Creatives Don't Need "Flow"; They Need Processes
Not in a State of Flow
In which I talk about why creatives don’t need creative flow but a creative
process. Plus, how I write on average 1,000 words every day.
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The idea of “flow” isn’t foreign to many. Mystical as it had been when it was
first presented by Hungarian professor and author, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
in his first book, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience , the idea has
stuck with the world all the same. He defines it as a gratifying, hyperfocused state in which a person is put when engaging in an intrinsically
valuable, challenging task.
In a 2004 TED talk, he shared an anecdote from a leading composer who
claims to have had experienced what we know today as creative flow. “You
are in an ecstatic state,” says the composer. “To such a point that you feel as
though you almost don’t exist. My hands seem devoid of myself, and I have
nothing to do with what is happening. I just sit there in a state of awe and
wonderment. And [the music], just flows out of me.”
Extreme examples of this would date back to Michaelangelo’s most famous
work, the Sistine Chapel, which he’d apparently worked on days without
stopping, forsaking rest, sleep, and sustenance. Horrific examples,
meanwhile, come from films such as Sean Byrne’s The Devil’s Candy (2015)
and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining (1980), in which artists lose grip of their
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individual selves for their art, albeit to terrifying ends.
I’ve yet to experience “flow”. I don’t think I’ve been in a place yet where I’ve
created in such a state that outpours so much creative energy. However,
that doesn’t mean I don’t feel gratified by nor focused on my work. I’ve
always operated in smaller bursts of energy throughout the day rather than
create with one great outpouring. I’m not in a state of creative flow, at least
not in one as described above. I’m not complaining, though. Aromantic as
my method seems I get my job done.
To give you context, I work as a product developer in a digital marketing
agency in the Philippines. My work at the time of this writing is to develop a
site which we use to try out different content marketing methods. What
we’ve developed, ultimately, is a blog (or a series of them) that caters to
specific audiences. I currently man the post for the “tech” and
“entertainment” vertical of the website called Typist Philippines .
My current project: Typist PH – Tech
In it, I’m expected to output at least two insightful, optimized-for-search
articles that solve the problems or piques the interests of my vertical’s
audience, which in this case is the Tech, Gaming, Pop Culture Savant.
I’m sure there are other professionals who are able to churn out this volume
of content at a significantly shorter time, but anyone who creates content
for a living will side with me that creating content in and of itself is no small
ask. There’s plenty of research that goes into it, plenty of time for media
creation, and plenty of dedication required when promoting those pieces of
content.
On top of this, I write for a number of different publications as a freelancer .
On average, I say I’m writing at least a thousand words per day.
Michaelangelo is famous for the Sistine Chapel, not for starving for it.
You need not feel deterred if creative flow escapes you. Certainly, the idea of
being put in a trance-like state when creating is romantic and appealing, but
lest we forget: output trumps process. At the end of the day, as creatives, you
are judged based on the work you put out, not by the means with which you
do it. Michaelangelo is famous for the Sistine Chapel, not for starving for it.
You can very much write 1,000 words and write well consistently every day,
if you build processes. Forming creative habits is one great way to help this
cause. Anything from journaling ideas before and after bed to going for a
morning run works; the goal is to condition your mind to create, which is
already wired to and only requires a bit of a push.
Certainly, the idea of being put in a trance-like state when creating is
romantic and appealing, but lest we forget: output trumps process.
For example, I write more and better at night. Therefore, I see to it that I
participate during the daytime so I inspire enough creativity come
nighttime. I also set a few hours before bed with room for fifteen to thirtyminute breaks, which are crucial in collecting my thoughts as I write.
Finally, I actively block out all distractions and make sure I have a clear goal
and a map to get there.
To achieve this, I use a number of tools, including:
Noisli – A Google Chrome extension that emulates the ambient sounds
of a coffee shop–the second best thing next to coffee.
Todoist – You will remember in my previous post, The Creative’s Box
Of Badass, I used TickTick. I left that piece of software to move to
Todoist, whose experience on Windows, Android, and in general
simply feels smarter and intuitive, albeit at some cost ($15/yr.)
Evernote – Something I missed listing last time. Perfect for idea
capture. Best paired with the Web Clipper Chrome extension .
Trello – Sometimes I’ll work on something that’s part and nested in a
bigger project. I use Trello to track every task I need to make sure I hit
everything I need during the day.
A hot cup of coffee. Or two. – Needs no explanation.
As it is, creating content and being a creative in general give me ample
gratification and draw from me great attention. I’ve yet to be entranced by
my creative work that I lose track of time, forsake food or sleep, or wield an
axe like a madman, although I’d be lying if I said I don’t wonder how that
would all be like. For now, my method, pragmatic and aromantic as it is,
would have to make do. And maybe, if you’re stuck working on a project or
just a piece of content you’re working on, it might not be smart to find your
flow and step on it. Maybe it’s smarter to just build a process.
#Featured
#Flow
#Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
October 8, 2017
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