6 Non-Obvious Creative Principles

Creativity is by definition non-obvious. It thrives on counterintuitive ideas and unexpected connections. Here are six counterintuitive creative principles to remind yourself of this week as you carve out time to be creative.

Routine breeds creativity. Instead of stifling creativity, developing a creative habit can establish a stable environment for you to do your best work. Establish a daily routine where you can reliably do creative deep work.

Enforcing limits is freeing. If you have every tool at your disposal, every option available to you, there is no need to be creative. Instead of keeping all of your options open, impose artificial limits on your work. Produce a song using only three musical lines. Write a complete story in 500 words. Create a design using only three colors. Having every tool at your disposal absolves you of the need to be creative.

You don’t have to go it alone. The myth of the lone artistic genius is harmful, and you should let it go. There is such a thing as “genius,” works of art that seem to reach another plane—but each of those works were born out of the influences, models, and mentors of those who came before. Write down your list of mentors, and the lessons you learned from them. Keep it close by and add to it over time.

Be bored. Entertainment is an inoculation against your creative energies. Choose to disengage from it. Just sit outside. Just wait in line. Allow your mind to wander, and reconnect with the rushing force of creativity inside.

Failure is an option. Get reps—intelligent reps—in your main art form. Two musicians want to improve their songwriting. One works on a single song for 30 days, seeking to craft and perfect it. The second writes a song a day for 30 days, focusing on making each song a little better than the previous one. At the end of the month, which musician’s skills will have grown the most?

The slow way is the fast way. If you take the time to do things right, it will seem like you are moving slowly at first, but you will save time later, at the finish line, when it counts most. While the world rushes around you, focus on quality: cultivate your creative routine, collaborate, get intelligent reps, and commit to creative deep work.

Which of these principles did you need to hear today? Let me know in the comments.