Goal of the day: 833 words. Written: 916.
Creative killer no. 2: Fear
"I'm afraid to start because I don't trust myself that I won't be able to do it," said Debesyla reader Rasa in my survey.
"I think a lot of people, like me, are afraid when starting something new that they won't succeed, that they won't be able to do it," student Victoria then adds.
"I'm afraid that nobody will be interested in my work," concludes the list of the three most common fears of the traveler Mileta.
These are the three biggest fears that prevent you from relaxing and letting your brain create. Three fears. About whose transgression I will also tell you. 😉
Creative killer no. 3: Fatigue
And finally - the simplest, most elementary... However, at the same time, the most difficult to notice is the non-existent. Fatigue.
Why do you think that often the most creative and, it seems, the people who always had the most ideas... Worked in the mornings? Why not in the middle of the night, after all the long work, when your eyes are so watery that even duct tape won't help, like Tom the cat?
(God, this is my childhood cartoon! 😀 )
Overwork is bad. Very bad for your creative brain. And you probably could have noticed that already.
|| Okay, now that we know why ideas sometimes hide… How do you get into a creative work mode?
Let's try to answer that… 😉
How to switch to working mode?
Or how to create an environment suitable for the birth of ideas
When we talk about ideas and creativity, it can seem to us that the essence of it all is our patience to sit and think in concentration. That our brains are giants that never tire and never run out of power, which only need to "switch mode" to creative.
But here's the problem: Although our brains really never stops thinking and creating ideas…
…What goes on around us is just as important as what goes on inside our heads.
And if the environment prevents us (and does not help at all) to notice new ideas that pop into our heads... This is a damned tragedy. It seems that the world does not even see so many good thoughts. Or often even written somewhere on paper - they are not implemented.
And this happens due to several main external factors that can affect us when working in an environment that is not adapted to creativity... These factors are as follows:
- Stress, which can manifest itself in the form of a boss standing behind you or a child in the other room.
- Fatigue that can overwhelm us when we work in places with too little fresh air, too hot or uncomfortable.
- Drowsiness when working in places where it is too comfortable to lean back... And fall asleep.
- Outside attention stealers, which are not lacking in some jobs, homes or cafes.
- Noise when working on the wrong side of the wall being drilled.
- Poor lighting, working where there is too little or too much light.
- And I know I'm repeating myself, but I'll repeat the stress and all the annoying things that are constantly around us. Because the principle of a space suitable for work is a comfortable environment.
So how could one create a better environment for creativity?
This question is a bit more complicated to answer. And this is because of one simple reason, which I believe you have already noticed - each person's creative maximum is achieved by different means.
Or simply put: What works for me won't necessarily work for you. Or vice versa. And if someone says they have a solution that will work for everyone, you have my permission to call that person creative swear words. 😉
So, instead of giving some single, strict recipe... I'd rather summarize the general rules, proven by scientific research and experience, for creating an environment suitable for the birth of ideas.
Components of a good creative environment
So, let's take a step-by-step look at some of the key environmental aspects you should consider when creating a new creative environment for yourself.
As before, these ingredients are not out of the ordinary and are backed by a ton of research. In fact, two years ago, I reluctantly studied such a subject at university with the abstract title "Human safety at work"... And in that short course, at least half of these work components were mentioned. Although it wasn't even about creativity!
So here are the things I really highly recommend you pay attention to… 😉
Sound. What to choose: loud music, constant murmuring or absolute silence?
I don't know about you, but when I was still in high school, I used to hear "Shhh!" every day. I said silence!".
...The class would then fall silent and complete silence would prevail. My Lithuanian language, mathematics and geography teachers probably didn't know just one thing...
Silence is bad. Just like noise.
And to be honest, the best sound for creativity and any kind of work is a quiet commotion.
Here's how it works: the hustle and bustle of moderate sound makes our brains work a little harder (which is a good thing, as you'll learn in a later section), which encourages more abstract thinking and, in turn, creativity. Or to put it more simply – when it becomes a little harder for us to think, but not too hard – we begin to notice new ideas and solutions.
The University of Chicago conducted research in 2012, during which they found that it becomes difficult to think at high noise (>85db) and when working in great silence (<50db). In the first case, because it becomes difficult to concentrate, and in the second case, because we concentrate so much that new ideas fly past our ears.
|| So what do you recommend, Daniel?
The solution would be a simple two-step path:
Stage Alpha: Create silence.
Since our ultimate goal is quiet commotion and not noise in any way, it's easier to find a quiet environment and then… Soften it a bit.
So, the first step is: if you live in an environment where noise is a constant thing... Try to eliminate it. Somehow.
Of course, I can't know what exactly is making noise at your place. Maybe it's the neighbors, maybe their kids, maybe their dogs, maybe... Well, let's not hate the neighbors. They are people too. 😀
However, find a way to remove it. And if you can't - avoid it. For example, around the house where my mother lives, all the neighbors raise werewolves who never shut up. And in that sense - never. What did she do? Ogi moved his workplace to another floor and corner of the house, because you can't poison all the dogs.
I have done the same. I used to have an old computer that was very loud. I exchanged it for a laptop, which is quieter than the bees that sometimes come out of the chimney and fly by at home.
In short: If you can do silence, do it.
And if you can't, try to find a new job where hustle and bustle is an integral part of it. Let me give you some examples in the second stage... 😉
(To be continued tomorrow.)