realising your creative potential
There is a wonderful, simple post over at White Hot Truth by Danielle LaPorte. It claims that there are 11 productivity tips that creative types already know. Whilst this may be true, I also think that it is a list of 11 tips that we could all do with being reminded of.
So go, take a look and make sure that you all 11 are inhabiting somewhere in your creative world.
Most of us fall into one of two creative types, we either
Either way, those ideas need to be captured and developed.
We may work with others and so a quick email or tweet to one of our creative collaborators may be the next thing to do. Alternatively, we may have captured the idea on a piece of paper to work on when we have a chance.
The next step for us is to develop the idea to something more than a thought or jot on paper. Quite often the creative juices will be flowing at this time and so you want to crack on with developing your idea. Unfortunately this is where a lot of energy is misspent.
We can end up putting so much effort into getting ready to develop our idea that our creative energy is all used up. But with a little preparation we can save a lot of time.
Preparing our creative space and tools is one way to focus the energy we have into the creative act and not waste it.
I dabble in recording music and I use Cubase. This is a great multi-track digital recorder. However, if I have an idea and launch the program, it can take me a while to get to point of doing anything creative. Therefore I have set up some templates in the program. These templates are ready to record straight into. The settings are ready and the common instruments I use are already loaded.
So, when I have that creative musical spark, I don’t need to worry about setting up the computer. it is all ready for me. Any energy that I do have can be almost totally channelled into creativity. So to make things easier for yourself
Creative energy is precious, don’t waste it. It only takes a little preparation to free your energy and let it roam. So do that preparation, before the next big idea comes along.
The wonderful Smashing Magazine has just listed some other great time-saving tips for designers and you can find them here.
There is (yet) another great post, and ongoing conversation, over at Lateral Action. The post by Mark begins with the premise, in the movie world, that the film Watchmen will be a commercial success due to the publicity it has gained through the legal dispute between Warner and Fox. I’m not going to get into the debate on this site, if you want that, then go and join in at Lateral Action.
Mark questions those creatives who complain about not being recognised for their art when they don’t promote it. This is something I totally agree with. I’ve mentioned it before here, if you are doing art for art’s sake, then you’re doing it for yourself. But if you want it to be enjoyed by others, then you need to put promotion into your strategy.
Here’s a wonderful, handy and free flash application. If you want to make some music and you need to write it down this is wonderful. You can print with a varity of staves, time-signatures and more.
The reason ‘to do’ lists are helpful in planning what you need to do, is their simplicity. All you need is a piece of paper and something to write with. You write what you need to do on the paper and then tick or cross it off once it’s completed. The reason many software based ‘to do’ list solutions aren’t, is because they are over-complicated. They are great if you want to procrastinate for hours adding items to them, but that rather defeats the object.
Now I often fall into that later category, so I was very pleased to find out about MiniTask, an Adobe AIR based widget, to sit on the desktop of your computer (MAC or PC becasue it is AIR). It’s strength is its simplicity, just like pen and paper, you simply list what you have to do and then do them… mmm, now how do I procrastinate.
MiniTask has a few additional features to pen and paper but they don’t get in the way of the simplicity of it. And the website is possibly one of the best in terms of telling you what MiniTask is, what it can do and how to get it up and running. Don’t belive me, then follow the link… and be creative.
MiniTask – Minimalist task management – Flash Player Installation
One of the dangers of living in a highly productive, creative environment is that we can easily neglect one of the most important parts. If you suffer from burn out, or times of creative drought, one of the possible causes is that you have neglected your dreamtime.
Finding time to dream is important. We’re not talking about sleep here either. This is primarily the time to down creative tools and let your mind wander. And this isn’t about sitting down with a blank piece of paper, planning the next stage of your creative master plan. Dreamtime is about space and connection, perhaps even a little spiritual. But it needs to be taken seriously and this is where many of us fail. We don’t see it as important, we squeeze it from our schedule (if it was ever there) and then wonder why we are becoming less effective creatives.
So what exactly is dreamtime? Well first and foremost it needs to be an integral part of a creative lifestyle, we’re not talking huge amounts of time, we’re not even talking every day. But it should be seen as something regular. Dreamtime isn’t wasting or dead time, it is essential for your creative life.
