A few days ago I reacted to a post on Zen Habits claiming, among other things that “Getting Things Done” (GTD) by David Allen is a system that often isn’t suitable for creative people. My posted response gave 8 reasons that GTD was for creative people also and has been well received.
Picture by creativedc
What makes us more creative? And what makes us less?
The whole thing has got me thinking about creativity. After all, creativity is one of the most important attributes of a good leader and preacher (both of which I strive to be on a daily basis). What promotes creativity? What hinders it? Yes, some people are more creative than others but can all people become more creative given the right environment? And what about those people who claim not to be creative?
There’s No Such Thing As a Non-Creative Person
Michael Hyatt recently made the amazing observation that worry and creativity are extremely similar.
I realized how very similar worry and imagination really are. Both of them involve visualizing the future. In a sense, worry is simply an unproductive use of imagination.
Or put another way, if you can worry, you are already creative. Lets face it, most of what we worry about doesn’t happen so we are being creative about these things.
Picture by spaceodissey
John Maxwell has written a short series about his need to be more creative and how he goes about achieving this end. His two posts are “Developing your creativity – even if you’re not sure it’s within you” and “Seeking creativity in its natural habitat,” both of which make interesting reading.
Planned Spontaneity is Essential
The most interesting aspect of his post comes when he provides the quote from a Fast Company interview where Teresa Amabile said,
“Time pressure stifles creativity because people can’t deeply engage with the problem. Creativity requires an incubation period; people need time to soak in a problem and let the ideas bubble up.”
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… and don’t be scared to let me know what you think!
To me this shows just how important productivity methodologies such as GTD can be in being productive. John Maxwell schedules creative time into his calendar. It sounds awfully like planned spontaneity doesn’t it? But it works!
For me, I don’t put the time in my diary but I do make sure that my “next action” for many projects is actually worded to mean that success for that action involves me spending creative time, sometimes just thinking, often mind-mapping on paper and sometimes researching to prompt creative thoughts within me.
If you don’t think you’re a creative person, ask yourself, “Do I worry about things?” If you do, then rest assured, you have all the creativity you need, you simply need to channel it in the right direction.
And if you know you’re creative but you just don’t ever seem to find the time to let it out, maybe you need to start “Getting Things Done.” If you’re interested, pick up your own copy
But remember it’s only a methodology and you need to find an implementation that works for you. eProductivity for Lotus Notes is just the ticket for me but just make sure you find the right one for you.
Tags: creativity, David Allen, eProductivity, Eric Mack, Fast Company, Getting Things Done, GTD, John Maxwell, Jonathan Mead, Michael Hyatt, Productivity, Teresa Amabile, Worry, Zen Habits
{ 4 comments }
Hi Paul,
Picking a new blog template (I think I’ve seen you go through a few in the past few days)? I’m glad to see you continually improving the blog.
Anyways, I think real creativity is just making: taking one resource and converting it into another. Since you’re a preacher, what do you think about the created being a reflection of the Creator? It seems to me that we all have a desire to create something.
Daryl [WhiteHatBlackBox]s last blog post..Next Evolution of GTD?
@Daryl
I don’t think “taking one resource and converting it into another” is an accurate reflection of what most mean when thinking about creativity
a robot could perform such a transformative function but only because it had already been taught/programmed to do so
it is not just the transformation from one thing/form/etc to another that makes the change creative
rather, it is the artistic process of looking at something, imagining something different and determining a path to get there
eg a sculptor can look at a block of stone, imagine the sculpture inside, and work out where he/she needs to chisel in order to reveal the sculpture
the actual act of carving is not the creative piece – rather the imaginative dimension is the creativity in play
Part of the problem, I think, is that we like to classify ourselves as either pragmatic or creative. Creativity, in my opinion, is falsely confused with aesthetics. I wonder if true creativity comes from understanding the rules of a particular discipline so thoroughly that we are able to skirt its established boundaries, or by clever “misapplication” of the rules we produce something others recognise as a legitimate adaptation?
Sams last blog post..Be afraid – very afraid…"It’s the last time I can trust a conservative Christian"
@Gavin – You have a good point about the robot. Sam better expressed my thoughts that the word “creativity” is often interchangeable with producing something of aesthetic quality.
I really like your sculptor example, where he sees one resource, can imagine what it could be (potential), and then makes that thought into reality (creation). The transformation from imagination to reality is probably a better definition than from one resource to another.
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