Lean in, kiddos.
I am about to impart to you the wisdom of the ages.
The super-secret, hush-hush, “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you” secret of how I do my best creative work.
Ready?
It’s called “starting.”
Seriously. I’d love to tell you I have a particular setting, or time of day, or list of conditions that create the ideal incubator for amazing creative work.
But I don’t. The recipe is.. there is no recipe. This isn’t science. It’s more like alchemy. There are ingredients. Usually those ingredients have certain effects. When you put them all together and apply heat…”results may vary,” to borrow a phrase from our friends in the pharmaceutical trade.
Okay, I lured you in here with promises, didn’t I? I can’t just tease you with the wisdom of the ages and leave you with a fortune cookie, can I? Of course I can’t.
Here are a few things from my Creative Grimoire that usually, typically, work well. If the conditions are right.
- Good paper, and a good quality gel pen. Like Tucker Foley, I am a technogeek. But my best ideas and my best creative work, at least in the ideation phase, don’t usually originate in a digital format.
- Bluegrass music. I know. You aren’t from Kentucky. You don’t refer to wrestling as rasslin’. But I’m telling you–bluegrass music is awesome creative background noise. The tempo is fast and energetic. The lyrics are usually so blurred by twang that they aren’t distracting. I will admit–I don’t really like bluegrass all that much just to listen to it, but I’ve found that some of my best, most soulful and real creative work was produced under the influence of a banjo. Make of that what you will.
- Fresh air/outdoor activity. I don’t paint en plein air, although I’d like to try it. I don’t pretend I can draft prose longhand while jogging. And attempting a fiber art project while rock climbing or kayaking? Probably not a great idea. But when I am fresh out of sweet inspiration, and my head feels as empty as a peanut shell on the floor of Texas Roadhouse? Movement and physical, particularly out in nature, gets the ideas stirring and bubbling again.
- A nice glass of wine or cocktail. Yes, I know. I have a history of working for wine and spirits companies. And I know the whole stereotype of the tragic artist consumed by alcoholism (see: Hemingway). And I’m not saying it’s a good idea to do it frequently. I’m just saying that in addition to the figurative sense that Mark illuminated beautifully in that linked post, literally having a cocktail, relaxing and quieting your inner critic on occasion has resulted in some pretty stellar (but still in need of editing!) work for me.
And while we’re on the subject, I should mention that I don’t think it’s a good idea to make any creative stimulus into a requirement. Kayaking is certainly healthier than a manhattan, but I don’t think you should schedule a river run before every creative project, either.
That’s the danger of these kinds of lists. They do become a grimoire, a list of “magical” objects or conditions that you believe you need in order to unlock your creative potential.
Which can cripple you when you need to produce, and can’t get your recommended daily allowance of bluegrass because your coworker has threatened to brain you with a banjo if he hears any more Bill Monroe wafting from your office.
Ultimately, it comes back around to what I said in the beginning. The key to doing great creative work is starting. Getting past your perfectionism and your procrastination and all the other distractions and just … starting.
Because starting leads to output. Output leads to better output. Eventually, enough starting and finishing, output and effort, lead to great work.
See? I told you. Wisdom of the ages, here.
Image by myadlan
Subscribe to Thoughtwrestling so you can read more great ideas about creativity, problem solving, and getting things done.
Related posts:
I’m pretty sure bluegrass won’t work for me. Anytime I hear Ricky Skaggs I’m on my feet playing air guitar (or banjo, or fiddle, or …). So that is WAY too distracting.
As for starting, I agree. More often than not, the first few paragraphs, even pages, of what I write are really me figuring out what I’m writing. So the sooner that gets going, the sooner I get to the real work. (And the editing, where those first few paragraphs/pages get junked.) In other words, what I write at the beginning is less important than the fact I’m writing.
Great list to “not” follow!
I used to listen to music to create all the time and then started thinking when I am really into something, I don’t hear it anyway and quit listening to music almost totally unless I am in the car with the 15 year old (who prefers top 40 and hip-hop…where did I fail?).
However, I have noticed that my output has probably fallen significantly since I stopped with the whole music thing and I might need to rethink that, I am not sure bluegrass will the only thing on the menu.
Pretty funny into …I think that starting is certainly essential and starting every day at that. I think as well , that the outdoor nature connection or the quite time with self whether it be kayaking or hiking or just sitting allows for the mind to shut up to allow room for the creativity to surge up.
[...] Are You A Starter, A Finisher Or An Implementer? Published in June 24th, 2010 Posted by Rob Diana in Career There are three parts to every project, starting, finishing and everything in between. Two parts of the process are very difficult to complete, starting and finishing. This is not a tutorial on project management, as much as it is a general guide for people involved in a project. For example, lots of people have ideas. Ideas are easy because they require very little risk. But, what happens after the idea? You are supposed to start the project. However, most people stop with the idea because they “don’t have time” or even “I wouldn’t know where to begin”. Kat French explains how she does her best creative work: [...]
Great ideas about spurring your own creativity. I’ve also found uptempo instrumental music is a great background for creative thinking.
A couple musical suggestions:
Jean Luc Ponty (instrumental acoustic violin)
Don Ross (instrumental acoustic guitar)
Thanks for sharing!
[...] wants to see you fail. (And by the way, the jerks don’t count, because they are just jerks.) Take that first step. Write those words. Press record. Step out on that stage. You may not ever stop being nervous about [...]
Love this article. Great secret. I must start repeating this to myself as a mantra: Just start. Start. Go start.
[...] goodness. Thanks for visiting!If you asked most creative people to identify their biggest hurdle to increasing (and improving) their creative output, most would tell you “I just don’t have enough [...]