How Much Creativity Fits in a Day? Stats & Your Time Habits

How much time should you spend on creativity per day?

Ugh, that’s not an easy question to answer.

As a freelance writer, I can honestly say I don’t know. 🤷

All I know is that one minute, I could be brimming with ideas, and the next, I could stare at a blinking cursor like I forgot how to form words. My mind can suddenly get flooded with admin tasks I've been procrastinating so much that it becomes a struggle to focus on the creative work I actually enjoy.

We all know that creativity is exciting (sometimes chaotic) but we can’t run on pure creative energy all day long. 

We need focus, structure, and time to complete all the not-so-creative tasks.

Moreover, we need to learn to divide our time between creative hours and the admin stuff, so we don’t end up jotting down our best ideas on Post-its and drowning in unanswered emails.

So, let's try to find the answer to the question of how we make sure we're maximizing creativity while also completing unfun tasks. Sure—it’s all about balance—but what does balance mean? 🤔

In this article, I’ll share stats about creativity and time habits. I’ll also explain how to create a daily schedule that gives your creativity the room it needs, ensuring you don’t lose your spark to endless admin tasks and (time) spreadsheets.

Let’s roll.

Statistics on creativity & productivity

Let me ask you this: When do you feel the most creative? If it’s during the night, there might be a few reasons why that is, including your chronotype.

However you answered, just know that we all have our own distinct creative hours.

According to Fast Company, 35% of leaders feel most creative early on Monday morning, and 43% feel inspired during mid- and late morning on Mondays. Others are more creative on Tuesdays (46%), early afternoon on Wednesdays (37%), and midafternoon on Thursdays (35%).

Some people feel the most creative on Fridays, particularly on Friday afternoons (34%) and evenings (33%).

Here are some other stats on creativity worth mentioning:

• According to Linearity, 75% of people feel pressured to prioritize being more productive than creative, even though 94% of hiring managers wish to hire creatives.
• Dream Maker says creativity plays a huge role in completing demanding tasks. 56% of respondents said that daydreaming boosted their creativity at work, allowing them to complete challenging tasks more efficiently.
• According to Business Insider, 72% of people get creative ideas in the shower.

Why are these stats important?

Because they prove that creativity is essential.

The way I see it, creativity shouldn’t be put against productivity; they are two sides of the same coin.

Letting creativity flow somewhat freely (with some limitations and guidelines) allows you to solve problems faster. It gives you time to think outside the box and see things differently.

So, instead of choosing between the two, adopt a new mindset: you can have both.

Creativity and productivity can work together, making your workday more efficient and A LOT more enjoyable. You just need discipline and a proper plan so that you can let your creative spark shine, and don’t forget to complete your to-do list.

How much time should you spend on creativity per day?

Or better yet, how much creative work can fit in a day, month, or year?

Well, to answer that question, let’s first define creativity. (You’ll see why that’s important later on.)

The research Everyday Creativity: A Systematic Literature Review mentions “Big-C” and “little-c” creativity.

“Big-C” creativity is all about great achievements, while “little-c” suggests there is an “everyday creativity” that helps you solve daily challenges and express individuality. This research also indicated that nurturing your everyday creativity boosts adaptability, critical thinking, and self-insight.

So, reducing “little-c” to just a couple of hours a day shouldn’t be an option. Creativity is a process that requires enough time so you can explore all ideas. That’s why you should set aside enough time to let it flow naturally.

That all being said, I want to remind you of one more thing: creativity requires discipline. I know, what a shock.

According to Psychology Today, even though you are a creative mind, you still need to show up to work and actually do the work. You need to rely on your long-term goals to help you balance creative work and other tasks so you can get things done.

Considering all the previously mentioned, let’s answer the ultimate question: how many creative hours should you set aside each day?

The answer is that it’s up to you to define the number of creative hours.

Research gives us some guidance. A general consensus is that 2 to 4 hours of deep creative work per day can be ideal.

And please remember, creativity isn’t just about time spent—it’s about quality. That’s why I recommend you experiment with what works best for you and try tracking your creative blocks to see how long you can sustain creativity without losing focus.

Creating a daily schedule for creatives

Speaking of tracking creative blocks, let’s talk about creating a daily schedule.

To create your perfect daily schedule, I suggest you do three things:

1. Define whether you are an early bird or a night owl (you can even take a chronotype quiz like this one).
2. Track your days to see how you work to determine habits and patterns.
3. Create a new productive schedule.

Now, let’s go through these steps individually.

#1 Think about periods of creative outbursts

The first step suggests that you define whether you are a morning person or if you prefer to work at night.

I suggest this as a first step because you’ll know what to expect when you start dissecting your days and tracking time.

It’s such a simple step, all you need to do is take a moment to reflect.

When do you feel most inspired? Once you start reflecting, you’ll begin to see patterns, and understand your “creative window”.

Most people are morning larks and feel more alert, awake, and focused during the morning. Those people enjoy creative time and brainstorming in the late morning.

If you're a night owl, you might have creative ideas popping into your head after 10 pm and get lost in a flow state after midnight. But the downside is you may find yourself sacrificing sleep and struggle the next morning with a foggy brain and low energy.

#2 Track your workdays

Track them with Memtime.

Memtime is your creativity buddy with an analytical mindset. 🧠

Our time tracking app is built for designers & creatives like yourself and tracks your work days for you.

You don’t have to use a note app, a stopwatch, or any type of timers.

With Memtime, you’ve got all your activities captured down, minute by minute.

So, just sit at your desk, be your creative self, and work like you normally would in all apps, programs, browsers, and documents (including Figma, Adobe Photoshop, and others) and Memtime will automatically log your time spent on each task.

You don’t even have to open Memtime; as long as it’s there on your computer, it’ll catch all your time on tasks and display them in Memory Aid in 1-60 minute intervals.

But Memtime doesn’t stop there; it can improve your productivity immensely. If you use it continuously, you can use time tracking insights to schedule tasks based on your natural creative flow, ensuring you tackle the most important work during your best hours.

How does that sound?

If it sounds better than a layer aligning as you want it to, I suggest you try our two-week free trial. No card info needed.

Create your account in 10 seconds, download Memtime, and start tracking:

#3 Create a new productive schedule

When you’ve tracked your time and uncovered your work habits, the next step is turning those insights into a new schedule that fully adjusts to your creative needs.

Here’s how to make the most of your patterns and boost productivity:

Wrapping it up

Stop reading this article and get to tracking your time. You owe this much to your precious creativity.

Go, go, go! Your creativity awaits you to optimize your schedule and ensure you have enough time for ideation, mind wondering, and all those hectic bursts of brilliance.

Give yourself a space to build a workday that flows with inspiration instead of chaos.

Grab our time tracker and make a schedule that celebrates your creative rhythm. Your future self will thank you. 🙂