Happy Tuesday, readers, writers, and shark fans! For Inspirational Tuesday, we wanted to address something that creatives face more often than they might care to admit: focusing more on their work than their art or working themselves to the bone to create their art.

But at the end of the day, like any other area of our lives, the answer might seem counterintuitive: Taking a few items off our task list, or spending a little less time on that report, might actually help us create far more art that we’re proud of, and far more art in general.

Read on to see how fiction author and writing coach Christy Howitt gets the most out of her productive days:

Here’s How Doing Less Will Actually Help You Create More.

If you’re like me, hard work has been ingrained in you from a young age. The harder you work, the more you will achieve. If you put in the time, effort, and pure dedication, you’ll get exactly where you’re aiming to go.

While I am an absolute advocate for hard work and dedication – as creatives, maybe there’s a better way?

Actually, I know there is a better way. Over the years, my over-achiever side was definitely activated. I wore fifteen-hour work days as a badge of honor. I hustled and wore myself out, all in the name of achieving my big goals. Maybe you did the same? Perhaps this sounds all too familiar. But the thing is, when you work yourself to a point of exhaustion, your creativity is also out of fuel. Just as we cannot pour from an empty cup, we cannot create from a dried-up creative well, either.

I’m here to show you just how doing less will actually help you create more.

Yes, read that again. Pause and feel into it. It took me a while to let this idea sink in, to form roots within me. It’s kind of like working smarter and not harder, but it’s more about creating space for balance, for rest, for refueling. Because nothing can run forever without taking time to recharge, you know? The same goes for creativity.

So, how do we embrace doing less?

The shift begins with looking at your day and taking stock of all the things you do, especially when it comes to your creative projects. What aspects are an absolute necessity? What parts are you being busy for the sake of being busy? What tasks drain you? What lights you up?

Once you have a clear picture of what is important and what is, well, really not, you can fine-tune your day so that there is more space for rest, playfulness, and idea forming – the components of optimum creativity. Truly. The more time you spend essentially doing less, the more space you have for thinking, daydreaming, mapping out new ideas, playing, and downloading new brilliant insights.

These are all necessary actions for us creatives, actions we rarely make enough time for.

Once you have spent enough time in the luxuriously relaxed place of doing less, you can return to your work feeling a thousand times more inspired, creative, and energized – which leads to your very best work and more of it. Projects come together quicker, more powerful, and fiery, because you have so much more energy and sparkling creativity to pour into them.

Work hard. Rest hard.

It’s become my new motto, and it’s worked wonders for the level of creative work I produce. It’s upped my game in many different areas of my life, changing the narrative of how I approach all my big goals. For, the over-achiever is still there in me. She’s not going anywhere, and I’m grateful for the part of myself that strives to reach new heights. But I’m taking better care of that part now, allowing her permission to rest and play, and it’s led to more potent, flowing creativity.

All from doing a little less. All from inviting in a little more.