creativity
There's Nothing Magical about Creativity
I've been preaching about how creativity is really just problem solving. There's nothing magical about it. Give your brain enough room and it will be creative. You could even schedule it. You should schedule it. Neuroscientist Sam Harris has spent the past few years studying artificial
Why Tumblr Was the Best
Shawn Blanc [https://shawnblanc.net] (in his newsletter): > "Tumblr encouraged you to post anything and everything: quotes, links, conversations with friends, photos, videos, articles, etc. > On the one hand, this led to tons of Tumblrs being the online equivalent of an angsty teenager’s messy bedroom. But
The Creative Bar Podcast
I went on Jon Wilkening's wonderful podcast The Creative Bar to talk about creativity, constraints and obscure 1990s photography topics I had bouncing around in my head. Check out the episode here [http://jonwilkening.com/blog/2017/12/7/the-creative-bar-38-cj-chilvers].
How to Balance Creativity and Productivity
A post over at Kottke.org [https://kottke.org/17/11/the-tension-between-creativity-and-productivity] about the struggle between creativity and productivity is getting a lot of attention today. I don't usually link to trendy articles, but this is right up my alley: > "I get more done in less
Behavioral Economics and Creativity
I believe most the readers of the A Lesser Photographer book [https://www.cjchilvers.com/books] understood and agreed with the basic message of the book: constraints foster creativity. Yet, some of the book’s biggest fans don’t follow that message. They know what they should be doing to
Constraints work (on experts too)
“As soon as I decided that the format of books was really constraining me, the ideas I've had for new books have gone up dramatically. There's definitely a correlation there.” - Seth Godin [https://overcast.fm/+E44U-e58s/26:29]
How to Stop Creative Paralysis
First, realize that you're probably putting unnecessary expectations on the quality of your creative output. Yes, you'd show off a better body of work if you only showed your absolute best. But, then, no one would know you and few would care. Sharing your work is
The Extraordinary Can't Exist Without the Ordinary
Most photographers and writers I know live in the suburbs, despite what stereotypes would have you believe. Most do not live in studio apartments in New York, nor could they afford it if they wanted to. They live what would probably be considered "boring" lives to an art
Independence Day
The bank I write for, and have worked at for 16 years, is finally calling it quits. My last day is May 31st. I'm lucky to have options as a writer. Not many in finance do. Automation has killed a lot of their jobs. We've heard
Being Creatively Lost is Awesome
Every six months or so I feel a little lost creatively. It leads to a lot of good things, but in the moment it feels disconcerting. This is something readers write to me about all the time. They want to know what can be done to get them back to