Consumption v creation
How we spend our time seems to be a conversation I’m having a lot. I often joke I wish there were three of me: one to work, one to do all the other things, and one to sleep.
Recently I’ve been pondering creativity and inspiration, or consumption v creation.
How if we spend less time online we would get more done. And I can see that argument. Less time scrolling Facebook, checking emails, or going down internet rabbit holes would free up attention for other things.
“Stop consuming, start/get creating” is a slogan I have seen many times.
But the problem with this is, we can’t all innately come up with things to say, form arguments, or create new work without some form of interaction with others. Whether that’s conversation, watching a play, reading a newspaper, listening to a podcast, or reading a book, our ideas need other ideas to play with. That’s how we create new things. We build, and shape, and experiment.
The people I look up to creatively clearly consume lots of other media. They’ve read a wide range of sources, they’ve watched documentaries, they’ve spent afternoons watching classic films, and let themselves be immersed in things which others might deem a luxury, or a waste of time. After all, it’s not work is it? Going to the cinema, or spending the afternoon with a novel. That’s something you have to leave for your day off or being on holiday.
But when I read a really good story, or listen to a song, or read an article which introduces me to new thinking, those creators have spent time enjoying works by others.
I’m challenging myself to write more at the moment and one of the things I realised this week was that without other inputs, my writing goes around in circles. It gets samey. And I run out of topics, because I’m not part of a conversation, I’m monologuing.
I went to a new parents’ meeting at my son’s school this evening, and one of the arguments the head of English made for the written word was: “Reading is a conversation, even if the author is dead.”
We need those conversations to feed our conversations.
We need to find that depth, the discussions people have already had, the voices you might not hear if you don’t go looking for them because they don’t turn up when you’re scrolling through Facebook.
The other issue with create, don’t consume, for me is that it ignores the community around us. If we want people to read / watch / listen to our work, then we need to make time to enjoy the work of others.
So that leaves me wondering: where do we find the time?
People say read a chapter a day of a book, and yes, that would move you forward. But then, when do you listen to a podcast, or watch a documentary?
Is half an hour a day enough?
Or do you block out a day a week?
And how do you ditch with the guilt of doing something which isn’t technically work?
I guess I could call it research.
What’s your balance of consumption v creation? Do you have a routine or a set goal each day or week?
Most importantly, what have you enjoyed reading, watching, or listening to recently? I always like recommendations. Let me know in the comments.
