Producing Productivity from Creativity – How Do You Do It?

This is a guest post by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of “top online colleges“.

We’ve been fed on a stream of adages as we grow up that tell us that haste makes waste and that slow and steady wins the race. But we live in a world where most people are speeding along, and if you don’t want to be left out, you’re supposed to keep up. So which version are we supposed to believe – the one where time does not matter or the one where it does?

Creativity vs.productivity The dictionary defines productivity in terms of economics as “the rate at which goods or services are produced, especially output per unit of labor”. This is a general statement used to calculate efficiency in manufacturing units where most processes are standardized and automated. Each can be timed to a second and this allows calculation of the output per unit of time, given the units of labor.

But what happens when the labor cannot be quantified in terms of units and when you have labor that cannot be standardized or mass produced? How then will you define productivity? Is it fair to ask an artist to churn out five masterpieces a day? Or is it worth it to ask an author to come up with three best sellers in a year? The problem with quantifying productivity when it comes to creative tasks is that the moment we do so, we tend to negate the value that creativity adds to the final product. The simple fact is - you cannot hurry creativity, and if you do, well, the end result is not creative enough.

But that does not mean that a creative artiste cannot get things done in record time; of course, they’re equally capable of churning out a marvelous piece of work in a matter of minutes (or hours), but mostly in situations where they’re not given a tight deadline. As far as I know, deadlines tend to kill creativity.

So how then can someone involved in a job that requires creativity increase their productivity? How can they become more efficient at what they do?

• By working as hard as they can the moment inspiration strikes
• By relaxing and not trying too hard when they’re finding it hard to come up with ideas
• By setting schedules, even though they may not always be able to keep to them.
• By establishing a normal work routine, even though their work is anything but humdrum.
• By not wasting time when ideas are forthcoming

As a writer who has to depend on fresh ideas everyday to keep up with the rigors of work, I find it a struggle at times to ensure that my productivity is high. I’ve found that the key to achieving a balance between creativity and productivity is to work like a demon possessed when you are in the mood to write, and to relax and not feel guilty about it, when you’re not!
This post was contributed by Holly McCarthy, who writes on the subject of top online colleges. She invites your feedback at hollymccarthy12 at gmail dot com.