Cultivating Creative Energy — #1 Hitting the wall
What I talk about when I talk about running is a memoir by one of my favourite authors Haruki Murakami. If you judged the book by its title alone it would seem like a long version of listening to some asshole talking about how Crossfit and a new diet changed their lives. Not so. His memoir is about preparation, passion, and creative energy. He shares his perspective about how running gives him stamina the stamina he needs to be a novelist.
The late Hillman Curtis said that everything we do contributes to our creativity, from the music we listen to to the books we read. His book MTIV: Process Inspiration and Practise for the New Media Designer introduced me to the idea that creativity takes constant investment.
I’ve borrowed Mr. Murakami’s metaphor and over the next few months, I’ll be exploring what gives designers creative energy or stamina. There are mini exercises throughout the posts designed to help you find sustainable habits that give you creative energy. You can do the exercises on a piece of paper or use the worksheets we’ve created for you.
Black October
I noticed it when I was a waiter, come October people start acting like assholes. It seems as if everyone collectively hits the wall. Although I took it personally at the time, they were stressed and exhausted from a long intense year. They slowly become more human (and more generous) as work wound down and they eased into their summer holidays in December.
I’m just as unpleasant to be around as my old customers when I’m tired. Waiting for an annual two week holiday to recover seems crazy, 11,5 months of work and two weeks to recover never made sense to me. I had to find a way to do the job I loved without becoming a nightmare for my friends and family to be around.
I first started running so that I could stop being fat my whole life but realised that it gave me a mental break that refreshed me and helped me manage my stress. When I’m trying to solve a problem I’m consciously and subconsciously thinking about it all the time, switching that off is difficult for me. It’s very hard to think about anything else when you are concentrating on not passing out.
There were some patterns that kept repeating themselves in my work and in my running. I start off with inspired determination, but after a while, I push too far and burnout and my health goes to shit. I ignore the warning signs, I’m too committed to reaching my targets to stop and when I get sick my progress nosedives and it takes me ages to get back to the level I want to be at.
Exercise #1 — Highs and Lows
Do you have similar patterns of creative energy highs and lows, what are your warning signs that you are about to hit the wall?
Patterns
Think back over the last year and identify the times you felt like you had creative energy highs and lows, was it seasonal or situational? Were there parts of your work or personal life that was affected you positively or negatively?
- Make a list of at least 3 times your creative energy was high and why was the case.
- Make a list of at least 3 times your creative energy was low and why was the case.
Signs and signals
When I’m tired my patience is non-existent, I’m short-tempered, controlling, and impatient. Small setbacks seem like huge obstacles. When I’m rested and relaxed I’m patient and supportive and setbacks seem temporary. What are your signs and signals?
- Make a list of at least 3 signs that your creative energy is high.
- Make a list of at least 3 signs that your creative energy is low.
Endurance
I want to be able to run further without the interruptions of injury or illness. I need to be able to push myself as hard as possible, but still, catch myself before I breakdown. Rest and diet are as important to my running as spending time on the road.
Working in a fast, quality-driven, emerging, creative energy-sapping industry requires endurance. Running helps me stop thinking about my work and the mental break means that I’m not tired when I have to solve a difficult problem at work. Quality time with her family helps Kim Scott author of Radical Candor, she schedules four family holidays every year to make sure she can recharge by being with those closest to her.
Exercise #2 — Building endurance
Running isn’t for everyone, what do you do to recharge your creative energy?
- Make a list of at least 5 things that increases your creative energy.
Are your habits sustainable, drinking 23 coffee’s a day because it gives you the kick you need to do your job may affect your health in the long-term.
- Separate your list of habits into a list of sustainable and not-so-sustainable habits.
Plotting a course
I when I started running I lived in Brixton where the hills are notoriously steep, unsurprisingly I became really comfortable running hills. It’s important that your training includes different types of runs so that you become strong on all terrains. I moved out of Brixton a long time ago and I try to make sure that I have a fairly flat run most of the time because running uphill the whole time is exhausting.
As you wind down from Black October towards Glorious December give some thought to what you need to be able to do your job. What if next year is as demanding as this year, will you have the stamina to get through it? You have no idea what it will be like, but you can build the awareness of what saps your creative energy and how you recharge it. You can identify when you are reaching your limit and how you stop yourself from hitting the wall.
Exercise #3 — Preparation
Create an Energy Map using the lists you created in exercise 1 & 2.
- What gives you creative energy?
- What drains your creative energy?
- What are the warning signs that your creative energy is low?
- How do you recharge your creative energy?
Keep your Energy Map somewhere you can refer to it. You can add to it as often as you like or create a new map where ever it suits you e.g. weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
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