How Working From Home Creates More Time for Creativity

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working was the exception rather than the rule. Today, many more people work from home for at least part of the week. While home working certainly has its downsides, it also creates opportunities that simply didn't exist before – including more opportunities to bring creativity into everyday life.

The power of fifteen minutes

One of the biggest advantages of working from home is what can be achieved during a lunch break.

Life is still busy, but I can almost always find fifteen minutes in the middle of the day.

It's amazing how much difference such a small pocket of time can make.

Sometimes I use it to tackle life admin, prepare dinner or spend a few minutes in the garden. Quite often, though, I use it to make something.

That might mean adding another layer to a painting, sketching in a notebook, experimenting with collage, or simply sitting quietly with a cup of tea while ideas begin to form. These are all things that can feel impossible after a full day of work, when energy is low and the sofa is calling.

Flowers in the garden sketched during my lunch break

Of course, your lunch break doesn't have to be spent making something. Sometimes using those fifteen minutes to get ahead with household jobs means you can enjoy your evening with a clearer head. Rather than spending the first hour after work catching up on chores, you've created space to pick up a sketchbook, work on a painting or simply sit down and be creative without feeling guilty.

At The Making Practice, we believe creativity doesn't have to wait until you have a whole afternoon free. A regular fifteen-minute creative habit – or simply using that time to make space for creativity later in the day – can be far more valuable than waiting for the "perfect" opportunity that never quite arrives.

Reclaiming your commuting time

Before working from home, I spent around two hours commuting every day. Now that time is mine again – not just the hours spent driving, but also the mental energy that used to disappear with the stress of traffic, delays and rushing from one place to another.

Whether you choose to exercise, read, cook, spend time with your family or work on a creative project, those reclaimed hours can make a remarkable difference over the course of a week.

Being more present at home

Perhaps the biggest change, though, is how we experience our homes.

When you commute five days a week, your house can become little more than somewhere to eat, sleep and rush through before heading out again. Spending more time at home changes your relationship with the place you live.

You notice the subtle changes in the garden as the seasons pass. You see how the light falls differently through the windows. You begin to appreciate the little corners of your home that might previously have gone unnoticed. A home gradually becomes somewhere you truly live, rather than simply somewhere you return to each evening.

Those small moments of observation are often where creativity begins.

The trade-offs

Of course, working from home isn't perfect. Many people miss the spontaneous conversations, shared lunches and sense of community that comes from being together in a workplace. Collaboration can feel less natural, and home working can sometimes be isolating.

Flexible working hasn't solved every challenge, but it has created opportunities that simply didn't exist before. It's good to focus on these rather than getting hung up on the downsides.

Make the most of the time you've gained

Working from home has given many of us something incredibly valuable: time.

The question is what we choose to do with it.

At The Making Practice, we're passionate about helping people recognise the creative opportunities hidden within everyday life. Whether it's ten minutes with a sketchbook, a lunchtime walk to notice the changing seasons, mending something instead of replacing it, or finally starting the creative project you've been putting off, those reclaimed moments matter.

You don't need hours to be creative. You simply need to begin.

Working from home has given many of us the gift of small pockets of time. They're easy to fill with scrolling or chores, but they're also enough to build a sustainable creative practice, one ordinary day at a time.