Whether you’re a painter, a writer, a dancer, a photographer, or someone just trying to feel alive again—the artist date is a creative power move that can unblock inspiration, rekindle joy, and remind you who you are when the world’s noise gets too loud.

So, What Is an Artist Date?

Author of The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron, coined the term “artist date,” which is a weekly solo expedition—a date with your inner artist. It’s a time to woo your creative self, to play, to explore, and to fill the well so you’re not creating from a dry, cracked riverbed of burnout.

And here’s the key: It must be solo. You do not take anyone on this artist date but you and your inner artist, a.k.a. your creative child. This is about nurturing your creative spirit. No friends, partners, or podcasts with someone else’s thoughts and opinions playing in your ear the whole time. Just you, your curiosity, and your willingness to say yes to wonder.

A Step-by-Step for Taking Yourself on an Artist Date

1. Commit to It Like a Real Date 

You have to make your artist date a priority. If you wouldn’t flake on a coffee with a friend or a dinner with someone you love, don’t flake on this. Pick a day and time, and put it in your calendar. Guard it like a dragon guards treasure. Defend this time against interlopers at all costs. You’re not being selfish—you’re being a good creative steward.

Pro tip: Even one hour is enough.

2. Choose Something That Sparks Curiosity

Here’s the fun part. This is not about being productive. It’s about delight, mystery, play, and exploration. Think small, weird, simple, or unexpected.

Some ideas for an artist date:

• Visit a used bookstore and pick the strangest title you can find.
• Take yourself to a hardware store and explore like it’s an art museum.
• Sit in a park and sketch squirrels, clouds, feelings, or whatever comes to mind.
• Go to a grocery store and buy a fruit you’ve never eaten before.
• Visit a new art gallery at a local museum.
• Go to a new coffee shop and people watch.
• Take a walk in nature. Perhaps, try a path you’ve never taken before.
• Make a collage with old magazines and glue sticks.
• Take yourself to a silent movie or a vintage arcade.

This isn’t about “being an artist.” It’s about feeding the artist within.

3. Leave Expectations at the Door 

This is not a to-do list item or a hustle move. No “I better get an idea out of this” pressure. Your only job is to show up—curious, open, and receptive. That’s it. Sometimes, you’ll come home buzzing with ideas. Other times, it might just feel nice. That’s still a win.

4. Be Present With Yourself

Put your phone away unless you’re using it to take photos or notes intentionally. Avoid distractions. This is about engaging your senses—seeing, hearing, touching, even smelling things you’d usually rush past. You’re not escaping your life—you’re enriching it.

5. Reflect Without Judging

Afterward, take a few minutes to jot down how you felt. Not a formal journal entry. Just a few notes:

• What surprised you?
• What delighted you?
• What did you learn about yourself?
• What did your inner artist whisper, now that you gave it the mic?

This helps you build trust with yourself, and track what kind of dates truly energize you.

Why It Matters 

Admittedly, your first artist date might feel silly at first. Allow it to. The truth is you are doing something unconventional that the average person doesn’t take time to do—feeding your inner artist. Remember: creativity isn’t just about output. It’s about input. Most of us are running on empty, trying to produce when we haven’t played in ages.

Artist Dates:

• Reignite your imagination.
• Give you unexpected ideas.
• Help you feel more alive and less stuck.
• Remind you that you are worth showing up for.

And that’s the magic, isn’t it? When you nurture your creative self—your inner artist—it spills over into your work, relationships, confidence, and everything else.

Your Assignment This Week

Now here’s the challenge for you: Plan an artist date this week. Yes, you read that right.

• Pick a time within the next seven days. Commit to it. Write it on your calendar. No excuses.
• Choose something playful, strange, or delightful.
• Go solo. Be present. Let yourself enjoy it.

Report back even if it’s just to yourself. You’re doing more than going on a little outing—you’re telling your creative self, “Hey, I see you. You matter. Let’s make some magic.” Now get out there. Your inner artist is waiting.

So, we used the long weekend to go skiing in Montana and had the MOST incredible time! Becoming a “ski fam” is a recent event (only about two years old), but it’s one of my favorite things we’ve ever done as a family. Here’s why!

Family Adventure is Our Fave

Our favorite family times are whenever we’re all together laughing, playing, eating in a new / different environment. Once I realized our “secret sauce” for incredible family memories, I began building our years around those kinds of trips. Seriously. I’ve always loved staying active and luckily my family does, too; family vacations with physical activity and lots of opportunity to laugh is our jam— so skiing is a perfect option.

