"Smart" creative routine: why do we need a routine and ritualization

[Teacher]

There is a rather persistent belief that creativity does not tolerate restrictions, and any routine can destroy the magic of the creative process and stop the flow of creative thinking. However, not everything is so simple.

According to cognitive psychologist Ronald T. Kellogg, daily routines and work rituals can enhance our creativity. In his book The Psychology of Writing, he explores how work schedules, daily rituals, and work environments affect the time of writing and the state that accompanies the work of a creator.

Kellogg writes:

“There is evidence that the environment, daily routine and ritual (habitual) activities can stimulate the work of a writer and increase his efficiency, increase focus and reduce the level of entropy of attention. These factors are capable of causing a state of flow, and not, as is commonly believed, boredom or anxiety. A room, time of day, or pre-work ritual can stimulate concentration, increase motivation, or awaken a specific emotional state. In addition, each of these aspects of the method is able to awaken in your mind specific ideas, facts, plans that you associate with a place, time, visual image and other things, one way or another related to your chosen topic and work. "

Drawing on an impressive body of research from a variety of disciplines, Kellogg has drawn some very important insights into what can affect our productivity. For example, he found that background noise, paradoxical as it sounds, can have a positive effect on creativity. For example, while high-intensity noise (over 95 decibels) destructively affects the performance of complex tasks, it helps maintain concentration while performing monotonous work and boring tasks devoid of creativity. This noise usually increases the level of arousal, which can be helpful when attention is lost during meaningless and monotonous actions, but is detrimental to the state of flow and deep immersion in work that requires clear thinking. At the same time, Kellogg takes into account the individual characteristics of the psyche and admits that anxious individuals will be embarrassed by a noisy environment. He notes that it is up to each person to determine a comfortable background noise level to maintain flow:

"For some, the dripping water from the tap can be more damaging than the hustle and bustle of a downtown cafe."

Another factor that Kellogg drew attention to is the time of one working session. He points to a number of studies that show that work lasting 1 to 3 hours with short breaks has a beneficial effect on productivity, not only for writers, but also for musicians, artists and athletes. In addition, Kellogg says, studies of circadian rhythms (cyclical fluctuations in the intensity of various biological processes associated with the change of day and night) confirm that working on complex, creative tasks is most effective in the morning hours. This is exactly what Hemingway did. In an interview in 1958, he noted:

“When I'm working on a book or story, I sit down at my desk as soon as the light dawns outside the window. I usually work from six in the morning until noon. At this time, no one will disturb you, and the cool air helps you get started faster. In addition, I always end up writing where it is obvious to me what will happen next. In the morning I read this fragment and already easily get involved in the action of the piece. "

Another factor that can hardly be overestimated is the environment. What should it be? For example, the famous musician Bob Dylan spoke about the need to "create such conditions in which you can freely accept the results of the work of your subconscious," and the famous American writer William Faulkner noted:

"The only thing a writer needs is loneliness, and that little that will cost him inexpensively."

Loneliness as a guarantee of productive activity will not surprise anyone, but, according to Kellogg, the solitude of writers is not a superstitious ritualization performed in the hope of invoking a muse, but an unconscious use of the principle of specific coding, the use of an environment "that gives a signal about the desired behavior":

“Abstract ideas, images, plans, specific proposals, emotions and other personal symbols, which represent the knowledge necessary for creativity, are associated with the environment, namely the time and place that the writer uses to work. These associations are reinforced if the writer uses the chosen medium for a specific activity. Entering this environment becomes a kind of search for symbols that can activate all the information stored in the subconscious. After he concentrates on ideas coming from the subconscious, the workflow takes over him completely. This is how the specific features of the environment can become certain clues for reflection, search and creativity. For example,

The technique described above is also used in the treatment of sleep disorders. For example, the introduction of a sleep regime (when going to bed is carried out at the same time) and the organization of a special space for washing, set a person up for the upcoming rest. Sometimes it takes a decent amount of time to start this kind of ritualization, but eventually the method starts to work. It is no coincidence that writers try to adhere to a special routine in order to optimize their rest and the time they spend on it.

In describing environmental conditions, Kellogg draws on the creative crisis treatment program developed by psychologist Bob Boyes for teachers and other professionals whose professional activities are in one way or another related to writing:

“The key to Bob Boyes' program is the redevelopment of the work environment. He recommends that you determine a regular place in which you will work on serious things (novels, stories, articles). It is better to move the execution of other small matters (for example, correspondence) to another place. Boyce also insists that magazines, books and other sources of information irrelevant to work should be removed from view, social contacts should be minimized or completely excluded. By following these simple guidelines, the writer creates a special space dedicated only to thinking and writing. Thus, this place begins to be associated with all the "thought products" of the author and each time becomes the starting point for his further creative research. "

Of course, there is a grain of truth in Beuys' recommendations, but if you are a "lord of chaos" and your work area is littered with various items, including the same distracting books and magazines not recommended by Beuys, you should not be upset. 2013 study published in Psychological Science ⓘKathleen D. Vohs, Joseph P. Redden, Ryan Rahinel. Physical Order Produces Healthy Choices, Generosity, and Conventionality, Whereas Disorder Produces Creativity / Psychological Science September 2013 vol. 24 no. 9 1860-1867., Confirms: a sloppy environment contributes to a departure from classical preferences and canons and the strengthening of creative thinking. However, today we have a more serious problem than clutter - our smartphones and social networks with their intrusive and distracting notifications about the arrival of new messages, so when organizing a special workspace, it is better to turn them off.

As Kellogg himself notes, the variety of options for organizing work environments indicates the flexibility of human thinking and the fact that we can work in any conditions, the main thing is to find or create an environment that will maximize concentration on our tasks and achieve high productivity. Add to this the mastery of the art of creative thinking and sincere love for your work - and the result will not be long in coming. Here are some descriptions of the routines in which outstanding texts were born.

Thomas Mann:

“Most of my creations were invented while walking; I also find that walking in the fresh air awakens my cravings for writing and writing. When I work on great works, I always use the developments from my literary practice, which are always at my fingertips. "

Kurt Vonnegut:

“I wake up at 5:30 am and work until 8:00, eat breakfast at home, work until 10:00, then walk a few blocks to the nearest pool, where I fully immerse myself and swim for an hour, then return home at 11.45, read my mail and eat midday lunch ... Then I'll go to work at school and return from there at about 5.30 am, cheer up with a glass of scotch tape and water, cook dinner, read, listen to jazz and go to bed at 10 o'clock. "

Haruki Murakami:

“When I write a novel, I wake up at 4 am and work until 6 pm. During the day I run 10 kilometers and swim 1.5 kilometers, then I read and listen to music. I go to bed at 9 pm. I follow this routine unquestioningly. Its repetition becomes a form of hypnosis. Observing it for six months or a year requires a lot of mental and physical stress. Therefore, a great romance always becomes a test. Strength is essential for creativity."

Edgar Allan Poe:

“Most writers, especially poets, prefer to be thought of as if they were composing in a kind of high insanity, under the influence of ecstatic intuition, and would just shudder at the very thought of allowing the public to look behind the curtains and see how difficult and rude it works thought wandering to the touch; to see how the author himself comprehends his goal only at the last moment; how fully ripe fruits of fantasy are desperately rejected due to the impossibility of realizing them; how painstakingly selected and discarded; how excruciatingly exaggerations and insertions are made ... "