I don’t recall when productivity started being toxic for me.
Somewhere along the way, all those tools and system…hustle and discipline…started taking an evil tinge.
Yesterday was warmly creative.
Days like that…when I’m buzzing with a feeling of a creative high
A Generative state engages both our conscious and unconscious minds. And creates results that are as warm and satisfying as the process.
(Opposed to a regimented, conscious productivity)
Doing is creating.
Whether we complete a project or exercise for an hour, it is creating.
It’s making something. Or making something happen.
That’s why it can never be fully controlled or templatised.
There’s no creation without chaos and uncertainty. Without this unknown, unknowable human magic.
Productivity urges us to wage a war against it. To control the chaos.
And you can’t control without violence. No matter how subtle, there’s a violence in beating your urges into submission.
For me, getting things done feels good.
But anticipating it, planning it, having it in my future, never made productivity feel positive. Even when I enjoy the work.
And many times, it takes away from the joy of doing things.
From the magic of creation.
Which is why I’m leaning toward less control and more space.
More space is more possibility. Usually good things happen there.
Somedays, it does descend into entropy.
But even that can be good.
Chaos is not all bad. It can give things a much needed shaking up. And who knows what might come up.
So I’m choosing to create more generative spaces, rather than productive days.
Letting my conscious mind step back and my unconscious roam around a little, moving and expanding as it wants to.
Mostly, it’s about creating conditions for a generative state. Making choices that take me a step closer to my unconscious.
Nature is a big one for me.
I love writing in my courtyard and veranda. I like the greenery, the way the light plays with shadows.
There’s the constant danger of my toddler deciding to come jump on mommy. But I’m bravely staking it out here whenever I can 😆
Looking back, the whole of my last year was in this generative mode.
Throughout my life, there were a few short periods like that.
Mostly transitions…passageways where I was a little unmoored. A few school breaks, med school breaks, the time I spent preparing to get into a residency program.
Given my Type A tendencies, they were happy accidents. Never the plan.
But they were, in fact, the happiest and most meaningfully productive phases of my life.
This time was the best of all. And the most chaotic!
Mostly thanks to my son who grew from 0.5 to 1.5 years in this little space. And progressively decimated every system, plan and order I had 😂
Initially, that meant I could get nothing done.
At least not with any kind of order or structure.
But after a while, I stopped fighting the waves. I tried falling into them.
(That’s the way to surf, according to my friend, King : )
That was easier, obviously.
But surprisingly, it was also more productive.
I could get things done, from a better place and in a better shape, when I did go with the flow.
I understand that this may not be everyone’s cup of tea. And that it need not work with every kind of task. Sometimes structure and deadlines put food on the table. I’m not advocating throwing that away.
But if you, like me, lean toward chaos naturally. And coped with it by creating too much order, this is worth trying.
I guess it’s worth trying for anyone who feels drawn to this.
Instead of control, try utilising the chaos in your life…and in your head
Create haphazardly, non-linearly…and as far as possible, daily.
Whatever you’re creating, let in steep and soak…let your conscious and unconscious pass it back and forth.
Work a while in your energy bursts
Work a while in your liminal spaces (the going to sleep and waking up times. And when you’re sliding in and out of energy slumps)
Work in flow.
Work in friction too (though I keep it short then).
The changes let different neural networks try different ways of solving your problem.
They shake the kaleidoscope.
You never know…
You may see something you never knew to look for ✨
(Did you find him? We call him Kiku! )
Thanks for reading : )
Happy 2023 friends!
May you have a Generative year full of pleasant surprises! ☀️🌈
Talk to you soon,
Swarupa
P. S. I’d love to hear from you! You can reply to this email or get in touch on Twitter.
"So I’m choosing to create more generative spaces, rather than productive days."
YES! Being generative is exactly what I've been focused on lately, such a timely read! Happy to see your newsletter in my inbox.