One of the things I’ve been considering a lot lately is the importance to “downtime” in our ever increasing busy lives and schedules. We live in such a hyper-productive world today, where people are using every last scrap of time to be productive and fill the “empty space”—with the onslaught of smart phones technology, people no longer get a space from their computers and the demands of technology increase. I am a smart-phone user and consider it incredibly useful and helpful to be able to check email; update my calendar; create a reminder; write a note to myself about an idea; look up directions or browse information online. Look around you—everyone is doing it.
Recently I heard a discussion on NPR with Matt Richtel regarding his article in the NY Times called “Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime”. In the article it states, “…scientists point to an unanticipated side effect: when people keep their brains busy with digital input, they are forfeiting downtime that could allow them to better learn and remember information, or come up with new ideas.”
Creativity is dependent upon “coming up with new ideas”. Its the signature purpose and result desired of creativity. So if we are overloaded by too many “screens”—computer, smart phone, television, movie theater—we could be hindering our creative potential.
From experience I have learned that stepping away from a project—the sheer act of letting go— can be more beneficial than not. There are a lot of techniques to enhancing creativity, some of them I learned in a Creative Thinking class last fall. One concept I distinctly remember is the idea of allowing the creative process time to “stew”. Like a stew needs time in a boiling pot with lots of ingredients, so to, creative ideas need time to mix and percolate through your subconscious. At some point in the process, the thinking about a creative problem will suddenly fuse one idea with another, and a complex solution is formed. This concept of an “idea stew” (which very well may be my own terminology) can lead to an “AHA moment”—where two seemingly disparate things come together to create a wholly unique idea—just as beef, carrots, potatoes, and broth are combined to create a satisfying meal of its own. So, if our brains are fill every moment of downtime that would or could be spent pondering a particular problem, then we’d only be eating carrots and beef separately—the creative solution of a cohesive meal would not be realized.
Interestingly, the article points out that the beneficial effects of exercise are shown to be more prominent when the individual is in an secluded environment with no urban, pop-cultural stimuli—advertising, vehicles, frantic activity—or a gym with a plethora of distraction prone digital devices. Based on study findings mentioned in the article, it seems that filling all of our time with hand-held devices could be hijacking important rumination time needed by the brain to develop complex ideas and thwarting the creative process.
As a creative professional I have learned how stressful a constant demand on creativity can be. Generally you don’t have the luxury to “wait for inspiration to strike”. Plus, the business world has a way of cranking you dry with demanding schedules and last-minute deadlines. Coming up with creative ideas can become problematic when you are required to turn a project around without an adequate timeline. What happens when the ideas don’t come—how do you deal with that?
I discovered a podcast by Todd Henry at Accidental Creative (AC #180: Seeds), who discusses how to prevent idea failure and burnout from happening by building “purposeful ideation” time into your schedule. Thereby allowing your brain new ideas BEFORE they are needed—allowing ideas have time to “stew”, sink in and develop over time. Henry aptly uses the compares creative idea generation to the sowing of “seeds” and the work it takes to cultivate creativity.
Time spent purposefully building creativity isn’t necessarily “downtime”, but it is time away from a screen developing your brain. Henry mentions four purposeful practices that can help you generate creative ideas into the future: strategic thinking about problems; idea generation/brainstorming; recharge time (new inputs, stimuli, emotional health, family time, recreation, downtime?!); and study time to stretch and develop your mind.
I still believe that an ample amount of downtime is necessary—time spent having fun, laughing, joking with friends, playing tennis, working on hobbies, pursuing interests. Allowing your brain time to wander is an important part of remaining a successful creative thinker and do-er. So filling all your time with technology can be detrimental to your creative life—just as, cutting out screen-time allows more time to read, think strategically, brainstorm new ideas, and take in new stimuli.
Todd Henry at Accidental Creative hit the nail on the head—if we are going to be creative we have to be purposeful with our time—especially our downtime.
All written content © 2010 Charlene Tiedemann
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