Capturing Creativity — When to Ride the Wave and When Not To
Capturing creativity when it comes is a skill well worth cultivating.
And if you’re a busy person (and who isn’t these days) you know that finding time to manage your creative ideas can be a challenge.
Indeed, if you’ve pursued any kind of creative endeavor, you know how wonderful it can feel to be in that flow.
And yet, what do you do when interesting ideas are coming to you fast and furious? Sometimes capturing creativity actually pulls you off-track and interrupts that flow. So what do you need? In a nutshell, you need boundaries.
The yin and yang of it…
Snagging your inspirations as they fly by can turn into a big distraction if you’re not careful. When your creative juices are flowing, trying to hang onto ALL of the ideas that are coming to you is sure to have one major down-side. It pulls you away from work that requires your focused energy.
When you’re in the flow of a creative task, the last thing you want to do is take your eyes off the prize.
So you have some choices to make and, ultimately, some boundaries to set. There’s a yin and a yang here, as with everything.
Capturing creativity to let it go…
A large part of the goal of recording your inspirations is to help you stay focused. No matter how you choose to do it (a note pad, your phone recorder, etc.) making note of an idea allows you to let it go.
And this is where you are setting a boundary. As you let those ideas go, you assure that they don’t take up psychic space. You know where they are if you need them later and they won’t interfere with what you’re doing NOW.
Your boundary allows you to focus and bring one creative idea to fruition.
More letting go…
If you go back a week or a month later and revisit your ideas, you may still feel excited about some. Others might not even be recognizable to you.
So, if an idea that sounded great in May doesn’t resonate in August, your next step is to cull your cache.
This is an efficient way to declutter your creative energy, freeing it up even more.
Think of cream rising to the top. Keep the cream and let the rest go.
The key?
It’s important to NOT let yourself get overwhelmed by your creative ideas or by the processes that you have in place to capture them. So, as with so many things, the key is creating and maintaining balance.
You want to find what works for you, and keep your primary goal in mind. And, ironically enough, when it comes to capturing creativity, letting go may be as important as what you record, if not more so.
For more help…
Setting and maintaining boundaries is a skill that makes everything else in your life possible. And it may be an especially difficult challenge for creative people.
“Your Secret Power: How to Honor Your Time and Claim Your Space with Boundaries” gently steers you to a more profound understanding of where and how your boundary-setting efforts get short-circuited. Boundary-setting is a skill that’s learnable, doable, and definitely within your reach. And the strategies, tips, and exercises in “Your Secret Power” help you discover how to:
- Set and maintain boundaries to enhance your productivity and creativity;
- Recharge your energy so you have the time and freedom to do what you value and what you’d like to do in your life; and
- Learn how to say no, which opens the door to your next big Yes.
Ready to start using boundaries to maximize your time, creativity, and energy? Click the link below to learn more about this transformative time tool and the bonuses that come with it: