Creativity at Work
Your best ideas rarely come to you when you’re trying to have them. They certainly don’t emerge while staring at a screen or drowning in notifications. Yet, many of us try to summon genius like an Uber—on demand, with surge pricing included.
Creativity doesn’t flow on command–it needs space and momentum. But in a world of endless distractions and eerily precise algorithms feeding us things we didn’t even know we wanted, how do we create the conditions for it to flourish?
The answer isn’t another productivity hack or hustling harder—it’s about refining your rituals, shaping a space that fosters deep work, and making tiny shifts that lead to breakthroughs.
Here are four ways to experiment with a process that works with—not against—your natural creative flow.
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What’s In and What’s Out?
A great place to start? Declutter your space, your mind, and whatever graveyard of tabs is haunting your browser. From 2016 until the pandemic threw my routine off a cliff, I had a structured morning ritual: no phone before work (hello old-school alarm clock!), 20 minutes of meditation, an outdoor walk on Monday mornings, and distraction-free writing from 10 AM to noon.
This period was easily my most focused, creative, and productive stretch.
Since then? Complete shitshow.
But I’ve realized the key isn’t about rigidly sticking to old rituals—it’s about evolving them. A simple way to do that is by making an IN vs. OUT list for your current creative season.
Here’s mine:
You get the idea—more brain space, fewer distractions. Creativity doesn’t respond well to grinding harder, multitasking better, or praying for inspiration to appear. It thrives in the right conditions. So I optimize for boredom, brain blinks, and deliberate rest.
Moving Meditations
You don’t need to run a marathon (unless you’re also into questionable life choices). A simple stroll will do the trick. Walking isn’t just movement; it’s a creative catalyst. Aristotle, Charles Darwin, and Helen Dunmore all swore by it. Why? Because walking quiets your inner world and awakens the outer one. It fosters reflection, integration, and—most importantly— creative breakthroughs.
Next time you’re stuck, go for a walk—no AirPods, podcasts, no calls. Just you, your thoughts, and that stray cat that may or may not be tailing you.
Designing Your Creative Environment
Your environment matters. A lot. Prime yourself for flow by designing a space that supports your creativity. Research shows that even something as simple as adding a few plants can boost focus, productivity, and equanimity.
Minimizing digital clutter = maximizing mental clarity. Try this for some tech hygiene:
Adopt a “searching vs. filing” mindset—stop over-organizing digital folders like you work at the CIA
Create “off” times for your tech so your brain can reset
Cultivate deep work sessions (up to 120 minutes max) with no distractions (especially email)
The truth? Your best ideas aren’t sitting in your inbox. They arrive through dreams, walks, conversations, or in stillness. Remain open, and they’ll find and consume you.
Revisiting Your Rituals
I know myself: I cannot work until my space is tidy. Otherwise, I’ll think about whether my coffee mugs are living their best life instead of actually working.
Want to create rituals that stick? Test-drive the 6 C’s:
Commitment – Show up, even when you’d rather do literally anything else.
Consistency – Tiny daily actions beat ‘I’ll work on this later for hours straight’
Creativity – Experiment. Fail. Learn. Try again.
Community – Surround yourself with hell-yeah people.
Curiosity – Stay open to new ways of working.
Celebration – Acknowledge progress, however small.
Habit Hack: Stack Your triggers.
After I meditate, I make my delicious coffee.
After I make coffee, I sit down to write.
After I write, I go for a walk.
For many of my clients, walking the dog becomes an anchor, triggering everything from journaling to deep work. Stack positive triggers—also known as glimmers—and you counter that creative resistance.
Juice Work vs. Popcorn Work
Some tasks demand high focus and deep immersion. Others? Autopilot mode.
Juice Work = Exciting, creative projects (think strategy, designing, writing)
Popcorn Work = Autopilot tasks (emails, admin, scheduling)
Knowing the difference changes everything. One of my clients structures her days around this. She does juice work when she’s fresh and popcorn work when she’s half-dead. The aim is to align the type of work with your energy levels. The result? Less burnout, more fulfilment—and more juicy work in her life.
Your Call to Action: Protect the Asset!
Big shifts come from tiny habits. Your job? Protect the asset—and that asset is you.
Organizing your creative life isn’t about perfection—it’s about designing systems that don’t make you want to scream into a pillow. You can unlock new levels of focus and innovation through practice and by letting go of what no longer serves you. A physical and psychological space that fuels inspiration will soon emerge.
So ask yourself: What’s one small change I can make today?
Whether you re-configure your workspace, re-design your rituals, or just start by starting, your next move is yours to make.