We love to believe that creativity happens in a moment of inspiration. Yet few great discoveries in history were experienced in a flash of thought, or a jolt, like hitting a pinball machine’s tilt button. Behind the ‘matter of luck’ phenomena are precious times of consistent planning and persistence.
Moving from zero to one in any activity or profession requires a lot of planned effort. Being consistent with your plan helps you gain momentum, which keeps you invested until the end.
In today’s micro show, we break down planning your creative session effectively, so you can move past any creative roadblocks without waiting for ‘luck’ to show up.
Inspiration Follows Flow, Consistency Seeds Creativity
Creative work, to some degree, is like working out at the gym — those who show up every day get the best results. It takes consistent effort to teach yourself to get into the creative mode unrestricted.
Showing up every day for your creative session also helps you avoid the failure of a work session – the frustration that comes with not being able to produce anything despite the time and effort invested. With regular effort, you’ll see it becomes easier to get your ball of work down the field.
Remember, the sign of a true creator is showing up and getting to work whether or not the idea is ready. Even for moments of inspiration to hit you like Newton’s apple, you need to first be in the flow.
Balancing Structure And Flexibility
Structuring your creative session doesn’t mean you leave no room for blinks of brilliance or happenstance. It doesn’t involve creating the perfect plan, blueprint, or framework. Structuring means giving your creative process direction. And it can change as you adapt to new information or feel a new spark or creative inspiration.
How To Plan Your Creative Session
An effective work session plan should take just a few minutes to outline. Your session plan doesn’t have to be complex. The purpose of planning is to offer your creative juices the direction to flow with fewer barriers.
Your session plan could be as simple as noting down your tasks in a to-do app, a sketchbook, or a snapshot. It could also involve scribbling on a whiteboard your ideas or brainstorming with a creative collaborator. Create a plan that would give you the freedom to shift in the moment.
Here are a few tips to follow when planning your creative work session:
- Avoid distractions. Of any kind. Whether it’s researching, reviewing other people’s works, or checking the analytics, unplug it if it restricts your creative time.
- Avoid looking for a quick dopamine hit. Delete your thoughts of surfing social media if it distracts you.
- Keep your plan creative. Though every work requires some bit of non-creative work, do not allow it to run your ride.
- Give yourself an uninterrupted 90 minutes for creative work.
This week, focus on getting one uninterrupted 90 minute session in on your project. Snap a photo of your work plan and tag me on social, @chasejarvis.
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