a swell day . com

I started a new habit today. I didn’t even know I was going to start it until about 3:00 PM. I didn’t have an agenda for today. I stayed in bed until about 11:00 AM, reading about foreign currency trading and gadgets. I went on to walk a mile to Barnes & Noble and read about currency trading and life insurance investments for three hours. I made the decision to focus January 1st - 30th on currency trading as my primary source of income. I came home and wrote out my vision for the next six weeks, scheduled out my next seven days, and am currently writing in front of the crackling fireplace. All in all, a very productive day - albeit completely different from most of my days.

What is this new habit? I’ve decided to start taking a ‘Creativity Day’ every two weeks. This means a day with no agenda, focused only on what I feel like pursuing. This is not a day to spend with my wife, or to watch movies and lie on the couch. (Although if either of these prove to give expression to creativity and curiosity, I’ll break the rules!)

Why? Having no agenda inspires creativity. The purpose is to give an outlet to all the ideas floating around in my mind that I have no time or attention for the rest of the time. This gives space for me to follow my deep curiosity about particular subjects that don’t come up in my daily life. The Creativity Day is intended to be without intention, a time to let the ideas and curiosities that have been simmering in my mind bubble to the surface and get some air time.

I notice that I have actually taken many days like today in the past - days spent as the visionary instead of the man-in-the-trenches. Gaining this perspective is immensely valuable to my life due to two equally strong yet conflicting veins of attention: Action and Creativity. The ‘Mind of Action’ and the ‘Mind of Creativity’ are responsible for bringing ideas into the world - progressively giving them life, expression, value, density, and results. For me, these minds are mutually exclusive - usually Action precludes Creativity, leaving lots of things to get done, yet little vision for the next step or generation of the next idea. The perfect solution to this is a day of no Action, where Creativity can be given voice.

How to Take Your Creativity Day

Guidelines:
1. Take care of your needs. If your refrigerator is empty, or your gutters need to be cleaned, or anything in your world is not settled enough to relax, take care of it the day before. This way your pressing needs are taken care of and you’ll have a relaxing and productive Creativity Day. If you use a calendar, consider scheduling it in so that you and your family know ahead of time that today is special.

2. Be willing to go places and do things that are different from your daily routine, or what you thought today would be about. This is a day to follow your curiosity, to learn something new, and to let inspiration enter through the most unlikely of avenues. This is a day that could spark a complete shift of direction in your life. Be willing to listen and follow it.

3. Take notes. The best way to express new ideas or new information is to write it down. Not only does this solidify it in your neural pathways, but it gives you a moment to refine it, give attention to it, and tease it out. I take notes constantly in my Moleskine notebook, and often refer back to them. Another great tool for searchable online note-taking is Evernote.

4. Sun matters. Really. If it’s possible to take your Creativity Day when it’s sunny outside, do it! Not only will you be able to spend time outdoors, but there is a natural hormone release in your body when it is sunny. You feel happier, more optimistic, and more willing to give space to whatever ideas arise.

5. Pay Attention to your own judgment of this time. Often, as an action-driven person, I start criticizing the time I spend being creative, which can limit my ability to express new ideas. Notice if this happens to you on your Creativity Day, and check to make sure you’ve taken care of any urgent needs.

Enjoy your newfound creativity, (it was there all along!) and leave a comment with any ideas around this concept.