She’s a creator and digital marketing expert. Here’s how she does it all.

By: Jareen Imam

My blue gel pen rolled across the crisp white paper inside my notebook, scratching another item off my to-do list.

5 work meetings, complete.

2 articles, finished.

3 blog posts, edited.

1 lengthy strategy doc, reviewed.

I had been working on overdrive because it was date night, which my boyfriend and I had postponed multiple times through the month of February of this year because I was too busy. He planned everything, the flowers, the chocolates, the car ride to the restaurant. We ordered oysters and pasta under candlelight.

Everything felt magical, except – I couldn’t concentrate on any of it.

My brain was zapped. I kept ruminating over outstanding responsibilities. “How many videos do I need to shoot? I can’t forget that board meeting. I need to call my doctor.” Suddenly, the clink of the metal tray with the bill making contact against our table rattled me back to the present. The candle between me and my boyfriend had melted down to a stub. The flame had burned out. My plate of food was gone. I looked around and saw that the restaurant was nearly empty.

Two hours flew by, and I was too tired from work to engage with the person I care about. It was clear, I was reaching my limit.

And I’m not alone. From headlines about the “Great Resignation” to companies having a difficult time recruiting candidates, many American workers are feeling overworked and unhappy. About 50% of American workers feel mentally and physically exhausted at the end of the workday, according to a 2021 report by Society for Human Resource Management. And more than 40% feel burned out from their jobs.

After date night, I didn’t jump back to my to-do list. Instead, the following day, I turned off my phone and I painted, I cooked, I listened to podcasts. I gave myself 6 hours to do anything I wanted. After I was done painting, eating, and listening, I felt like I was in a better headspace to tackle the outstanding items on my list.

We’re in the middle of a great transformation, and this change, according to quantitative futurist Amy Webb, includes people reevaluating their lives. We’re seeing people re-prioritize their time by putting family, self, and passions before work – and that’s a good thing.

I left a senior leadership position at a major media company last summer. It wasn’t because I didn’t like my job. It was because I wanted more time. I didn’t want to be on-call every single day, including nights and weekends. I didn’t want to cancel my vacations over and over again. I didn’t want to miss holidays. I didn’t want to miss birthdays, anniversaries, and even funerals. I didn’t want to lose out on my life.

Before I started my career in journalism, I was a painter. I was exhibited at museums and galleries in Florida and Georgia. I wrote poetry and short stories. I was published in anthologies and literary magazines. I was a filmmaker. My shorts were screened at film festivals and won awards. I played the guitar. I wrote songs.

When I became a manager, I stopped all of those things. Not because I didn’t want to do them, but because I was putting so much energy into my career that I didn’t have the capacity to be creative.

I still have a corporate job, and at times it can feel just as stressful as my old jobs in media. But I also have more personal time to devote to things I care about like my creative projects. I realized that in order for me to feel like I have the motivation and energy for my day job, I needed a creative outlet outside of my job.

Author and researcher Brené Brown warns that unused creativity is not benign. “It metastasizes. It turns into grief, rage, judgement, sorrow, and shame,” she says.

Toward the end of my tenure in the media industry, I was exhausted. I could feel myself easily becoming more frustrated and anxious by my diminishing time. I had denied myself the opportunity to explore my creative side for so long that I was ultimately hurting myself.

Once I freed my time up to start exploring my creativity through painting, writing, and humor, I could feel myself becoming more motivated and excited about pursuing other projects and ideas. Nowadays, there are certain things I try to do to make sure I have the energy to stay present and innovative.

I’ve made a commitment to myself that I will always get 8 hours of sleep, every night. Hustle culture has glorified sacrificing sleep in order to obtain our goals, but I refuse to keep living like that. Plus, a well rested mind is a more creative mind.

Additionally, I workout or am physically active for at least one hour every day. Exercise not only helps with mental health, but it can also help us be more creative, reports the World Economic Forum. Researchers in Austria found a clear tie between active lifestyles, positive mood, and innovative thinking.

And finally, I give myself a few hours each week to have uncategorized time. This time is sacred to me. Usually, it can span between two to eights hours over several days or all observed in one day. During this time, I don’t do household chores. I don’t answer emails. I don’t look at my phone. I do give myself space to do whatever I want.

Generally, that means being creative. That might mean I’m journaling, or writing, or baking, or calling friends or family who inspire me. I might watch an artsy film, or go to a museum. Or I am just sitting still and allowing myself to feel my feelings like worry, anxiety, excitement, or whatever major emotions or thoughts are lingering in my mind.

I like uncategorized time because so much of our lives are scheduled. Whether you’re in the office or at home, we’re all operating on a timeline, and although that’s logical and efficient, it can also be draining. As humans, we need time for our minds to wander. That white space can spark creativity and inspiration. Hence why so many people have great ideas in the shower. We’re free from distractions – all we have are our thoughts.

I’m very intentional about my uncategorized time. During this time I have no expectations. I don’t tell myself to have fun or relax. This time is for me to exist, and do whatever my mood dictates. There’s research that shows scheduling fun can actually lessen your enjoyment. Selin Malkoc, associate professor of marketing at Ohio State University, said in an interview with CNET that when you block time to have fun, you’re not enjoying it because it is structured time.

If the thought of unstructured time scares you, you’re not alone. Malkoc found in her research which explores our relationship with leisure that 35% of Americans think leisure is wasteful because it’s viewed as being unproductive.

"A natural outcome of that belief is that not being productive actually feels like it's wasteful because the benefits of working are readily available to us. We know exactly what we will be producing. But leisure's benefit seems to be much more abstract," Malkoc said..

Like many of you, most of my day is timeblocked for efficiency, even the weekends. It’s the only way I can manage to have a day job and also have a thriving content creator career on TikTok, an active Etsy store, a media consulting business, and maintain my household and relationships. But being too structured can also become overwhelming.

Just a few weeks ago, I was uploading content onto my Youtube channel, editing a TikTok, pinning a new post on Pinterest, editing a Medium article, updating my Instagram, setting up my new Facebook page, and planning my upcoming blog post, and I remember thinking, “this is too much.” I gave myself a break the rest of that weekend. After observing a full day of uncategorized time, I felt inspired to start making content again.

I don’t have a magical answer to having limitless energy because that doesn’t exist in nature. The only limitless energy source we have on Earth is solar power, and even our Sun has an expiration date. The only way to have energy for all the things you want to do is by giving yourself more time.

We all have 24 hours in the day, but we don’t all use that time the same way. My biggest advice is to find the time to be creative. You don’t have to be artistic to be creative. We all have the capacity to doodle, to sing, to dance, to make, to dream. Free yourself up not to do more work, but to live creatively. Through that creativity, you’ll discover energy that inspires you.

Jareen Imam is a content creator, storyteller, and digital marketing expert. She's worked for major media organizations like CNN, CBS, and NBC for the past 10 years covering breaking news, writing stories, and leading journalists. Currently, she's working in tech as an editorial manager for Amazon. When she's not at work, she's writing and filming videos on love, money, and careers. Watch her videos on TikTok, Youtube, or Instagram. Discover more content from Jareen Imam by following her TikTok and Youtube channels where she discusses love, money, and careers.

Need more energy? Try leaning into your creativity.