Dreamtime isn’t the same for everybody either, what works for one may not work for the other. Here are a few ideas and thoughts that may be of use to you. They are not structured and I’m sure you can find variations on the theme. This is all about scheduling the time and then finding what works for you:
These are only vague ideas, but you should be getting some thoughts of your own by now. For now, it is time to dream…
This all boils down to a little critical self-analysis. No really I mean it, we aren’t always great at what we do 
. Sometimes we will fall short in our creative endeavors because of tiny mistakes or because we are unable to do one part of what we are trying to create. A lot of the time the answer can be found through a learning process. Don’t know how to style that web page? Then find a tutorial on CSS and learn. But it can be a little less obvious than that.
This is where a little self-analysis can help out. We need to find the little blind-spots that we have, and we all have them. Questions like ‘What am I not good at?’, ‘What do I struggle with?’ and ‘Where do I often get things wrong?’ are ideal for this self-analysis. The point is not find out your faults and beat yourself up over them, but to identify them and then find some solutions.
Find out the problem or issue and then look for, and implement a solution. Let me give you some simple examples. Although you’d not notice it by reading the posts (ahem, I do apologise) here, I have a blind spot when it comes to spelling certain words and also grammar issues. I could blame it on the teaching systems in the UK during the 80s and never improve my creative writing. However, realising that I do fall short here I looked for a few simple solutions. One that I found really helpful was to keep a list of words that I always seem to spell wrong. I found the words quite easily by using the spell checker, but I kept spelling them wrong. Now I have the list I am finding I am getting them wrong less often.
In a broader sense you may feel that all your creative output ends up looking, sounding or reading the same. One solution here is to change your process. Again I notice a distinct difference to a song I have written strumming the guitar to one I’ve come up with at the piano.
So, don’t be afraid of a little critical self-analysis. Identify the problem and then act on the solution, your creative output will benefit.
This is all about defining purpose. It may seem an obvious question to ask and you may already have an answer on the tip of your tongue, c’mon Darren, that’s a bit straightforward! Well, yes and no. The simplest answer is because I can, it is something that I do. I live, therefore I create. I have no problems with this, and wholeheartedly agree with it. But left at this level, it can lead us into frustration as we struggle with motivation and lack of focus. All creatives should share in the mantra, ‘lead us not into frustration.’
Being creative is our identity, part of who we are. Why we are creative can be seen as our purpose. It should flow from our identity. My point is we can become fuzzy with the purpose of being creative. Like most things in life, if we can set goals, and I mean clear, timed and measured goals, our purpose is clearer.
So why are you being creative? We’ve established that you are creative, but what are the outcomes to your creativity? Are you being creative to make money, to pass on your creative output through a sale? Are you being creative to produce something that you can look at, or use, or enjoy? Are you being creative to relax and develop your own sense of oneness with reality? There can be many reasons and those listed are only thoughts and ideas. But if you can define your reason for being creative in this way, you will have a focused purpose. It will help you understand why you are doing something and provide motivation along the way. Of course, the way is another post. But without a destination; a purpose, you can’t begin the journey.
The following quote from A. A. Milne is an interesting one. On the one hand, the more uncluttered we are, the more space we give to our mind to be creative. However, does the following contradict this…
One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.
Personally I think there is a difference to disorderly and cluttered, and that is why the opening statement and the A.A.MIlne quote are essentially true.
Disorder, allows us to create connections, to dream dreams and to use our imagination. If we kept everything in order, and ‘as it should be’ there is no development, no evolution and no creativity. In some areas of our lives we need order, but when it comes to being creative it can stifles.
Keeping things uncluttered is about the mess, the distractions. While these may initially lead to some interesting connections and creative ideas, they more often than not distract us from our creative goals.
To sum up, I think the following illustration helps. If I am creating some music on the computer, I don’t want several other applications running and cluttering up my workspace, however, keeping an open, disordered mind during the process can allow me to develop new ideas and walk down new musical paths – ‘what if I did this instead?’
You too can achieve your creative goals through those three steps and if you keep those steps in mind you’ll be amazed at what you can create:
Now what creative mountain are you going to climb today?