Trading Productivity for Creativity

Making space to create without pressure, outcome, or urgency

I’ve been thinking about how much of my life has been built around productivity.

Schedules. Checklists. Being efficient with my time. Making sure I’m doing enough. Producing enough. Moving things forward.

And I can feel myself continuing to loosen my grip on that way of living.

In the quiet, especially in my garden, I keep noticing how slow everything is. Nothing is rushed. Nothing is forced. Growth still happens, just not on a schedule I control.

It reminds me again and again that this is what my soul actually wants.

Not more output. Presence.

My kids are older now. The pace of my days is changing. And instead of filling that space with more productivity, I’m learning to leave some of it open.

I keep coming back to this one thought:

I want to trade in productivity for creativity.

Not for an outcome. Not to be efficient. Not to prove anything.

Just to make something with my hands. To follow an idea. To play with fabric and texture and color. To build a small collection that feels thoughtful and personal. Maybe a mix of upcycled and vintage. Something that feels like me.

It still feels like a trade.

Letting go of the version of myself that measures her worth by how much she gets done
and choosing, over and over again, a life that values beauty, creativity, and presence.

I don’t have it all figured out, but I know I want to keep going in this direction.

So instead of a perfectly useful list, I wanted to share a few things that are sparking creativity for me right now. Some I own. Some I’m still thinking about. All of them feel like small steps in this shift.

A wear-everywhere shirt. The kind that makes getting dressed feel effortless instead of like a decision.

A journal that feels open, not intimidating, just a place to land all of your wild thoughts.

Gardening gloves I don’t even have yet, but already associate with slower afternoons and dirt under my nails.

A really good SPF, because I want to stay outside longer.

A yogurt that is simply delicious. No deeper meaning, just joy.

And the Freguesa hats I still have left. Just a few now. The fish ones are completely sold out. Reply to this email if you want to snag yours! They’re perfect for being outside.

Nothing here is life changing.

But I’m learning that creativity doesn’t come from doing more. It comes from making space, paying attention, and letting small things be enough.

xx Priscila