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How to Foolproof Creative Execution

By Matt Gartland

“Only fools rush in.”

Most of us have heard this time and again. There is a difference between action and recklessness. Between shipping and sloppy. This certainly holds true when confronting whitespace: that big, wonderful, terrifying, expansive universe of creative possibilities and doubts at the beginning of a project.

Swift, decisive action is critical to being prolific, brilliant and healthy. At the same time, in order to tame whitespace, it’s also important that we don’t play the fool and rush in. That’s a direct path to a creative purgatory aflame with aimlessness, indecision and gridlock.

Instead, it’s necessary to be deliberate in your setup. Smartly arrange the conditions in your favor, then move quickly into action. That’s what pros do. They capitalize on home field advantage. Whitespace can become your home field if you’re intentional enough to make it so. Here’s a plan to help with that:

First, Command Your Physical Environment

You must first command the physical environment around you before you can hope to conquer the whitespace environment in your mind. Everyone has unique preferences to optimize around. Do you know yours?

Pay attention to how sound affects your concentration. Do you need silence to flourish? Or are you at your cleverest when listening to your favorite music? Does ambient noise bother you? How about the rustling of co-workers? Or does this “white noise” actually help you concentrate?

Light is the next ingredient. Personally, I prefer to work in the near-dark with the glow of my monitor absorbing my everything thought. Others can’t stand to work in the dark. They must have sunshine to uncork their best ideas. What’s your innate preference?

Temperature is equally important. Cold. Warm. Hot. Don’t discount the influence of temperature on your creative mood. I’m rather “off” in my creative abilities when I’m not blissfully comfortable in a brisk environment. I can operate just fine in warm (even hot) conditions, but not optimally.

Comfort is the most critical factor. Maximize your comfort to maximize your whitespace emersion. Fidgeting kills focus. 

Second, Hone Your Presence

With your physical environment anchored, you must now anchor yourself: mind, body, and soul.

The mind is most impacted by rest. Some creative pros require more rest than others. I have a prolific writer friend who needs only 5 hours of sleep a night. I envy him. Through much trial and error, I’ve determined that I need at least 8 to function properly. That’s not just an excuse to sleep in. My mind is noticeably sluggish without 8 hours. How much sleep do you need to be at your mental best?

The body is a living billboard of your choices. Poor choices yield unsettling (and distracting) results. Take hunger. If you’re not nourishing yourself properly then your energy levels will go bonkers. That’s a heavy burden to bear when working on demanding projects. Whitespace will eat you alive if you aren’t eating well.

The soul is your engine. It requires ample positive stimuli to rev properly. Such inputs foster motivation: the most critical fuel for persistence. Toxic inputs yield toxic outputs. So regulate them into the rubbish bin. 

Third, Stretch Your Muscles

Ever try to lift a heavy weight with cold, stiff muscles? Not smart.

The same principle applies when approaching the depths of whitespace. To get in the “zone” you need to warm-up. Not doing so is a frequent recipe for frustration when attacking your creative opportunity cold and stiff. But imagine the difference when you lean into whitespace “stretched” and ready to go.

There are many ways to warm-up, most unique to your particular craft. For writers, perhaps it’s re-typing a familiar passage for 10 minutes to get your writing gears turning. For team leaders, maybe it’s wisest to begin each day with a team thought starter question or whiteboard session. For speakers, perchance delivering your talk out-loud to a few friends the night before the big day is best.

The key is kinetics: dynamic actions to stimulate re-actions in your mind, fingertips, vocal cords, or whatever else to optimally prime yourself for your adventures in whitespace. Whitespace is a cold place until you bring the fire.

“Who’s the More Foolish: The Fool or the Fool Who Follows Him?” – Obi-Wan Kenobi

Do you doubt the wisdom of a Jedi?

The implied answer to his riddle is obvious: the fool who follows. So, when fools rush in, don’t. Be deliberate instead. When you’re deliberate, you’re deadly. When you’re deliberate, whitespace doesn’t stand a chance.

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Image credit: Jason Kessenich

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