Major Reasons Why Your Creativity Is Getting Killed In 9-5 Routine

The "typical" eight-hour workday or daily work schedule is probably all too familiar to you. However, aside from making it difficult to get out of bed in the morning, this pattern may also be suffocating your creativity. We'll go through this process in further detail in this post, as well as five basic and straightforward ways to boost creativity.

Monday through Friday, people often work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., a practice known as the "daily grind." While it is undoubtedly one of the most prevalent rituals in society, it is not always the most productive. In actuality, only a small percentage of history's finest thinkers subscribed to this concept.

Honoré de Balzac, a French playwright, is an example of this.

Each night, Honoré was fast asleep by 6 p.m. He then awoke at 1 a.m. to begin writing, which he continued until 8 a.m. when he took another brief siesta.

He went back to work from 9.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. after this nap. He took 30 minutes of exercise, then washed, ate, and socialized before going to bed early for the second time.

If you're thinking to yourself, "Try telling this to my boss," you're not alone. The point isn't to quit your day job, but to figure out how to work around it so you can be more creative.

Let us draw inspiration from the greatest minds in history. Mason Currey did just that in his new book, Daily Rituals: How Artists Work. Mason set out to determine common behaviors from the different routines of writers, artists, scientists, and architects by bringing together their rituals and routines.

This book proves one thing: there is no one-size-fits-all approach to getting things done. Each of the routines in the book is distinct from the others, and the clear conclusion from this book is that you must develop a pattern that works for you rather than trying to emulate someone else's to boost creativity skills.

After all, developing a routine is a highly effective strategy to boost your creativity. We'll show you how to deconstruct any preconceived notions you may have about a "normal" routine and replace them with a new one that works for you.

Let's Look At Three Compelling Reasons Why Your 9-5 Routine Needs To Change.

01. You Don't Get Up Early Enough

The book's most recurring topic is that creative people are more likely to be early risers than night owls. This is the polar opposite of the conventional image of an artist or writer working late into the night on a canvas or typewriter.

Some people have taken this concept to its logical conclusion. Every day, writers Milton and Voltaire got up at 4 a.m. Voltaire went to work right away and didn't stop until midday, whereas Milton at least ate breakfast before beginning to work on his poems. John Milton embodied the phrase "early to bed, early to wake." He went to bed by 9 p.m. every night and arose at 4 a.m. to meditate.

Kant got up at 5 a.m. every day for a cup of weak tea, a drag from his pipe, and some meditation. He then set out an hour between 6 and 7 a.m. for writing before beginning his morning lectures at the University of Königsberg. At a local bar, he had a four-hour lunch. Then an hour of apparently wobbly walking to clear his thoughts before sitting down with companions to talk morals, ethics, and logic in the evening.

This super-early rise and brilliance isn't something that has happened in the past. Hakuri Murakami, a Japanese author, likewise gets up early and gets to work right away. Each person's circadian rhythms determine when they are at their most awake and when they begin to feel sleepy. Some people are more attentive in the morning, while others are more alert in the evening—there are 'early risers' and 'night owls,' after all.

So, if you're a morning person, wake up with the birds and you'll be at your most productive or exerting your creative juices? Not so fast, though. There's some evidence that tiredness can help you think more creatively. According to a study out of Michigan, the fuzziness of your non-optimal time may be beneficial for problem-solving. With this in mind, 'early risers' should take notes and ponder more in the evening before going to bed, whilst 'night owls' should do their thinking in the shower every morning.

Set your alarm for a suitably ridiculously early time, like 5 a.m., and get out of bed as soon as the alarm sounds to test how the early riser routine works for you. Then go get to work on the task at hand. There was no shower, no email, no nothing (Ben Franklin used to sit naked in the mornings for what he called 'air baths'). Then don't try to get a good night's sleep; you won't be able to. Wait till you're naturally tired and then go to bed. Repeat. For a few days, it may be challenging, but after your circadian rhythm, or internal clock changes, you will find yourself spontaneously awakening at the appropriate hour.

