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A creative outlet could be the key to finding balance in your life

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As we emerge from a significant amount of time in lockdown and we get ready to start thinking about resuming something approaching ‘normality’ might there be some aspects of life from the last year that we take with us into the Brave New World?

At Anglepoise we have a strong focus on balance – it’s an intrinsic part of our lamps in its most literal sense afterall –  but we also truly value balance in our lives. Our recent study found that 72% of Brits have turned to creativity during lockdown and over half of those surveyed found that taking on a creative hobby has reaped a greater positive impact on their wellbeing.

Creativity can mean many things though. As John Purnell, our joint Managing Director says: “At Anglepoise our aspiration is for everyone to have their home and work lives perfectly balanced, and this focuses on perspective, flexibility and creative personalisation.

“Creativity is not only fundamentally important to how we go about doing this, but also focusing on personal creativity and flexibility in how, where and when things are done, brings balance and wellbeing to our wider lives.”

In support of fuelling the nation’s creativity, we’ve developed ‘The Balancing Act’, a series of snippets from some leading minds to provide tips on how to be empowered creatively and achieve greater balance. Psychologist Kimberley Wilson discusses the lessons learnt from lockdown and the productive ways to make positive changes within our home working environment with Interiors expert Becca Lawson as well as designer and presenter Jay Blades who has recently launched his book Making It: How Love, Kindness and Community Helped Me Repair My Life.

As Kimberley says: “There’s a strong link between having a creative outlet and having balance. It’s that sense of achievement, being able to say ‘I did this, I made this’, seeing the outcome of your labours is hugely important. Something I see a lot in people who work long hours with lots of pressure, at the end of their working day there’s nothing physically there to show for all of the effort, energy and emotion.

 “One of the big triggers for burnout is not seeing the fruit of our labours. Having a separate creative outlet brings that sense of achievement that we don’t always get from work.”

The series comes at a time when the nation has fallen in love with TV sensations such as Grayson’s Art Club – a call to arms for anyone with even a passing passion for art – and endured a truly tumultuous working year. Zoom fatigue entered our lexicon for the first time, people working from home during lockdown have spent more time at their jobs and unions are now calling for workers’ rights to ‘switch off, as many have found the boundaries between home and work blurring to significantly impact mental health.

 

The Balancing Act series can be found on Anglepoise’s IGTV channel, featuring Kimberley Wilson, Jay Blades and Becca Lawson.