Last week, I spoke about how you can be your own worst enemy when it comes to hindering your creativity. Getting in your way, not allowing yourself to push forward, and just not believing in yourself are all very real obstacles.
But, what about what’s around you? What about your environment?
Your environment can have a very real impact on your creativity as well. We all know how productivity suffers when you’re not in the right environment. Creativity works the same way.
Take a second and look around you. What are your surrounded by? Who are you surrounded by?
These things are incredibly important and impact your creativity dramatically.
Is your environment too cluttered? If your personal space around you is too cluttered it can feel like a chore to do anything. If you have ever struggled to just find a pen and paper when you come up with an idea, you know exactly what I’m talking about. That clutter breaks your natural flow and increases the chances that you will give up on something.
Is your environment too clean? While this may seem counterintuitive, I am going to go out on a limb and say that an environment that is too clean, too organized, and too put together, doesn’t lend itself to being creative. Innovation is often the product of being inconvenienced or being a little uncomfortable. If you spend all of your time getting everything into place and putting all of your time into worrying about order, you will miss out on the creative opportunities that would have arisen.
Is your environment lacking support? While developing your creativity is a very personal activity, having supporters definitely helps. When you have something that you want to share with the world, sharing it with close allies first is a great way to get feedback and constructive criticism. Having the opposite, people who put you down, leaves you feeling inadequate and often stifles your creativity.
For the rest of the day, look around you. Take in what is maybe exciting you and getting your mind going. Also look for the drains.
Take action to spend more time and energy building up a positive and supportive environment and you will see the results immediately.
Ryan, you’re probably familiar with Albert Einstein’s quote: ‘If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?’ I agree with you that too sterile an environment may stifle messy creative flow. I think it’s got to be a rhythm that includes both “clean” and “messy” environments. The Muse speaks in both.
I have been thinking about this very subject lately, Ryan. I am a neat freak for my work spaces, but I believe I miss out on a lot in the time that I use to clean. That being said, it can distract me from getting work done if it is too messy. I’m with you and Glenn on this one- there’s a balance to it. This has to be an underlying reason to why people like to work in coffee shops and such – people are already keeping it clean and they don’t have to worry about a mess.