Category: Creativity

Treat every new idea as an experiment

Neera

We are surrounded by endless knowledge, yet more often than we’d like, we are starving for wisdom.

We are exposed to countless strategies and solutions to every problem under the sun, yet too often, we don’t apply them.

Slow down to treat each new idea as a practical experiment, and to wait to see what results it produces before rushing on to the next fascinating concept.

Three weeks ago I started an experiment. To share 100 insights on LinkedIn with a splash of humour.

I was struggling at first to come up with ideas and to illustrate them. But it is getting easier now and I am enjoying it.

I called it a challenge then, but it is in fact an experiment. You can fail in a challenge and feel miserable. But if an experiment fails, it’s no big deal. You start again.

Take an idea shower

Neera

Ninety percent of my best ideas come in the shower. That too when I am not even looking for them.

Whenever I am faced with a difficult problem or have a bad case of writer’s block, I take a shower. The shower puts me in a relaxed state and distracts the brain just enough to give it a chance to rest. When I stop thinking deliberately about a problem and daydream a little, my subconscious has a chance to play.

Studies have found that after some wandering, the mind makes creative connections between bits of information, it already knows with the new bits of information, it has just acquired.

The shower is the ideal idea incubator. Not only does the warm water elevates your mood, but you also focus your attention inward. You cut out the outside world and ideas bubble up into awareness.

So, next time you’re stuck on a problem, try taking a break and letting your mind wander. Or just take an idea shower. You never know, an idea might pop into your head.

Two questions to ask yourself

Neera

Two questions you need to ask yourself.

  1. What will your success look like?
  2. At what point you will quit?

A few years ago, I read a book by Seth Godin called “The Dip.” It had a huge impact on me.

The dip is the lull in the excitement that happens after the rush of starting something new wears off. On the other side of the dip is success. The dip weeds out the people who will not make it. They hit the dip and give up.

A cul-de-sac, (French for “dead end”) is a situation where you work and work and work and nothing happens. Do you work through burnout, or do you recognize it as a cul-de-sac and just give it up so you can move on to something else?

There is nothing wrong with quitting. Winners quit all the time, they quit fast; they quit often and they quit without guilt. But they don’t quit before they are ready to quit. They determine beforehand when will they quit.

Here’s something I can tell you about the book I’m writing now. The one I’m burned out on and would love to never think about again.

I was excited about it until it dragged on and on and on. I have rewritten it at least six times. I am finding it hard to keep going. I’m in the dip for this project. But I am not going to quit. Because I had decided beforehand that I will quit if I can’t reach the mid-point. Once I crossed the mid-point I will keep going and publish the book no matter how unhappy I am with it.

I have passed the mid-point. The end part is not fun anymore. But it doesn’t have to be fun to be worth it. I am climbing through the dip,
to get to the other end.

Here’s an assignment for you:
Write down under what circumstances you’ll quit.

And then stick with it until then.

Embrace the suck

Neera

When I was learning to draw, I read a phrase somewhere, that was weird but powerful. “Embrace the suck.”

I instantly knew this will be my new mantra.

In order to become good at our craft, we have to, not just accept but ’embrace’ all the weird, annoying, inconvenient emotions that come with the creative process, including fear, self-doubt, vulnerability, and shame.

Moving through fear and other negative feelings requires accepting that they are normal and a natural part of the creative process.

Fear and self-doubt are trying to protect us. But in doing so, they also stall us.

Whenever I am stalled (like I am now) I set myself a challenge and then force myself
to create, no matter how bad.

I tell myself, ‘Let me create some rubbish.’ And then force myself to draw or paint just about anything. Or to write about anything.

That gets me going. And in no time, I am producing decent quality work. Stalling is part of the creative process too.

Embrace it and keep going.

Make something wonderful

Neera

If you haven’t come across Make Something Wonderful, a new eBook on Steve Jobs’s life, created by Jony Ive and Laurene Powell to celebrate his life, I suggest you do so. It is FREE, and it is brilliant. In creating the book, Jony and Laurene made something wonderful. I loved the format of the book, the way they have compiled excerpts from his speeches, emails, and photos, and the way the booking flow – part media part text.

Schedule Time For Exploring

Neera

I first learned about the concept of exploring and exploiting from Austin Kleon, who in turn learned it from Derek Thompson’s reports on research into what causes “hot streaks” in careers in The Atlantic. Thompson breaks down the complex idea into three words, “Explore, then exploit.”

As creators, we are either in exploring mode (reading, listening, learning, growing) or exploiting mode (writing articles and books, teaching courses, creating products). We usually have systems for exploiting, but not for exploring.

I have good systems in place for exploiting (ie, writing articles and books) but I have nothing for exploring. My exploring is pretty haphazard, based on whim, and whenever time permits.

I need to schedule a regular time for exploration.

My friend, illustrator Sue Clancy of A.M. Sketching sits each morning with a cup of tea and her sketchbook and sketches. Nothing in particular, whatever fancies her at the moment. And with her sketches, she usually has very insightful comments. Austin Kleon also has a daily exploration process of writing and drawing in his notebook. Then he publishes them.

I need to incorporate sketching and daily publishing into my routine. Both sketching and reading are forms of exploration and publishing brings accountability.

Sketching is crucial for creativity. It keeps your hand moving and hence engages your creative brain. That’s why Lynda Barry insists on “keep moving your hand.”

We focus too much on what we create rather than what we think through the act of creating. I have been journaling for twenty years; I am still exploring the same ideas. It takes a lot of time for things to come to fruition.

What we need is a system for collecting things and a system for going back through them. My website is a repository for my published work (exploitation). And my Knowledge Management System is a repository for my exploratory work.

For people who are thinking of becoming writers, it’s a rough road. Learning to write is a process that goes on throughout your lifespan. Exploration is a very important part of your daily schedule. The ratio of exploration to exploitation needs to be at least one-to-one. If not, two to one. You need to do an insane amount of reading to get good ideas to percolate in your head. Stephen King writes for three hours in the mornings, then he reads for the whole afternoon. His famous quote is, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.”

There is a lot of garbage out there. Part of a creative person’s job is to become a creative refinery. When you are exploring, you are making connections, fusing ideas, refining, and explaining. So I think part of our job is to make sense of all that we consume and pull out the good stuff. Dolly Parton said, “Figure out who you are and do it on purpose.”

Writing is tough, very tough. You can’t sustain it for a long time if you are not having fun. And exploring is fun. One way to bring fun back to your writing is to schedule time for exploration. Preferably every day.