Accidental Creative

Stumbling on Off-Time

I’ve been scarce on the blog over the past week. This is largely because I’m prepping to trek the family up north for vacation, and partially because I’ve been in my "taking in" week rather than my "making" week.

I’ve noticed of late that I’ve been waking earlier and more rested, and I’m curious about whether this has something to do with the longer days we’re experiencing here in America, or if it’s something to do with the patterns and rhythms I’ve adopted lately. I’ve had the habit for years of waking at 5:30am for study/writing/making time, but over time this has been easier or more difficult depending on circumstances. Lately I’ve been making it a habit to consciously write out my plans for the next morning before going to bed, and making certain that there’s something I’m looking forward to doing on the "agenda." On some level, I think that this is giving me more incentive to drag myself out of bed. It’ll be interesting to see how these patterns play out next week on vacation. I’m looking forward to rest, disconnection and space, but it’s difficult to break these patterns for a week then jump-start them again. My guess is that I’ll find myself waking at 5:29am each morning, though I’m hoping to find out what it feels like to sleep until I’m full.

For those who are AC members, don’t worry - all of the member podcasts and such are set to go and will arrive as usual next week. (Magic, huh?)

I’ve been diving into a book this week called "Stumbling on Happiness " by Daniel Gilbert. It’s a fascinating examination of the inner workings of the brain, emotions and human expectations. It’s certainly worth a read, and its theories are definitely intertwined with the creative process. Our minds are wired to eliminate unnecessary information, and as a result we often have "false" memories of how things were and unreasonable expectations of how things will be. When this occurs, we can fall into the trap of believing that contentment is "out there" somewhere rather than engaging in THIS moment. Creativity is about full-on engagement in the hear and now, so when we allow our minds/emotions to play tricks on us, we greatly diminish our creative potential.

I’m also diving into the book proposal for "The Accidental Creative" over the course of the next month. If you have any specific AC-related thoughts/concepts or ideas that you’ve heard me teach on and think MUST be included in the book, please make your voice heard.

AC #66 - It’s Not/IS About Money

AC Podcast: #65, Process vs. Product

Balancing Process vs. Product in the create-on-demand world.

Micro-Art and the Muse

Thanks to Dave for sending us this ABC story about a man in England whose attention to detail is…well…unprecedented.

He creates art the size of a dust particle with amazing detail. He describes his creative process as "miserable" and "painstaking".

You must see this. It is both amazing and bewildering.

Small World: Man Sculpts Microart (warning: you must endure the ads to get to the real video…)

Creative (Playset) Strategy

We spent the past weekend assembling a playset for the kids. There were several of us and even with lots of help it took us two twelve-hour days to get it into the form of anything even resembling the picture on the front of the manual.

A few thoughts about this:
1. We had a precise image of where we were headed.
2. We had many capable people available to do the job.
3. We had step-by-step instructions for finishing the project.
4. We had a very limited time-frame for completion.

As we were building the playset, we were constantly in the situation of trusting the instructions, ("the rails"), even when they didn’t seem to make sense. We were constantly re-evaluating roles and responsibilities and shifting tasks as we each gained experience. We even developed certain areas of expertise, (I was the "hardware" guy…), and had to trust the others in the group to get their job done so we could complete our task.

As we baked in the ninety degree heat, I took pause on several occasions to reflect on how similar this playset-building process was to many creative projects I’ve been involved in. We needed a strong creative strategy (call that the picture on the front - the compelling image of where we’re headed), we needed the right talent (or at least enough strong guys), we needed process and roles (the manual and specialization/collaboration) and we needed to know what success would look like (time frame for our create-on-demand project.) 

 Strategy + Talent + Process/Roles + Success Criteria

All too often we are lacking one or more of these in the project brief. If we don’t have a Creative Strategy (the translation of the Client Strategy into workable "rails"), the project will lack momentum. If we don’t have the right talent in the room, everyone will be forced to absorb more than their share of the workload. If we don’t have the right process and roles, fear, paranoia and self-preservation will creep into the organization. If we don’t understand Success Criteria, we cannot expect the best of our people.

These four components must be a part of any leader’s evaluation at the beginning of a project. Having them in place ensures that adequate space will be created for creatives to do their best work in a healthy way. 

