Steven Aitchison writes on his three pillars of creativity
- Do it alone
- Do it with available tools and material
- Do it anytime, anywhere
Do it alone
This is more a criticism of committees. You can certainly brainstorm with a few people to be creative but using these as springboards for ideas and not as decision makers is important. Creativity requires vision and it takes a special sort of person to spread that vision to other people. I think small groups are best. With a small group (say, less than 4) you’ve got enough room to express yourself without feeling like you’re being talked over or interrupted too many times.
Do it with available tools and materials
I’m guilty of this but sometimes you do need the right tool for the job. While I enjoyed using it, blogging was a pain on my Nokia N800. It was never a good fit. In fact, any sort of data entry was just painful. I had to wait until I got a laptop again before I could feel productive again. Likewise, give me a camera and I’ll give you some shaky mis-aligned photographs. Give me a violin and you’ll give me a Noise Abatement Order.
Do it anywhere, anytime
At the most basic level, this means keeping a notebook and pen with you at all times. This also means getting yourself into the lifestyle where you can work when the inspiration strikes you. My after hours are flexible enough that I seldom need to pencil in time to do things, I use something called a “Nag” (which will feature in an upcoming Infurious product) to remind me to do things and along with my Do Something Now guidelines, I’m usually kept busy with the jobs I want to do when I want to do them.