Slow living for Creativity

Ok. Random thought. What if your creative thoughts and ideas, just like, stop? Let me rephrase, what if you run out of ideas? Don’t know about you, but a younger version of me who had just begun her journey as an architecture student always had this fear lurking around. 

Switch to now, where we have a plethora of borrowed ideas and preset boards to perk your creativity, this does not seem like much of an issue. Nevertheless, it is hard not to notice how less frequent the bursts of creativity we had as students have become. And I was curious to know why.

The Generation Shift - Why slow down, when you can haste?

I have grown up with particularly animated stories and tales of my parents who went overseas, built a base, climbed the ladder (fell a few times) and though there was a romanticism about it that I secretly yearned for, I could never see myself taking as much time as they did. Because we are the generation that completes a degree, while learning software parallelly, simultaneously collaborating on freelance projects, all the while bettering our portfolio. This is the shift in work mindsets that we are talking about, from a much slower time to one where hustling is normal and hustling is important. 

But isn’t hustling natural?

Can’t blame the generation, cause it is circumstances and opportunities that  push for change. Back when opportunities were seldom and often the reward to a period of waiting and yearning, slow and steady was the only way. But now when there is no excuse, why wait? .

Creative thinking and impact of hustling

Why wait, you ask?

No, don’t wait. Rather prioritize. Sustainable creativity over burnouts, a balance between healthy work and periods of adrenaline driven sprint and of course a  balance between getting there, but also learning and forming a foundation to your career.

There are in fact two sides to it: the impact of constant hustling on your creativity and on your overall career growth in the long run.

While we need to switch it up once in a while ( because don’t we love the sweet thrill of overworking? Read on https://www.theabsurdarchitect.com/post/embracing-the-sweetness-of-overworking ), your creativity needs maintenance. And ironically,  maintaining your brain health and subsequent creativity as we call it in layman terms requires downtime, sleep, nutrition, but also, random knowledge! While this is a topic for another time, know this:  your creative ideas are basically connections that your brain forms after a good night’s sleep between random information stored in all its different chambers. Has anyone ever asked you to sleep on it, when you are confused over something? Now you know why!

Another area of concern is how you treat your career growth - there are perks to building a strong foundation, learning the technical as well as soft skills, meeting the right people, knowing when to respond to the right opportunities, all this to name a few. These are the basics that no school will teach you - it comes with experience.

So no hustle? 

Well, as much as I would love to say yes, that is not a sustainable approach either. We are the hustling generation, at the least let's do it well! 

The key is to do less work, but get more done. We’ll tell you how.

Let’s get work done 

Art of delegation You cannot grow if you cannot teach, delegate and detach - essentially if you do not master the art of delegation, your hustling will be for survival, not to upscale and level up.

Setting a system Systems work, period. Find your personal strengths and interests and dedicate your valuable energy into it and delegate the rest. If  designing is your thing, let an expert do the finances. 

Schedule Breaks Like every other thing, if you schedule it, higher chances it will happen. You need to find time to relax, else you might never get it. 

Rejuvenation The biggest mistake is replacing rejuvenation with rest. No, both are different. While rest is shutting down your systems, rejuvenation is giving your systems a boost, a charge. Engage in activities for the sake of it, not caring about the result or productivity. Your creativity will thank you.

As a final note, hustling is a part of this era, and we can proudly embrace it. Sustainability and longevity too is necessary to reap the results. Let's normalize this for our next generation.

Happy Hustling!