In her attempt to create a positive writing habit, Gretchen Rubin – author of Better Than Before: What I learned about making and breaking habits – has harnessed the power of frequency as a means to manage time to foster productivity and creativity. She has successfully created a habit to write every day, including weekends and holidays, for a minimum of fifteen minutes to a few hours. She says this frequency has enabled her to accomplish more and with greater originality.
She believes that frequency …
•Sparks creativity through the constant churn of ideas. One of the easier ways to encourage lots of fertile ideas is to keep your mind engaged. When you work regularly, inspiration strikes regularly.
•Makes starting easier; if you work every day you won’t feel detached from the process and it’s easier to pick up where you left off.
•Keeps ideas fresh as you’re more likely to spot surprising connections amongst the ideas. Working sporadically makes it harder to keep your focus and easier to become blocked and distracted.
•Keeps the pressure off; recognise that you’ll have good and bad days but just keep steadily working away, and try different approaches if something doesn’t work.
•Nurtures frequency because the routine makes it easier to sit down and get something done.
•Fosters productivity as it helps the next day run more smoothly, as you move step by step towards your goal. You’ll feel reassured and inspired by your progress.
•Is more realistic; by establishing time every day, you can get a lot done over time. While you may not be able to write every day, be consistent in your intentions.
Habits and routines don’t restrict, they create. Without good habits you’ll always be forced to make decisions about simple tasks and have less time for the important creative aspects of life. By making life easier through positive habits you can create the mental space and time needed for insight, thinking and creativity.
For more foundations to creativity check out The Creative Advantage