2020 is wrapping up, and despite the ups and downs it changed how we behave and the world around us.
For the lucky people who had the chance to keep working, even from home we fought new daily challenges, like the need of social interactions, lack of physical activities, a minimum superficial self-care to look decent on 15-30 minutes of video call a day.
I’m not going to list you all the things that you need to do, there are better articles and proper experts that mind remind you to stand up and stretch, take a break and have a walk, read a book or just stay away from the screen from time to time.
What I’m going to talk about is one of the issue that I had even before the pandemic, but now is even more emphasised: how to channel the creativity urges?
TODAY I’M GONNA BE PRODUCTIVE
This has always been one of my mantra, and goal. But what does it mean to be productive? Do we set a minimum amount to reach? How is that measured?
Working on a creative field makes us think that being productive means gathering creativity, as if it was a currency that we can gather, keep and consume later on.
You might want to do it by reading a specific amount of pages per day, but is that truly being productive? What if those 20 pages that you read, have no content that got you inspired? Same thing happens with the tv series, on a certain point you create a watchlist of things that you “have” to watch, but that you know it won’t happen sooner, but you keep queueing stuff on that list.
My truth is that, the key is doing stuff that makes you happy, or at least ease your pain. I personally found easier to rewatch an old movie for the tenth time, rather than committing to something new just because is in my list. My body and my mind know what I really needed and that movies has been already tested few times for that purpose.
It doesn’t mean to be just relaxed and never introduce an element of surprise in your life, it means that the reason to do it should come naturally. And only when you feel it’s the time and you’re ready, do that thing in your list, you will find more natural reading half book in an afternoon or binge watching a whole new show without noticing the time passing.
So, believe in your guts and don’t feel guilty if you watched again the same things, if you skipped an activity just to sleep more. The search for health should always comes first and as a creative person you can actually get inspired by a detail of a movie that you never noticed, by the relaxation that you had after sleeping, by simply taking a long shower, all of these activities are being productive.
I NEED TO CREATE SOMETHING NOW
The infamous words, often followed by a writer’s block. Few things top that sprint of energy that makes you start to write, draw or put down some ideas.
But most of the time there is a movie running in your head, that creates the impression that to reach that result is a matter of few steps, sometimes that simulation give you the illusion that you already did and tested your idea, without even writing down the process. Assumptions are really bad, they make you give up earlier and it’s a waste of opportunities.
When you create something new, remember that the base is probably inspired by something else, and even if at the first steps it looks bad, or not so innovative, just keep going. The goal should not be creating something but rather to learn how to complete something or reach a goal.
The novelty of your creation might come later, but for sure, finishing something can be healthy and teach you few things about your capabilities and limits. Probably the next time you’ll engage the same activity, it will be easier to start since you already experienced completing something.
WORKING LIFE AND PRIVATE LIFE
This is where the smart working reality clashes with your personal life, the moment where you don’t know when does the duty ends and the personal passion starts.
Let’s be clear, there is nothing bad about loving your job, and being so passionate that you might think about it even when you’re off. It happens to me and is a nice feeling, it makes you feel professional but also dedicated. The problem is in the long run, where the sense of duty clashes with your private life.
Having a balanced life between personal and working spaces is vital, not only for you but also for a the colleagues. Being always on the project might not only influence you a lot in the visualisation of the idea, but also it starts to build a wall around you, cutting your team from the creative process, because in your mind you played already both judge and jury, narrowing the valuation. Imagine someone coming at you on Monday, giving you a super new complete idea, it’s really nice cause it shows dedication and passion, but imagine this happening quite often, it becomes too much and you start to think if you’re not doing enough or if that person is looking down at you for living your life in the weekend. I know that this case is pretty narrow, but let’s think about a creative process that involves only your head and no other people, for your personal projects this is amazing, but for a team work project it might become not really efficient. If I design a full UX by myself and compare it with an idea created with with other designers, programmers and artists, there is an higher chance that the second one might be more realistic and proven.
What I want to say is that, the team is not a jury that will judge you, but a group of partners that push each other in creating the best idea from all the domains outside yours.
What about private life then? What should I do in my private time? This is where your creativity can become something that helps you to grow.
First of all you should rest and think about the people around you, partners, family and friends. Those are the people who have your back, and knows you more than what your resume can tell. Remember, that when you design something for others, that they are people like you, they might have friends and family, and if they don’t have them, you need to understand what do they need. So for example, how can you design something social, if you’re not living the social side of your life? Learn to understand yourself before designing something for others. Inspiration comes also from your personal life, the needs of a partner, the struggles of your parents, the passions of your kids, the weird jokes of your friends. And if inspiration doesn’t come anyway, at least you’ve been productive for your personal life.
WHAT SHOULD I DO NOW?
This article probably won’t change your life, because those are things that you already know, but somehow too hard to execute. I’m also trying to do the same, I’m currently in an healthy environment that allows me to take my space and be creative at the same time, not all of us can do that but if you can, you should totally take your time and list what you really want to do.
Is not easy and immediate, take a deep breath and just live your life. Health come first, so drink water, don’t skip meals and take some fresh air from time to time, like have a walk or open the window. Then see what you actually are curious about, do you want to learn something new? Do you want to continue something that you stopped months ago? No one is chasing or judging you. Creativity come from inspiration and freedom in taking ideas from everywhere, so think about the fun and remember to enjoy the ride, cause every second on that train, is productive no matter where you go.