But busyness has a way of stealing creativity from you. Gene...

But busyness has a way of stealing creativity from you. Generative work, like art and writing, requires long periods of nothingness: it’s only in that wide empty space that ideas emerge. Long runs, hot showers, commutes that don’t involve harried Slack messages and listening to podcasts at 2x speed. Sitting at the edge of a dock, listening to the ocean breathe. Novels that make you daydream.

from the scenic route by Jasmine Sun

added by Ben Cuan and · updated 17d ago

Build pockets of stillness into your life. Meditate. Go for walks. Ride your bike going nowhere in particular. There is a creative purpose to daydreaming, even to boredom. The best ideas come to us when we stop actively trying to coax the muse into manifesting and let the fragments of experience float around our unconscious mind in order to click i... See more
from 13 Life-Learnings from 13 Years of Brain Pickings by Maria Popova
sari and added
Our ideas, too, will disappoint us if we don’t give them the right environment to develop in. They’ll be shallow, derivative, dull, repetitive, or take too long to show up. Or they’ll just not show up at all. We must find the perfect glass jar and lid for them to appear in.

What is that perfect glass jar, though? Our ideas appear primarily in one s... See more
from The Art of Fermenting Great Ideas by Nat Eliason
Luc Cheung and added
What makes work good is time to read, think, slow down, and create a rich inner life. In other words, good work comes from slowing the fuck down and trusting that good ideas will come through if we give ourselves enough time and space to see them.
Elena and added
Creativity requires connecting the dots, and connecting the dots requires allowing time for my subconscious to consolidate my ideas and make associations. This means that, from time to time, I need to just stare out the window and do nothing.

This doesn’t feel productive, even though it is.
from You’re doing better than you think. Here’s why. - Ozan Varol by Ozan Varol
and added
To come up with new ideas, you have to have space to be messy, to procrastinate, and to let your mind wander and free-associate. But there needs to be a balance. You eventually need to channel it into something concrete, or you won’t produce anything.
from Jon Rafman and Dasha Nekrasova on the Horror We Call Life by Dasha Nekrasova
gabriel and added
It's only after you're bored you have the great ideas. It's never going to be when you're stressed, or busy, running around or rushed. Make the time.
from Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson
sari added
Creative work is hard. And we constantly beat ourselves up for not producing high quantities of high-quality stuff. It’s easy to forget that we’re trying to make this work at a time when we’re oversaturated with connections, and constant, flashing demands. Boring old boundaries have never been more vital. Going into the cave will feel a little cold... See more
andrea and added
Whether through dreams or ‘gap time’ in our schedules, creativity is something that natures through us when we give it the room it needs. “It takes a lot of time to be a genius,” wrote Gertrude Stein, “you have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing.”
from Belonging: Remembering Ourselves home by Toko-pa Turner

from 13 Life-Learnings from 13 Years of Brain Pickings by Maria Popova

from The Art of Fermenting Great Ideas by Nat Eliason

from You’re doing better than you think. Here’s why. - Ozan Varol by Ozan Varol

from Jon Rafman and Dasha Nekrasova on the Horror We Call Life by Dasha Nekrasova

from Almanack of Naval Ravikant by Eric Jorgenson

from Belonging: Remembering Ourselves home by Toko-pa Turner