There are many ways to spur the creative process.
Go on walks. Let your mind wander. Get proper sleep. Read endlessly. These methods allow the mind to wander freely, to explore ideas.
But sometimes the only way to get your mind working is to take something away instead of giving it more freedom. A simple trick of constraint can spring the brain into action.
Research suggests that constraints help spur the creative process. You’ll create work even if it’s not the most inspirational. Even if it’s junk.
Let’s take a look at how constraints have helped others spur the creative process.
Victor Hugo Gave His Clothes to His Servants
In 1830, in order to finish the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo did something drastic.
To avoid his love of going out, which caused procrastination, he ordered his servants to lock his clothes away. Without his clothes and no idea where to find them, Hugo had no choice other than to work. He completed his novel weeks before the deadline.
Constraints give you no choice but to be creative. Imagine being stuck on an island with limited resources. To survive, you have to use what you have. You can’t wait to see what inspiration comes to you.
Hugo locked himself in his study because he knew that was the ideal place to write and finish his novel. Sure, he could have completed it elsewhere, but it may have taken twice as long.
Finding your creativity is about giving yourself constraints so you can accomplish your best work. It forces action.
Eugene Schwartz’s 33-Minute Rule
Famous copywriter Eugene Schwartz is recognized as one of the best direct response copywriters. He wrote headlines like:
“How Modern Chinese Medicine Helps Both Men and Women
Burn Disease Out of Your Body Lying Flat on Your Back,
Using Nothing More Than the Palm of Your Hand!”
“Do You Have the Courage To Earn Half A Million Dollars A Year?”
While he used a lot of copywriting techniques, he had one essential rule – 33-minute rule.
It required sitting at his desk for 33 minutes and 33 seconds and write. When the timer stopped, he would take a 5-minute break. Then the process starts over again.
Schwartz didn’t wait for creativity. He gave himself a deadline to be creative, to put something on paper even if it was awful. Similar to Victor Hugo, Schwartz put constraints on himself to write only at his desk with a pen and paper. No distractions.
Like Schwartz, we have to recognize that it’s better to produce something instead of holding ourselves to a standard of perfection. We can’t expect creativity if we aren’t willing to do any work.
How to Create Pressure to Unlock Your Creativity
“Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
– Thomas Edison
Creativity is about putting in the work.
Thomas Edison knew inventing the lightbulb required repetition after repetition of hard work. When a journalist asked Edison how it felt to fail 1000 times, he responded “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”
We often believe that inventors, influencers, and creatives succeeded instantly. So we want success instantly without all the hard work. Creativity is something we often expect to come to us naturally when it’s almost always a process.
We have to grasp it, search for it. Work for it. Put constraints ourselves so we can create something.
The Latin root word for “creativity” is “creare.” It means to create or make. If we want to be creative, it starts with creating something. Put constraints on yourself to create something without concerning yourself with the outcome.
Focus on the process and start something. And repeat that process.