Our Busy World
In our busy world where you could and probably feel like you should be doing something to achieve your absolute best, is it possible to find the time and space to switch our brains off from the noise? And why would that be important to the creative process?
'Idle time' and 'Productive Meditation'
I first heard of the idea of 'idle time' from singer James Bay on the Diary of a CEO podcast (9 mins in). Being creative whilst doing nothing sounds a bit like cheating the system- tell me more!
Bay talks about how to 'sit around with the tools nearby and just exist... and think... and dream... and play.' Gaining permission to make that creative brain space in our busy day to day life.
In another way, Cal Newport talks of 'productive meditation' in his book Deep Work. To sit and purposely thinking about an idea, whilst giving it the attention and space to develop. At the same time, being aware of when your attention drifts away, so that you can pull it back to the problem you were trying to solve.
Whether you decide to take your ideas out for a walk or sleep on them to come back with fresh eyes in the morning, letting go of the guilt of 'not doing anything' is sometimes easier said than done.
Be 'Weird' About It.
In 2008 (just before smartphones and Facebook became as widely used as they are today - in 2023) Finnish artist Pilvi Takala created an art installation called The Trainee. The artist spends time at a desk 'doing brain work'- to her colleagues it looks as if she's seemingly not doing anything at all and that starts to make them uncomfortable. The installation quietly threatens social norms and questions how 'masking laziness in apparent activity and browsing Facebook during working hours belong to the acceptable behavioural patterns of a work community'.
Taking part in your idle time might just question social norms, it might frustrate others that you're not doing something in particular. Guard this idle time and be weird about it. Try to get as much of it as you can, it's very important to the creative process.
Do you have a favourite place or time to squeeze in some idle time? In the car? On the bus? In the bath? Just in the middle of the afternoon, in your favourite chair, just because you can?
If you have a friend who might enjoy this kind of discussion, feel free to share this with them or if you have any thoughts on this subject please do leave a comment or drop me an email. To keep up with the latest blog posts, join my monthly round up here.
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More interesting bits:
Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less book by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
How to Do Nothing: Resisting the attention economy book by Jenny Odell
The Guardian article by Elle Hunt. 'Jenny Odell on why we need to learn to do nothing: ‘It's a reminder that you're alive’
Creativity, book by John Cleese
Pilvi Takala Challenging more social norms in The Stroker
(audio coming soon)
A busy brain jumping from one thing to the next. Walking the dog and listening to a podcast and Googling something whilst avoiding that puddle. Eating a meal and watching something on Youtube and writing a shopping list whilst watching the neighbour outside. I'm guilty of these things, you'll have your own set of favourites to juggle. Simply put, doing all of the things, but not necessarily doing any of them well.
We've become accustomed to cramming more and more into our day either by allowing distractions in or actively adding more to our list in search of being 'productive'. BUT none of that really helps our attention span. Frustration kicks in when we're working on something important or creative for longer than 5 minutes and it all seems like an impossible task.
I heard of the term 'single-tasking' in Paul Jarvis' book A Company of One and now I can't un-hear it. Where meditation is to bring your attention back to your breath, single-tasking is to bring your attention back to just one task. It sounds stupidly obvious... and it is. Sticking to it long term is where the real work is done.
Have you ever been in the car and you can't concentrate on the road names or house numbers because the music/radio is too loud? Think of the mental clutter and noise, turn it right down and allow your brain the space to think, if you make enough space, your brain can wonder off a bit too - and if you're extra lucky, you might be rewarded with an 'ah-ha!' moment.
Where do you have your best thoughts? The shower? Driving somewhere familiar in the car? Doing the washing up?
More on being productive:
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If you have a friend who might enjoy this kind of discussion, feel free to share this with them or if you have any thoughts on this subject please do leave a comment or drop me an email. To keep up with the latest blog posts, join my monthly round up here.
Updated: Aug 18, 2023
I don’t know about you but I still live in a world where ‘time is money’ and working long hours is seen as a badge of honour. I can feel change coming but it’s not quite fully here yet.
I’m also aware of the effects of having way too much time to work on a creative project, so that staring at the wall becomes a new pastime. Or so little time that it disappears like sand through your fingers and 3 months has flown past. Is there a ‘goldilocks zone’ to working at your best and most creative?
I’m going to try an experiment.
After reading and listening to more self help and productivity books than my brain can cope with, the magic number of concentration hours that keeps cropping up is 4. 4 hours per day. It seems like both a lot and a tiny amount at the same time.
I’m working freelance for a separate team at the moment so I currently have one day a week in my studio to get my concentrating and deep tasks done and I’m desperate to guard my time, energy and attention.
My experiment is going to be to use this 4 hour idea.
4 hours in the morning to push all distraction aside, to have everything ready to attack the task and then I can either carry on a little bit longer if I have the time and ideas or to log off, switch my brain down a gear and to go and do something else. Basically to use the set time to concentrate and then ease off the pedal.
I mentioned in this post about organising your to-do list to be a bit more streamlined and focus ready. Get that to-do list to hand, define your 4 hours and GO!
I’ve included a few more tips below to help you to be even more streamlined and super efficient, you might want to give those a go too.
Define your deep work task- what’s your deep goal task that can get you towards a bigger goal? This isn’t the time for shallow tasks like ordering a new laptop cable or signing a birthday card. This is time for creativity and moving things forwards.
Define your time- 4 hours. Full concentration, no distractions. set a timer if you need to stay focussed.
Hide- 'Go and hide somewhere people won't bother you' John Cleese- Creativity
I understand that hiding isn't an option for a lot of people but the more quiet space you can get, the better. If you can’t hide, signal to others that you’re working without distraction- can you use headphones to do this?
Digital distraction- Take off the smart watch, turn off notifications, close the email tab, go as far as turning the wi-fi off if you have to
Have your tools to hand- Roger Kneebone talks about 'mise en place' in his book Expert. In this context he's using it to describe how surgeons, a taxidermist and chefs use their workspace to have everything to hand and in it's correct place, they know where each tool is and that they can access it without distraction or sometimes without even needing to look.
If you don't have a permanent workspace, can you get the tools you'll need ready in a pencil case/laptop bag/ tote bag? This will make starting your task easy if you don't have to run around the studio collecting the tools you need.
No excuses- Have your snacks, water and a scrap piece of paper (for any interrupting thoughts) ready at your desk. Remove any excuse to go for a wander around the house/studio
Have you worked out a good routine that suits your line of work? Have you tried the 4 hour deep work idea?
If you have a friend who might enjoy this kind of discussion, feel free to share this with them or if you have any thoughts on this subject please do leave a comment or drop me an email. To keep up with the latest blog posts, join my monthly round up here.
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Interesting reads:
John Cleese Creativity
Alex Soojung-Kin Pang Rest: Why you get more done when you work less
Roger Kneebone - Expert
Cal Newport - Deep Work
