Creativity doesn’t ever have to go to sleep so don’t try to make it.
The “work” of creativity is usually that which is enjoyable so it’s not taxing to be a 24 hour creative. An influx of ideas isn’t burdensome, so don’t make it be.
There are a lot of jobs that require no creativity whatsoever. But there are a lot of other jobs that do. So, what do you do when your income depends upon your creativity? The natural tendency would be to try to make it happen. But here’s the problem:
Creativity is something that can’t be forced—and that’s by its definition. It has to do with imaginative, original ideas. If I said, “Think of the next million dollar idea; you’ve got until 3:00” you wouldn’t be able to make it happen; as the deadline got closer, you’d start to panic and more of your time would be spent telling yourself, “I HAVE to think of something” than actually thinking of something. Sort of like trying to go to sleep when you keep informing yourself how late it is. Doesn’t work. So being creative means taking pressure out of the equation.
You’ll probably be able to think of something completely random under obligation to do so, but it won’t be your best idea. It might not even be worth pursuing. It’s probably not going to be profitable as a business. It most likely won’t make your boss happy.
The best ideas happen when you’re as John Cleese states, “in the open mode.” According to Cleese, backed by a great deal of psychological research, the open mode is where ideas are allowed to flow freely. The obvious alternative is the “closed mode” where you’re ready to execute the ideas you’ve come up with. The open mode is all about freedom of thought; the closed is obviously quite the opposite. When we’re devoting time to open thought we can’t focus on executing anything. When we’re executing ideas we’re too preoccupied to think of new ones. His lecture on creativity is definitely worth a look.
With open and closed modes realized, I’ll submit that it’s also possible to find yourself halfway in between. Hovering in limbo means you may be thinking of a lot of ideas but none or only a few are working. But if you’re completely in the open mode, it’s very possible to come up with the best solution within a very short period of time.
Graphic designers often press the issue of time involved in a project. But usually the length of time is due to two independent minds (creative and client) trying to reach consensus on the best design. Whatever time is spent actually coming up with ideas can be shortened significantly if a designer surrounds him or herself with creative stimuli at all times, being open to any and all ideas, shunning none initially, no pressure whatsoever.
In 1998, Citigroup merged with Travelers—the largest merger in the world at the time—and eventually adopted the logo design Paula Scher came up with; the thing is, she created it in just a few seconds, literally scribbling it on a napkin. According to Pentagram, it took Citi nearly nine years to implement the design; but ultimately that’s irrelevant. The winning idea was realized in just a few seconds.
Thinking of creative ideas should be like observational comedy. It doesn’t take much to notice the hilarity of everyday life. Observational comedians are essentially just clever life commentators; and in my opinion, they’re the funniest. Really all they do is look at the world around them with an eye for the humorous. If they want material, they just go about living life and watching others do the same. If something’s funny, add it to the list and use it as material for the next gig.
I am convinced that the more time we spend, day or night, just existing in a state of open-mindedness, ready to simply consider and use anything that we experience throughout the day, the more quickly and efficiently we’ll arrive at the best creative solutions when it’s time to deliver. When you decide to be creative in the way I’m sharing with you here, it becomes more of a lifestyle than a business practice. And the full-time creative is going to be much more adept than the 9-5 creative.
Dualogo 