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Travel – it’s a fantastic tool for rejuvenation. I’m not talking only about going on vacation; getting out of your regular environs and into a new one is excellent for providing new perspectives.
For me, just being on an airplane has always been an opportunity to tune out the regular noise and find clarity and inspiration. As a matter of fact, I just finished a trip to Maine and was thrilled at how productive my flights were.
Sitting in an airline seat with little outside distraction, no clutter on my desk, no easy trip to the kitchen for yet another cup of coffee, no lure of doing some laundry if I wanted to… they all contributed to forced focus.
Nope, at six-and-a-half miles straight up in the air, I’ve got the white noise of the engines and air conditioning, being alone but not alone [with nary an empty seat to be had], and a finite length of flight, which puts a time constraint on things. As we’ve discussed, and will delve further into at another time, constraints actually help creativity. And, of course, the lack of real food available keeps one focused on the task at hand. [Which reminds me, why doesn’t Southwest Airlines have airplane cookies any longer? 😀]
Also, the noisy kid two rows in front, whose parents are doing nothing to control her, forces me to wear my earbuds, adding to my isolation: quiet but not quiet [enough].
So, in total, the process of travel makes you appreciate your home and your designed environment. Things get reframed when you don’t have control.
For me, the journey is the destination. More gets accomplished in terms of ideation and creativity than when I’ve actually arrived at a new place, and the local stimulus becomes a distraction. There are always people to see and things to do. Those aren’t bad things – they contribute greatly to your library of experiences, stories, and resources – but they don’t always help me to productively develop ideas in the moment.
Perhaps I just need to be on airplanes going nowhere, in particular, to have that somewhat limited time in a somewhat sterile environment to think and create.
This trip was a good reminder to get out more and leave my total comfort zone. Obvious, sure, but sometimes reminders aren’t bad.
How does travel affect your creative process, and what do you do to get/stay on track? Drop your thoughts in the comments.