DEFINING YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS
the creative process is sacred and to define it one has to first realize who they are, what they like, and why creating the things they want to create is important to them. the creative process is deeply personal and extremely subjective and no two processes look alike. we can learn from those that inspire us and take what feels aligned with who we are but defining our own creative process is the part that is the most fun and also leads to some interesting discoveries of the self and of the world around us!
it’s an experimental time where you really explore what ignites you and the ways in which you work best. do you prefer to work at night? first thing in the morning? do you like to listen to music while you work or do you prefer it to be quiet? do you like to plan before you begin a big project or do you just dive in headfirst? do you like to collaborate or do you prefer to work alone? what are some things you always need on your person when creating? regardless of what it is that you prefer creatively, the goal is to discover the ways in which you are the most productive and make the most progress toward achieving your goals.
if i had to define my creative process i’d say it is “organized chaos”. organized in that, for many of my projects, i take quite a bit of time at the early stages to brain dump and organize all of my thoughts and ideas around the project before creating a general “plan” on how to execute it and its chaotic in the sense that i tend to just go with the flow and allow intuition and synchronicity to guide me throughout the entire process. these two polarities work seamlessly for me because in my organization i have a full on blueprint of my creative vision at the most sacred part of the creative process (inception) and with that, i can build out the vision in anyway that i want to at any given moment in time whether it is 10 minutes or 10 years from now because i have the framework right in front of me.
naturally, i am a chaotic person and in order for me to thrive, i need a bit of structure to maintain steady progress on an upward trajectory. otherwise, i’d be going nowhere fast just for the sake of speed (which is an illusion). as a multidisciplinary, i’m realizing that different mediums require different environments and frames of mind from me in order for the project to fully blossom. so the more intuitive i am throughout this process, the more agile i am when it comes to aligning with divine timing and acting on what my creative and spiritual needs are at any given moment.
we as creatives tend to put so much pressure on ourselves to meet deadlines and this digital age of microwave creativity doesn’t help at all. i’m learning that for me one of the key ingredients to my creative process is patience. the more i surrender to god’s timing, the more at peace i am and the better my work is. i remember reading a really amazing novel and at the end of it, the author said it took him 10 years to write it. throughout the decade he had published several other books and reading that i thought to myself, “that’s fuckin crazy! wtf??”… and then i started writing my own... and yea… its been 5 years…
there have been many moments i thought the book would have been done by now. i’ve written endlessly over the past 5 years and somehow, the further the finish line seems. at the beginning of the year, i told myself we’d have this next draft finished by april 30th, and about 2 months into the year i started to feel creatively burnt out which was weird because i was really excited about writing but after a while, every time i sat down to write it just felt forced. it felt like a chore and i had to be realistic with myself and acknowledge that whatever i was doing wasn’t working and the project was suffering because of it. i had to give myself some time to put the project to the side despite how bad i wanted it done and i had to pivot and redirect my focus to something else that i could work on and fill my time with.
in doing this, i realized that what we define as creative burnout is often time the result of our own expectations and attachment to a specific outcome. because as i took the time to immerse myself in other art forms and creative projects like my music, i found that i wasn’t burnt out, i just needed creative stimulation, to be free and to create without restraint.
my creative process across mediums isn’t really that different in that, i like a clean and quiet environment. i prefer to work alone. i need a couple of joints. some nice scents flowing through the space... candles, incense, humidifiers, allat. and dim lighting. when im in the studio i like to be extremely comfortable and warm (i’m anemic lol) and studios are always soooooooo COLD because of all the wires and how quickly they can overheat, so i always come prepared. sweatpants, hoodies, socks, snacks, water, and we’re good to go.
when writing, i can wear whatever. i tend to get “dressed up” when writing because it makes me feel like a professional. i like to write in the mornings. 10A-11A is my sweet spot. i prefer to be in the studio during the day because i notice i’m a bit more productive but nighttime studio sessions just hit different even though i almost always fall asleep.
so as you see, i’m defining my creative process, and let me tell you, i didn’t discover this overnight. this is years of trial and error, exploration, success, failure... all culminating to a beautiful understanding of what works for me. so i want you to take some time today, to really define your creative process and if you don’t know, give yourself permission to explore and experiment. over the next few weeks dedicate some time every day to defining your creative process. discover what times of day work best for you and why. and when you define your creative process, make a commitment to honor your discoveries!
if you read this entire newsletter, reply by letting me know a little bit about your creative process and a few things that you NEED to thrive creatively.
in our next edition, we’ll discuss creative burnout and some of my tips for overcoming it!
