Part One

  1. If you can, open a window, even if it’s for a few minutes. Now, try to be creative. Notice how many times you become distracted by a noise or movement that catches your eye. Notice if you start to stare out the window and stare off. Notice if you start spying on your neighbor who may or may not be hiding a dead body (wait, just me?)
  2. Sit in your living room, family room, or whatever room has other people or distractions in it. Try to be creative. Is the TV on? Did it draw your attention away? Did the cat knock something off the table? Does your spouse keep asking you a question? Are the kids running around screaming like banshees?
  3. Sit in an enclosed quiet space (if you don’t have a spare room, try the bathroom for example). Try to be creative. Does the quiet disturb you and make it hard to concentrate? Notice the difference quiet and seclusion has for your creativity vs. distraction and noise. Some people work better with it, most work better without it.

Part Two

  1. Pick a spot to be creative and “mess it up” if it’s not already. Let some papers loose. Place multiple pens/pencils around you haphazardly. Add some pet or child toys to the area to really set the scene. Now try to be creative. Does the mess/clutter bother you? Does it distract you? Maybe it actually comforts you and makes you feel in the “zone.”
  2. Now tidy up that same spot. Clear off the papers, put the pens and pencils back in their places. Remove the toys. Now try to be creative. What happens now? Does the tidiness allow you to focus? Does it distract you to see so much…cleanliness?
  3. Now add some sort of comforting decoration. A candle perhaps. Maybe a picture frame. Maybe a hot mug of coffee or tea. Now try to be creative. What happens now? Does having something familiar and comforting make your space feel cozier? Does coziness make you more creative?

The point of this experiment is NOT to say that one way is better than another— it’s to illustrate that WHERE and HOW you choose to be creative in relation to your environment and atmosphere matters. If you’re someone who needs background noise, then locking yourself in a quiet room won’t serve you well. If you need total silence to be creative, trying to work at a coffee shop or in your living room is also not going to serve you well.

Learn what you need to be creative and you’ll have one of the keys to consistency.