 

AC Podcast: #63, Lisa Johnson

Lisa Johnson is CEO of Reach Group Consulting. In this podcast, she shares with us her tips about how to stay creatively fresh in the mania of the create-on-demand world

Finding Time To Make

A well that is empty can give no water.  A well that is full can provide water for decades.  A well that is connected to an underground an inexhaustible source of water will never run dry.  Your connection to that inexhaustible source is your “fill the well” time.  This is not a phrase that I coined – it is from uber-teacher and author Julia Cameron – and I think that it’s brilliant. 

Your output will only be as good as your input.  (I actually prefer the term “throughput” because what we’re really talking about is how you take in stimulus, smash it together, and form something new to present to the world as a creation.)  Your ability to make great stuff is directly tied to your ability to take in great stuff. 

I have three regular components in my schedule that contribute to this.  They are absolute sacred times to me, and they are some of the most important pieces of my rhythm.  

I have a weekly “fill the well” time.  This is the time in which I take in new stimulus, I challenge myself artistically, and I experience new things.  It can be a movie, a trip to the bookstore, or whatever else will challenge me to think new thoughts. The "what" is not nearly as important as the "why."  I do this because it’s essential to have good stimulus for me to churn on.  If I’m going to lead my team effectively and if I’m going to be creative in my individual decisions, I need to have good stuff to draw from.  

Second, I have a monthly “make” day, in which I do nothing at all but make things.  This gives me permission to just float around, clear my calendar and write and make things.  And the things that I’m making are things that I want to make, not things that I’m required to make.  This is not my “create on demand” or “catch up with my workflow” day.  This my day to work on all of the extra stuff that I never get to do otherwise.  This is the day to clear the decks and explore my personal curiosities. Just having this on the calendar relieves the stress of "when am I EVER going to get around to THAT?!?"

Finally, I have a quarterly creative retreat.  For me this is 2-3 day retreat, locked away in a room, doing nothing but reading, making stuff and relaxing.  It’s where a lot of my creative vision and passion is sourced. It’s a great, great time for me, and it’s right around the middle of the second day is when my brain really starts engaging creatively because it takes that much time just time just to purge all of the stress and anxiety out of my system, and most of my really great ideas happen in the last 3 hours of that 2-3 day creative retreat!  

These three additions to my calendar have worked really well. I don’t know what will work for you, but it’s important that you are striking a balance between drawing from the well and filling it. Again, creative rhythm is a perfectly unique thing that each individual. Each person must find their own way of structuring time, energy, stimulus, focus and relationships.

Make certain that there is time on your calendar that reflects your personal creative priorities. 

10 Things Creatives Wish Managers Knew

It is a reality that managers and creatives often speak different languages. Each has a different set of responsibilities and perspectives they are bringing to a project, and often the collision of these forces is enough to create massive waves within the organization. With that in mind, here is a list of statements that could begin to spark dialogue between organizational leaders and creatives.

10 Things Creatives Wish Their Managers Knew:
1. You cannot separate PROCESS and PRODUCT.

2.  It’s not about the money. (most creatives are in the biz for more than the money…otherwise we’d all be lawyers, no?)

3. It IS about the money. (organizations need to develop ways of rewarding people within their bandwidth of competancy rather than promoting them beyond their level of competancy.)

4. Design is an ethic, not an afterthought.

5. Fear is not a motivator. Neither is scarcity.

6. We want the organization to succeed.

7. We want to follow you, we just need to know where you’re going.

8. We need stable ground. (client strategy must be nailed down and guarded by leadership so that the landscape isn’t shifting in mid-project.)

9. We need rhythm.

10. We need conversation. And a translator, perhaps.
 
What’s missing from this list?

Just For Kicks…

WAAAAY off target for our normal subject matter around here, but it is…after all…Friday.

One of my informal hobbies is snapping pics of anomalies, absurdities and things that are a bit "off-kilter." Here are a few recent shots:

"Hurry! Call for help! That weird guy with the ax is gaining on us! WHAT?!? What do you MEAN you CAN’T?"

 

"Oh…I’m sorry sir, but this restaurant is going out of business in five minutes. We’re only temporary. The REAL restaurant will open tomorrow."

 

Creative accidents are everywhere. Some things, however, are just the regular kind of accident. 

G’Day!

Thanks to the Sydney Morning Herald for featuring The Accidental Creative in its list of good podcasts for small business owners. There are also a few other gems in their list worth checking out.