The creative process works differently for different people. I find I can pick up bits of inspiration throughout my day from my surroundings, but in order to hammer those fluttering thoughts into something brilliant, I need a quiet space, plenty of time, and an alert and energetic brain that isn’t feeling too trampled from the day. When the atmosphere is right (calm, quiet, relaxed), the creativity flows.
As it turns out, Steve Jobs felt the same way.
As Jonah Lehrer, author of Imagine: How Creativity Works, mentions in his interview with NPR, Jobs was a firm believer in creating just the right atmosphere to spur creativity. This included cobbling the three branches of his Pixar studio together in order to get different creative minds working together in close quarters. It also meant having only two restrooms in the entire gargantuan Pixar complex so that people would be forced to mingle throughout the day. Cruel or genius? Who knows, but no one can deny the brilliancy of Pixar’s works.
Lehrer’s interview is insightful, interesting, and well-worth a listen:
Author: KateBitters
Kate Bitters is a Minneapolis-based author and freelance writer. She is the author of Elmer Left, Ten Thousand Lines, and He Found Me. One of her proudest/nerdiest moments was when Neil Gaiman read one of her short stories on stage at the Fitzgerald Theater.