We Were ALL Beginners

With the exception of my boo (who is European and therefore an exceptional skier by birth), the rest of us had no idea what we were doing. As much as it was daunting to learn to ski at 39 (I was about as graceful as a drunk baby rhino!), we were all in it together.

It’s been so cool to progress as a team. In the beginning, our conversations were all about how much we fell. Now our conversations are about how fast we went or which runs were most challenging for us.

Everyone Can Go at Their Own Pace

Before I started skiing, I had no idea that there are different paths for every kind of skier based on their skill level. This means that Noah and I can do simpler runs together while my teenagers work on blues and my boyfriend does a black diamond.

Everyone works their way down the mountain in a way that’s most fun for them. Then we all meet up for hot cocoa or coffee at the bottom to discuss our runs. I love that there’s something on the mountain for each of us and we can all experience it in different ways.

Maybe the coolest thing about skiing is that I never – not in a million years – imagined I’d take it up or that our family would adopt it as a pastime. While downhill skiing might not be for everyone, I think it’s worth considering how we can remain open to new adventures. 

I bet your life 10 years ago is so different than it is today. So if you’ve changed so much over the last 10 years, what makes you think you won’t continue to change, adjust, grow and flourish over the next decades? It’s fun to imagine what the future version of you is into that the current version of you hasn’t even discovered yet. I hope whatever it is, is full of adventure and makes your spirit come alive. 

Now I get it. Going alone seems daunting, doesn’t it? But the thing is, it’s actually pretty awesome because you can be exactly who you are without worrying what anyone else is thinking, and soak in every ounce. 

Don’t believe me? Read these amazing testimonials from women who have gone solo and LOVED it! 

Still a little skeptical? Here’s a fun little fact: 48% of people go alone, and guess what? They don’t leave alone! We have a “Flying Solo” lounge dedicated to all the women who are coming to the conference by themselves! They make lifelong friendships, and meet people they wouldn’t have if they were to go with somebody! It’s the perfect place to meet other gals who might be in the same boat as you, and who knows? You might walk away with a new friend who might be exactly who you needed to meet! 

I started out attending event planning conferences (I owned a wedding/event firm at the time.) Next came more general business conferences where entrepreneurs at every level came together to learn to scale. Between the ticket price and the travel, I could only afford to attend one conference a year and it took me the entire year to save up for the next one but I always felt like they were great investments of my time. I came back home recharged and inspired and ready to implement the things I’d learned. I suppose that’s when I first started wondering if there were events where I could learn how to be a better person, not just a better boss. It wasn’t until years later while going to therapy to try and overcome the debilitating anxiety that I finally bought a ticket for my first PD conference. It fundamentally changed my life (I wrote all about it in my book Girl, Wash Your Face) and it also made me want to create a similar experience that was just for women. That idea is what led me to plan my very first RISE Conference back in 2017.

Chances are if you’re reading this it’s because you’ve bought a ticket for one of my conferences this year and you’re curious about what to expect OR you’re considering buying a ticket but want to understand what it’s all about. If you’ve never been to a conference before it can feel intimidating and those nerves keep all sorts of people from trying one out because they’re unsure what to expect. To that end, I wanted to give some insight on what to expect when you attend my conference… that way you can make a more informed opinion on whether or not it’s right for you. 

Expect to Gain Knowledge – The main reason to attend a conference –no matter if it’s personal or professional– is to acquire new tools for your tool kit. You’ll hear from multiple speakers who all bring a different perspective to the conference’s core message. Ideally, all of the speakers will say something that prompts you to think differently or ask yourself some better questions. At our conferences, our core obsession is to give you as many ideas, inspiration and insights as we can in the time that we have you. 

Expect to Hear From Me… a lot – Unlike many other conferences ours isn’t a revolving door of 40 different speakers. RISE women’s conference has a very specific objective: you feeling empowered to take full ownership of your life and having a clear plan to achieve your dreams. We’ve spent years designing activities and lessons and teachings that will help you tap into what’s blocking you and figure out how you overcome it. For each of the 3 conference days, I teach for 4+ hours of the 8-hour stretch. Other speakers are always a surprise and someone who compliments the work we’re doing not just someone who has a big Instagram following. Basically what I’m saying is, if you enjoy my style of teaching you’re going to love RISE. Not sure what my style of teaching is? Go check out my YouTube page. 

