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There’s no doubt the minds of creative people work a little differently than most, and when it comes to things like productivity and flow, sometimes the approach to getting things done needs to be modified to better fit the creative spirit.
Those of creative bent often rail against the rigidity of to-do lists, and schedules and productivity systems. This is due to creativity being linked with the right side of the brain, which has a tendency to dislike a more logical (left brain) approach to things. Karen E. Peterson’s book, Write: 10 Days to Overcome Writer’s Block. Period., while obviously focusing on the crippling affliction of writer’s block, has some interesting insights into the creative mind which can be applied, in general, to why we sometimes sabotage ourselves in doing the things we want or need to do.
According to research cited in the book, the right brain doesn’t care about order, or to-do lists. It wants results, and it wants them NOW. Unfortunately it also craves perfection, so what you end up with is a compulsion to do it all, without mistakes. You can see how this might be a problem; if you can’t complete your tasks, regardless of size, in one go with perfect results, you may feel there is no point in beginning in the first place. You end up distracting yourself with other meaningless tasks, or time wasters in order to avoid something your right brain tells you cannot be done properly.
Peterson lays out several methods for tricking your right brain into working more smoothly with your left brain so you can be more productive. Breaking tasks down into smaller bits, working for shorter periods of time and rewarding yourself (and your right brain) for your hard work with periods of free time during which you can do whatever you like. In doing so you satisfy your left brain’s desire to knock off items from your to do list and your right brain’s penchant for immediate satisfaction.
There are plenty of resources on the web for productivity, such as the famous GTD (Getting Things Done) system developed by David Allen, which is wildly popular, but not for everyone as this excellent article from Zen Habits points out. Productivity systems are great, but sometimes we can get bogged down by the system itself instead of, well, getting things done. One of the seven tips from this article is Allow Yourself to Suck. As we discussed above, don’t let perfection rear its ginormous ugly head and throw us off track, or worse, freeze us in our tracks so that we end up doing nothing.
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Zen Habits is a great place to start if you’re looking for simpler more intuitive productivity tips and Leo Babauta, the site’s creator, has even taken Allen’s GTD and modified it for simplicity, calling it ZTD or, Zen To Done. If you find the surfeit of productivity tools and systems out there too complicated and/or overwhelming you may want to try it out.
At the end of the day, you need to find the right system that works for you. Sure, you may be a creative type, but that doesn’t mean you can’t discipline yourself to get into a regular routine. Some people achieve this through regular breaks, others by waking up at the same time every day. Whatever your routine, you won’t know until you try and do it enough times in a row that it becomes a routine for you. You can still show the world all of your productivity while keeping your creative spirit.
Are you more of a creative type that runs from schedules and to-do lists? What are your tips for getting things done?
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Tags: creative productivity, getting things done, productivity, to do lists