02. You Believe You Are Too Preoccupied To Take A Break

An old proverb goes, "A healthy mind in a healthy body." It's true. Several of history's greatest minds engaged in regular exercise, whether it was a simple walk or vigorous exercise in everyday routine. Hakuri Murakami is a serious runner, and he frequently composes his articles while out running marathons.

A long stroll, in particular, could jolt your brain into gear if you're having problems with your musical creations. Tchaikovsky claimed that if he went for a midday walk for less than two hours, his work would be ruined. He slept from midnight to 9 a.m. on a regular basis. He would have tea, smoke, and read the bible when he awakened before going for a brief stroll. Then he'd begin the first of two main composition periods every day, which would be punctuated with a long walk.

Beethoven's favorite evening exercise was a long, strenuous stroll that had to last at least two hours, or "vast disasters" would befall him. On these outings, he always brought a pencil and paper with him to jot down any ideas.

You don't need to be away from your desk for two hours to have an epiphany. Simply getting out of bed and getting some circulation flowing can be really beneficial. A short walk at lunchtime or to break up periods of intense concentration can be sufficient to re-energize the mind.

Clearing the mind and becoming more creative may be accomplished by going for a stroll and thinking without any interruptions. After spending the morning writing or soaking in cold water on his rooftop, Victor Hugo would go for long walks on the beach.

In this situation, exercise may be divided into three categories for creative inspiration: a fast stretch, an activity lasting less than an hour, and exercise lasting more than an hour. You should get up every twenty minutes or so for a little stretch, not for your mind but for your body. The stooped position that many individuals assume when using a computer, as well as the brightness from a computer screen, are both harmful to your health.

03. Your Timelines Are Very Strict

"Decide what you want or ought to do with the day, then do it at exactly the same time every day," W.H. Auden wrote, "and emotion will give you no problem."

Despite the fact that each of the routines discussed here and in the book is distinct, they are all routines. Every day, each of these authors and artists performed the same thing. It doesn't matter if you wake up early or stay up late; what matters is that you do the same thing every day.

Unfortunately, this is the portion that many people struggle with the most, although following a regular pattern in your work is a vital aspect of creativity.

W.H. Auden was a workaholic to the extreme. He slept until 6 a.m., then drank coffee and finished the crossword puzzle before going to work. He worked from 6.30 a.m. until 6.30 p.m., with only a half-hour break for lunch. In the evenings, he set out a few hours for company and dinner before retiring with sleeping aids to ensure a decent night's sleep. In comparison, Auden awoke at 7:00 a.m., exercised, ate, worked, performed his day job of editing and teaching, worked, exercised, ate, day job, slept, exercised, ate, day job, work, and slept (for a final time at midnight).

Routines allow you to move trivial decisions from your awareness to unconscious thinking, freeing up more energy for more essential ones. Some people take this concept even farther, opting to make fewer non-essential decisions in order to clear their minds and make better decisions. What do Albert Einstein, Barack Obama, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg have in common, for instance? It's the way they dress.

OK, so Einstein was renowned for his tweeds, Obama for his smart business suits, Jobs for his roll necks, and Zuckerberg for his hoodies, but they all had one thing in common: they all opted to wear the same thing every day. They eliminated an essentially inconsequential choice point from their life by opting not to select, making them better capable of making judgments later in the day. When individuals don't do this, it's called decision fatigue, and studies have shown that judges have more trouble making decisions later in the day after making so many.

So, by getting up at the same time every day, eating at the same time every day, and sticking to a strict routine or daily rituals, your brain will have more time and energy to create.

Begin by altering one area of your creative activity that you believe is the most limiting. Again, don't expect miracles overnight, but you'll discover that your attachment to specific bad rituals, locations, and routines can be destroyed just as readily as good rituals can be created over time. Let your creativity burst with the best photo editor which is equipped with every feature to make your process easier.