus household tasks can leave us feeling as though we’re constantly switching directions.
No wonder so many women say they don’t have time to be creative.
Perhaps the problem isn’t that creativity takes too much time.
Perhaps it simply asks for something our schedules rarely provide anymore.
Margin.
As we steward the time God has given us, perhaps the question isn’t, How can I fit creativity into my day? Instead, maybe we should ask, How can I protect the kind of time creativity needs?
Some tasks fit neatly into the small spaces between appointments and responsibilities, but the things that nourish our hearts often require something more—quiet, uninterrupted moments where we can fully engage.
When we intentionally make room for that kind of time, we’re doing more than adding another hobby to our schedule. We’re creating space to enjoy the gifts God has placed within us, to develop them with purpose, and to reflect the creativity of the One who created us.
You may not need more hours in the day. It may be that you’re missing the freedom to protect the kind of time your heart—and the gifts God has given you—have needed all along.
Disclosure: The featured image was created by AI to illustrate this post and does not represent any real person, location, or situation. AI can make mistakes.
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