Be Boring

Today I am drawing inspiration from Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative. 

#9. Be Boring.

Kleon says it's the only way to get real work done. Could you argue with this sentiment? Of course you could, and I hope you will. But the point remains.

Be boring. Kleon goes on to recommend specific points in this vein - among them, take care of yourself, keep your day job, and get a calendar. 

Design thinking and PBL require creativity and innovation and passion and energy and and and... 

And they also require structure, order, organization. Creativity and innovation require the day-to-day, the grind. It's hard to think "outside the box" without the box. 

Some days, Studio D is churning, burning with new ideas and insights and questions and excitement and GO! 

Other days, we sit still. We are asked to be quiet. We take notes. 

These days are important too. They allow us to slow down, to connect with people, to refuel our energy. Sometimes this aspect of design work is boring. But it is crucial. 

So go ahead and be boring. Relish it. Order and disorder alike foster creativity - use both to your advantage. 

"Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work." 

- Gustave Flaubert

Posted by: Ashley Auspelmyer