Creativity in a World of Productivity

A collection of semi-connected thoughts 

Hello, again. Yes, I am still alive. Immensely busy and taking huge strides that are equal parts terrifying and exciting, but very much still alive. 

And I'm back today to talk about something that's been on my mind lately. You see, even before this little unplanned - yet seemingly inevitable - hiatus, I had stepped away from my writing. It's been quite some time since I sat down to write anything new, just for the love of it, and it's been quite some time since I've sat down to work on anything old. 

Have I fallen out of love with writing? No. The very idea is preposterous. But I have had a lot of other things on my mind recently - some of which I'm looking forward to sharing with you right here on this blog - and when you're busy with other things that are equally as important to you, some things have to take the back-seat for a little while. 

But it's that very same busy-ness, equal parts satisfying and stressful, that has me wondering. The world moves so quickly now, and it's sometimes hard to consider how this pace that we live in could ever leave space for creativity and artistic fulfillment on an individual level. I suppose, if your style of fulfillment is the completely checked-off to-do list and the rainbow-filled block calendar, then this is your time. It's the heyday of Getting Things Done. 

And yet, somehow, no matter how much you do, there's always more to get done. Always more just waiting around the bend. Take a moment, pat yourself on the back, and plunge right back into that same old hamster wheel.

Not to be overly anti-capitalist on main, though. Jobs are jobs, and work is work, and we all need to make a living so we can enjoy life. But what's that saying that everyone keeps proclaiming? Don't live to work, work to live?  

It's not all gloom and doom, of course. There are still opportunities to live a life filled with worthwhile moments. It's just that, little by little, I'm starting to realize that those worthwhile moments aren't going to come around while I'm sitting in front of my computer writing a novel. Sure, that's something I love, and I do it for me, but fifty years down the line, am I going to remember all the hours that were spent exactly the same, hunched over a laptop tapping away about a story I'll probably have forgotten? Or am I going to giggle at the memory of a fun day out on the beach, or grin like an idiot when I recall that one time the family went on a disastrous road trip, or get an excited twinkle in my eye as I regale my potentially non-existent grandchildren about stories of my youth? 

In other words, I guess what I'm getting at with this little blog post is that I want to spend more of my free time - now that I have so very little of it - making bright memories with the people I love, and exploring parts of the world around me (and parts of myself) that I never knew before. 

And if that's the plan, then my creative passion has to take a little bit of a back-seat for now. I'll get the chance to write - of that I'm sure. And I'll want to write, and I'll write like a woman possessed - all of these are undeniable facts, given my particular style of approach. But I don't want to allocate all of my time to that anymore. I want to live a more balanced life. 

In any case, where else will my creativity find the chance to run wild and explore, if not out in the real world, learning from the experiences I get to have and the situations I get myself into? 

I've had a sheltered upbringing. There's a lot about life that I've never experienced, and there's a lot that I probably never will, and there's a whole part of me that, for the longest time, felt dormant. Sometimes it still does. And writing - making art - being creative in the security and privacy of my own home - that's how I dealt with that. You can't not have a creative outlet when you live a life removed from life.

But at some point, it's not enough to just watch life from the sidelines. At some point, you've got to step out into the world and become a part of it. And that's what I'm in the process of doing. And it's all-consuming. I don't think I've ever been so busy, but I'm looking forward to all of the other surprises waiting for me around the bend - right around the corner - whether it's with my work, my studies, or even just the amusement of living life. 

But the creative passion that I've nurtured all my life - it's a double-edged sword. Neglected for too long, and it becomes a gnawing hunger somewhere in the back of your mind, a frustration that needs to be relieved. So, even though I want to spend more of my time doing other things with people I love, I still need to find ways to be creative.

How can I do that? How can I be creative and get that satisfaction while still going about achieving all of my other goals in life? 

I think the answer is simple, and it's all about - well - multi-tasking, in a way. Or, rather, overlapping. I think everyone can be creative in their everyday, and some of the happiest people integrate creativity into everything they do. 

Homemakers who go the extra mile to bring creativity to their home through fun activities for their kids, or new culinary experiences to feed hungry mouths, or even smart routines to teach other members of the household how to be team players. 

Teachers who design approaches to benefit all students, who put together activities to help students feel more confident and comfortable, who find ways to circumvent all of the limitations and restrictions they may find themselves facing. 

Detectives who use their creativity and intelligence to think ahead, to profile suspects, to find evidence and put together puzzles that at first may seem impossible. 

The examples are countless, but almost every single job seems to have room for some kind of creativity. Creativity is brainstorming and coming up with ideas. It's planning and designing. It's organizing. It's problem-solving. It's using your imagination and stretching that muscle to find solutions that fit specific problems. It's breaking something down, and putting something together. It's figuring out how best to approach someone, and how best to persuade them to do something. It's being able to understand others and put yourself in their shoes. It's adapting to changes. It's the curiosity to learn more and continue exploring. Creativity is found in all of these things and more. And that means it's found in all sorts of jobs - regardless of the pace at which they happen. 

In my job, I can use my creativity to create resources and solve problems and design learning experiences. In the time I spend with my loved ones, I can choose creative activities every now and again, and we can enjoy making something together. Not to mention the obvious fact that a life well-lived is a form of creativity all on its own. It doesn't just happen; you have to make it happen, and how you do that is up to you and the people in your life. And all of that fills the so-called creative well, giving you everything you need to write and create and make. 

Finding moments of creativity in a world of ceaseless productivity is a challenge. But I think it's about time I said, Challenge Accepted, and got down to living life like it's meant to be lived. 

So if I'm gone from time to time, it's just life. 

I'm out there living it.

But I'll be back. 

 

💪 

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