Expect to Find Community – The best thing about RISE –without exception– is the community that happens within our attendees. Women have made life long friendships, business connections and mentor/mentee relationships at every event we’ve planned. The number one question we get in advance of the conference is “Is it weird if I attend alone?” No way! In fact, 40% of our conference attendees come by themselves and then utilize our activities to find friends. We always say, you might come alone but you won’t be that way for long.

Expect to Move Around… a lot – I’m guessing by now you’ve seen video footage of everyone in the RISE audience jumping up and down or dancing around. People who’ve never been to conference just love to use this for fodder to make fun of us or say that we’re weird. The rationale behind the dancing throughout each day is actually really simple. 1. It keeps you engaged and awake. If you’ve ever sat somewhere for 8 hours then you know it can start to drag on… zero chance of that here because every 20 min or so you’re going to dance to some Beyonce. 2. Movement helps you deal with ALL the feelings. RISE conference ends up feeling a bit like 3-days of therapy and physical movement throughout helps you to shake off negative self-talk. 3. I believe deeply, obsessively that every person on earth who is physically capable of it should be moving their body and getting their heart rate up for at least 30 minutes a day. So… if I have you with me for three days I’m going to weave that practice into my teachings. I can’t tell you how many women have kick-started incredible health journeys at RISE simply because they didn’t know their bodies could move that much and it gave them a new perspective on what they’re capable of. 

Expect to Leave on FIRE for Your Life – People attend personal development conferences for all kinds of reasons but the underlying prompt is that they want to make change. Some women come because they feel lost. Others come because they have a goal but aren’t sure how to make it real. Others because they know it’s time to let go of anger or shame or fear that’s been holding them back. Whatever the reason for attending you should know that everything we do is building to a crescendo on day three. We intentionally work to give you all the tools and inspiration and then plan it out so that you leave on fire for your life and your mission. We keep joking that we’re going to create letters or something that attendees can give to their spouse or friends and family that say “The woman I love attended RISE, here’s what to expect now…” because so many people leave conference having experienced a transformation. 

So those are five things you can expect at a RISE Conference. If you have more questions check out the FAQ’s tab on the individual event pages or watch our documentary about conference on Amazon (it’s FREE if you have Prime) and it will give you a great idea of what to expect.

1 //  GET HARDCORE ABOUT A MORNING ROUTINE!

You guys already know that I wax on about this endlessly, but it’s only because I know how powerful it is to set your intentions and layout your goals at the start of each day. Want to see what my morning routine looks like? Watch this youtube video to get a glimpse! Want to focus in on just the goal-setting part? Here are a few of my must-haves!

• Start with gratitude practice! Write down at least 5 things everyday you’re grateful for. Remember to list out things that have happened within the last 24 hours so you force yourself to be on the lookout all day for blessings! 
• Write down the 3 results that you want to produce today. Not just to-do’s but three needle moving things that would push your goal closer to the finish line. Keep in mind…these usually aren’t fun things. In fact, 
• Lastly, write out how your day lays out in hours in an old school paper calendar. If your calendar is anything like mine, it’s packed to the gills and if you’re looking at that digitally it’s hard to see inefficiencies. My calendar is digital + color code (because I love all the organization in my life!) but every weekday morning, I write it out to see where I have holes, and when to eat because I will sadly forget if I don’t put it somewhere in my schedule. Setting intentionality with my calendar each day has been a game changer for me.

2 // SIGN UP FOR BUSINESS COACHING

If you’ve never tried out my monthly LIVE BUSINESS COACHING, now is a great time to give it a try and get some of that RISE energy in the comfort of your own home. Coaching is 2 hours of teaching + course work and if you watch live, there’s a chat roll for interaction. 

3 // PICK UP ONE OF OUR FAVORITE  BUSINESS BOOKS!

4 // MAKE SURE YOU’RE FOLLOWING US ON SOCIAL MEDIA!

You can find us on Facebook and on Instagram to follow the RISE pages! You’ll be getting support from a large community!

5 // LISTEN TO THE RISE PODCAST

Always on the go? Grab your headphones or connect the bluetooth in your car and tune into my RISE podcast every Tuesday! It’s packed with advice, motivation, tactics and interviews with today’s leading business leaders.