Welcome to the A to Z Blogging Challenge!
My A to Z Theme For the next 26 days, I'll be blogging about personal productivity for creative people. Feeling like we don’t have enough time is a common problem, because there never seems to be enough hours to accomplish everything we want in a day, week, year. Think of these blog posts as the best of all the productivity books, articles, and tips that you would read--if only you had more time.
The Anti-Muse
I’m not a big fan of the “muse” concept. Sure, some days creativity comes easier than others. We’ve all probably experienced flow, where the minutes pass and the creativity continues almost effortlessly. But if we wait for a source of inspiration, it seriously reduces the amount we can create. As William Faulkner said, “I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately, I am inspired at 9 o’clock every morning.”
We can force inspiration by setting up triggers. If we play the same music or light the same candle--whatever trigger works to say IT IS TIME TO CREATE!--the creativity tends to happen. Training the brain to work this way is much more reliable than waiting for a good idea. One writer leaves the laptop on at night for the morning, with email and social media closed, and only the WIP open and ready for the next day.
Seth Godin said, “The notion that I do my work here, now, like this, even when I don’t feel like it, and especially when I do not feel like it, is very important. Because lots and lots of people are creative when they feel like it, but you are not going to become a professional if you do it when you don’t feel like it” (from “Honing Your Creative Practice,” Manage Your Day-to-Day).
I tend to sit in the same spot, with my laptop and my coffee, when I write on the computer. When I proofread, I sit at a desk and use a purple pen to mark my manuscript. These changes help me adjust to the change in work mode.
In his article, How to Be Motivated Every Day, James Clear says, "Most people never get moving because they can’t decide how to get started. Having a ritual takes that burden off your shoulders."
Do you have any triggers for creativity or something that helps put you in a creative flow?
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