Sheryl Garratt
Bio
Sheryl Garratt is a former editor of The Face and Observer magazines, and has written professionally for more than 30 years. She is also a coach working with creatives of all kinds. Find her at thecreativelife.net
Stories (54/0)
Why you should go down that distraction rabbit hole
Every creative needs time to explore. This is a stage of creative work that from the outside can look a lot like doing nothing. Indeed, it can even feel like that from the inside, if you don’t allow time for it, and you try to push yourself back into ‘productive’ work too quickly.
By Sheryl Garratt11 days ago in Journal
100 ideas for creative play dates
We all need more play in our lives. Rest and play help us work better, be more productive, think more creatively. But even if it didn't do any of these things, a life without play is also a life low on joy and laughter.
By Sheryl Garrattabout a month ago in Motivation
Why you need more play in your life
I’ve been reading a lot about play lately. No books I really want to recommend. Most research and writing about play seems to be surprisingly dour and joyless! But everything I’ve read agrees that play is essential, for humans and animals alike. It’s how we develop, as children. But we don’t stop needing this as adults.
By Sheryl Garrattabout a month ago in Journal
Your Second Brain: the answer to information overload
Information. I was drowning in it. In notebooks. On bits of paper. On my phone. In articles, papers and web-pages scanned or stored into Evernote. And in an incomprehensible mess of nested folders on my computer.
By Sheryl Garratt2 months ago in Journal
What to do when the freelance work dries up
As freelancers, we all have dry patches. Times when the work isn’t coming in and the cash isn’t flowing, the phone isn’t ringing and you’re starting to feel invisible and forgotten. In tough times like these, it’s easy to panic, to feel hopeless or afraid.
By Sheryl Garratt2 months ago in Journal
You don't need permission to make your art
The moment of insight I'm a coach, working with experienced creatives. In a coaching session, there’s sometimes a moment when the client is suddenly very still. Sometimes they’ll go wide-eyed. Often they’ll make a gentle noise, like ‘Huh!’ or ‘ Oh!’ My job then is to simply give them space. They’re having a moment of insight.
By Sheryl Garratt2 months ago in Interview
What I’ve learned from other creatives
Over the years, I’ve worked with or interviewed thousands of creatives from many different fields – many of them at the very top of their game. As a journalist and as a magazine editor. As a collaborator. And of course as a coach. Here’s what I’ve learned from other creatives. Which of these might improve your creative life?
By Sheryl Garratt3 months ago in Journal
Artists at work (saving the planet)
An Artist’s Almanac, 2023 is a journey across the UK to discover the sustainable practices of artists whose work is rooted in the protection and conservation of the Earth. Documented by environmental photographer Benjamin Youd, it features the work and process of 12 artists, as well as the environmental biodiversity of each artist’s region. It’s a beautiful book, inspiring in its variety of approaches.
By Sheryl Garratt4 months ago in Earth
Daisy Buchanan on writing her love story for greedy girls
I first met Daisy Buchanan at the Port Eliot festival. An outdoor festival in Cornwall encompassing music, literature, talks and events, it's an idyllic place to be on a sunny day. But this particular year it started raining a few hours in, and barely stopped for the whole weekend. We were both speaking at the festival, and were introduced, briefly, by friends.
By Sheryl Garratt4 months ago in Interview
The productivity trap, and how to make time for your own work
Time. We all get the same 24 hours of it, every day. Yet we all feel that we don’t have enough of it, that we’re wasting it, failing to make the most of it, that it’s slipping away. Most of all, we feel there’s never time to make the work we really want to make.
By Sheryl Garratt4 months ago in Motivation
