Our nearest neighbor is a singer/songwriter (paid link). An off-hand comment he once made on his creative process has had a very positive affect on my family and me. The key: “early to rise.”
He told us that he’d begun making an effort to get up a little earlier than his usual time and going straight to work. He said that moving as directly as possible from sleep to work engaged his creative mind, and allowed him to maintain and utilize the deeper, less-conscious thinking he’d engaged in as he awoke. He made sure not to listen to the radio, or take time to read, or do anything else that might distract him. This “subconscious” thinking, uncluttered by distractions, improved the quality of his work considerably.
Aly adopted this practice when she went to college. Her course work includes a heavy writing load, so she schedules those assignments for first thing in the morning. She reported excellent results, and has continued the practice in her current year.
Burning the early morning oil (Photo: Mark Zeiger).
