The Creative Conundrum: How to be brilliant in a moments notice under pressure

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing "Arms dealer for the creative revolution", author and podcaster, Todd Henry. We were discussing the pressures of leading teams of creative pros who have to solve problems every day in a creative way with finite resources. Many industries are experiencing this right now. And just before we move on, let’s make one thing clear: Creativity is problem solving.

If you solve problems, you are creative.

The problem is that anyone in a creative role with consistent creative pressure will face overwhelm and potential burn out if not careful. We don’t just need creative inspiration, we need creative practices to deliver the results that are being required.

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There are many resources out there of tips to generate ideas and how be more creative, but inspiration alone doesn’t feel practical when you have a manager breathing down your neck saying, “While you’re taking care of your inner artist, be sure to have something brilliant to me by 2pm.”

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In today’s world we have a conundrum to have to create on demand. How do we be Prolific- create ideas, brilliant – create actual good ideas, and healthy – be sustainable in it all.

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We don’t talk enough about the “on demand” part so many of us have to do. Leaders, business owners, tech experts, educators – all are feeling the impact of having to be brilliant all the time.

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In order to be creative on demand you need stability in the midst of uncertainty. What are the practices and infrastructure you need in your life right now? What are the daily practices and rhythms you need? Do you take time routinely to find inspiration for your work?

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What are the problems you're needing to solve? Have you really identified them?

What needs to be pruned from my life in order to have the emotional energy for what I need to do right now?

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You need to find some stability and create predictability in your life. Not total stability because there is always some level of unpredictability, but give yourself some boundaries and explore within that. Complete freedom isn’t helpful in creative problem solving.

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One tool Todd gives in his Daily Creative book is the: No Fly Zone Tool.

A company decided to give their employees a “no interruption time” from 11:00am to 1:00pm daily at work. No one was to be interrupted with phone calls, emails, meetings during this time. It was a predictable time to do their work, have creative thinking time, work on a project that required thought and intention. Ten hours a week was given to uninterrupted attention which increased productivity greatly, and less anxiety at work.

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Why less anxiety? Anxiety at work isn’t caused by too much to do, it’s not knowing when that work is going to get done. When staff complains about “another meeting”, it’s not the meeting that is the problem, it’s the uncertainty of not knowing when their work will get done.

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You can listen to my podcast interview with Todd on Apple and Spotify.

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When can you allot time for uninterrupted time? Time to think deeply. Time to do some creative problem solving. Time to work on something that requires focus.

Schedule it in.

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Here’s to your creative solutions that may just be waiting for that uninterrupted chance to revel itself.

If you're needing a creative breakthrough, why not join us for our Certified Flourishing Creativity Coach Certification happening this weekend. In this 2 day online training, we give tools for your own creative breakthrough, but also tools you could walk others or your workplace through in breaking through problems needing a brilliant solution on demand.

You can inquire or register by clicking here.