August 7, 2026 - Children's author Kimberly S. Hoffman gave a presentation at a creatives conference in July titled "How to Be Creative When All I Want to Do is Take a Nap." She's planning on giving a similar presentation at her church this fall.

Her presentation at Imaginarium in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 17 started: "Do you struggle to be creative because you are exhausted either due to physical, mental, social or emotional reasons? This workshop will help you take a breath and find some peace as you learn ways to rediscover creativity. This workshop is for anyone feeling chronic exhaustion, but especially for those with disabilities or conditions or situations that are affecting their energy level."

Kimberly went on to talk about not only dealing fatigue, but on trying to abate some of it begin with, as well as overcoming "feelings of guilt, overwhelm, frustration and sadness and can even make us feel like giving up before we’ve even started." Sometimes, we need to understand when we've done "enough" and not to try to measure up to other people's achievements.

Some of the mechanisms she suggested people trying to feel less worn down were particular breathing exercises, pacing our energy output during each day, establishing priorities, and coming up with a mission statement for ourselves ... one based on what's important to us, what brings us joy, and what our core values are. The mission statement will help you understand if what you're doing aligns with your core values and joy.

Setting an appointment with yourself can help. This is time you set up for yourself to be creative. It doesn't have to be a long period of time, just one where you will focus on that, and that alone.

She also suggested some resources:

*App Available on Phone –Visible–Helps you track your energy envelope and assists with pacing. Both Free and Paid versions.

*The Gifts of Imperfection –Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are- BrenèBrown

*The Joy of Missing Out –Live More by Doing Less –Tonya Dalton

*Enchantment –Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age - Katherine May

*How to Keep House While Drowning – K.C. Davis

*Capture Your Dream–Stack Real-World Goals, Develop Your Dragons, Thrive Beyond the 9 to 5 –Sandy Lender

Kimberly has ten books out. The most recent for the Columbus, Indiana, author - Gramma's Legacy: Helping Children Grieve the Loss of a Loved One - came out on July 30.