Comments on: Organizing to foster creativity

By: André

André — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:56:01 +0000

Good point, this will help me to be more focussed on the task at hand.

By: RichardStep

RichardStep — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:03:21 +0000

Ditto to the ideals presented here. Though I would say organization *can assist* the creative process. Pure organization and lack-of-freedom, without focus on initial stimulus progressing to the realization of the unconscious flow, can be VERY detrimental to the creative process.

I know I have some pretty detailed notes, drawings, and spreadsheets to assist me in my works… but they’re just that… assistive devices.

Think of organization/planning skills as a water hose nozzle – you either just spew creativity in a haphazard and inefficient manner without a nozzle, or you add the super deluxe model and create a high-pressure stream of awesome that helps all of your creative dreams come true.

Good article and thank you for bringing up this fine point. Kudos!

By: TanyaZ

TanyaZ — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:39:45 +0000

I feel like the would benefit so much from converting her archive into an electronic format. The seearch is a lot easier when you can search by the content of the joke, not just by the category. We would benefit from it, too!

By: Anita

Anita — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:47:26 +0000

Very good points both in the post and in the comments.

I second Ruth’s point about organized vs. neat and tidy. Organization is about having your stuff (objects, schedule, whatever) in an order that is logical to you, and that enables you to make the best of it; not about making things pretty for outsiders to look at. I guess in that sense, order is in the eye and mind of its user.

When uncluttering your home, especially parts of your home that you welcome guests into, it’s important to keep both (organization and neat&tidy) in mind, for everyone’s comfort. When it comes to a private space, like an artist’s studio, the artist’s needs should be paramount; organization should be there to help the creative process, but “neat and tidy” should only be a concern as far as the artist’s comfort is concerned.

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:46:47 +0000

This is perfect for me today. I want room to be creative in my life, so I’m working on organizing things so that I have that space, literally and figuratively!

I also have to cut myself some slack that I’m not getting there as fast as I would like, because I’m also baby-proofing our house, chasing after 8 month old twins who are now mobile, and frankly, getting a lot of organizing projects done in general because we moved while I was on bedrest and then we were exhausted caring for our twins!

Thankfully, my parents are coming from out of state this weekend for a visit, so I can put my dad on some projects, like assembling my desk for the creative spot I’m carving out for myself. Yea!

By: Ruth

Ruth — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 18:10:58 +0000

Important to keep in mind that “organized” and “neat and tidy” are NOT the same things. Sometimes they intersect, sometimes not.

Case in point: my husband is an artist, and his easel/setup looks like a gihugic mess. He’s got a palette full of big blobs of oil, and towels everywhere, and tubes of paint all over, etc., etc.

But he knows where everything is and can hit the ground running whenever he starts painting.

By: Ruth Hansell

Ruth Hansell — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:55:14 +0000

Twyla Tharp has a wonderful book called The Creative Habit. Inspiring and grounded in the hard work that turns creativity into reality.

Ruth

By: Maggie

Maggie — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:43:09 +0000

I found this post so inspirational! First, just for getting a glimpse into the amazing organization of her records, but also because I’ve never stopped to think about all the hard work that goes into a career that I think of as such a free form as comedy. I admittedly know absolutely nothing about comedy but found such an appreciation of all the hard work that Joan Rivers has obviously put in over the decades upon decades of her career.

Like Sarah, I also loved that she laughed at her own joke.

By: chacha1

chacha1 — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:40:15 +0000

True, true, and true.

I manage to keep up with the necessities when life is cluttered, but it’s not till I get the decks cleared and my projects properly queued that I am able to relax enough to be inspired.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:09:07 +0000

A couple of weeks ago at a party, a stranger and I got into a conversation that ranged all over (certainly passing through “Outliers”), but generally circling back to the idea that what is often observed as talent can be more accurately attributed to hard work.

Organization is certainly part of that. How many creative people do you know? But how many of them would be willing to put in the effort to create that working file? How many really learn to use their cameras, or regularly write-read-rewrite, or truly make the time to play scales and etudes?

Years ago I was theorizing why one former coworker had bombed in Nashville while another was working steadily on Broadway, and I described a pie chart of talent, hard work, and luck. I think we like to say it’s all talent and luck that makes Joan Rivers more famous than we are, because that means it’s not our faults we’re not famous. But just that one-minute video shows how much work went into it.

(ps–I love that she laughed at her own joke when she read it again.)

By: Rebecca C

Rebecca C — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 15:47:20 +0000

“…creating the conditions for creativity to flourish…” I really like that! Very inspiring. And makes a great deal of sense, too.

By: Michele Connolly, Get Organized Wizard

Michele Connolly, Get Organized Wizard — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:50:11 +0000

Makes sense! Creative forms like poetry, art and screenwriting (Robert McKee’s wonderful book on writing films is even called ‘Structure’) depend completely on organization to work.