How to Get Organized Without Dowsing Your Creative Fire

April 9, 2009 3:38 PM

Creative Fire
If you have never struggled with getting organized, de-cluttering, setting priorities, and staying focused, you can skip this article.

But if the very idea of getting organized makes you queasy, if you agonize over the trade off between creativity and order, read on.

Fear of Dowsing the Creative Fire

The most common objection I hear about getting organized, planning, and de-cluttering is that it limits creativity.

Some of us can even prove (we think) that getting rid of clutter and making detailed plans causes a creative stall. We've cleaned our offices or studios and massaged our calendars only to freeze when we face the empty work table or blank screen.

Soon, Life starts throwing things at us and we can go back to reacting. We conclude that chaos fuels our creative fires, and we're right.

But there's a huge difference between the fire in a fire pit and a wildfire. Understanding that difference is the key to being both really organized and really creative.

The Nature of Fire

It is the nature of fire to consume all available fuel. Left to its own devices, a fire will burn until the fuel is gone.

The same is true of our creative fires. They consume all available fuel (stimulation, inspiration, raw materials, new ideas) until the fuel is removed or depleted.

When either kind of fire burns out of control, its power to transform and enlighten turns destructive.

It's All About the Fuel

Most wildfires start from burn piles. The fire is fueled by debris (chosen fuel) until a spark flies into a dry shrub (random fuel). In moments, the burn pile turns into a wildfire.

Your creative fire burns the same way. The fuel in this case can be books, trinkets, email, phone calls, sticky notes, even dust bunnies.

To begin working on a project (light the fire), you have to choose fuel. And unless you have a way to sort and store fuel sources, that can be the beginning and end of creating.

Clutter is like the dry shrub near a burn pile. It's fuel just waiting to be consumed by your creative fire.

And when that happens, you are at the mercy of a fire that no longer serves your intention.

Organization Is Managing Fuel

To create with intention, we need to manage the amount and kind of fuel that goes into the fire. That means systematically organizing and storing fuel sources so that they are both readily available and removed from the center of the fire.

Look around your work space. Imagine that everything you see is a source of fuel.

Is this a safe place to build a fire?

The Critical Importance of the Fire Pit

It's not enough to organize and store fuel sources. To harness the energy of the fire, you need to contain it.

That's the function of a fire pit.

A fire pit provides enough space (but not too much) for the fire to reach the intended size. That means not only accommodating fuel, but also oxygen.

A fire pit also provides a barrier sufficient to keep sparks in and stray fuel sources out. The barrier also stores heat, making the energy of the fire available long after it has burned down.

Look at your work space. How efective is this fire pit? Is it big enough to accommodate what you are creating? Is there a way for the energy (inspiration, momentum) of your creative process to be stored so it is available when you need it?

Only You Can Prevent Wildfires

Your creative fire is a precious resource. Your ability to create the results you want in your life and work depend on how skillfully you tend the fire.

But there's a huge difference between the fire in a fire pit and a wildfire. Use the difference to create order and you'll never have to sacrifice creativity for organization or vice versa.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.shaboominc.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/299

Comments

Excellent piece: thank you! And it came across my desk at just the right moment, too.

Posted by: elenabella at April 10, 2009 1:26 AM

I was in the middle of reorganizing my study when I noticed your message. Just days before I wrote a piece in my journal stating that I felt I needed to be more organized, but was also afraid that it would interfere with spontaneous creativity. While writing those words I already heard a little voice telling me: 'You will create more time for spontaneuous creativity by being more organized...'
Thank you for reinforcing that little voice!!!

Posted by: Marianne at April 10, 2009 4:50 AM

Thank YOu! for this great topic.... it is the perfect reinforcement to keep me on task installing an organizational system which I "stumbled" across and which I've found VERY challenging to get implemented. (I commented a bit on this in the town hall). Just yesterday I felt as though I were seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. And amidst all the pendeflex folders and labeling and sorting and trashing and setting up follow ups - I felt some kind of energy freed up. I think this is what you're talking about. Also the idea that its the discrepancy between what is planned and the daily outcomes that serve as guideposts is great. I will try this next week after I read and watch both these inputs again..

Posted by: Jady Montgomery at April 10, 2009 8:29 AM

Nice piece on making a place for creative fire. In my work with the creating process, I talk about how holding vision and current reality in mind at the same time sets up a useful "creative tension."

Creative tension provides a container for creating. It generates energy for action, and guides those actions so they take you from where you are to where you want to be.

If you do it right, and fully complete your creation, you'll generate more energy than you put it. So, using creative tension, there's not much chance of your fire going out.

And if it gets low, the momentum you create through taking lots of small, successful actions will get you through the low spots, until you or something injects a little more oxygen into the mix, and the fire burns brightly again. ;-)

Posted by: Bruce Elkin at April 10, 2009 12:06 PM

ElenaBella: Can I just say I love the sound of your name? :) Thanks for letting me know the timing was right on this one.

Marianne: Gotta love the still small voice. Or not. Sometimes I drown it out. Glad to give it a bit more room to guide you.

Jady: Thanks for sharing this on Shaboom County, as well. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment. And I look forward to updates as you walk through this oh-so-challenging process.

If it was just about organizing, it would be easy. But it's about so much more. (Ain't it always?)

Posted by: Molly Gordon at April 10, 2009 1:59 PM