I’ve searched high and low for a book that would aid me in enhancing my creativity, but many books that claim to do this tend to be smoke and mirrors. But when I read From Chaos to Creativity: Building a Productivity System for Artists and Writers by Jessie Kwak it was as if the author was aware of every obstacle and every anxiety in my head, and she had come up with practical steps on how to conquer them. That’s how I knew this book deserved a full review.
About From Chaos to Creativity
Author: Jessie Kwak
Publishing Imprint: Microcosm Publishing
Number of Pages: 192
Genre: Entrepreneurship, Creative Enhancement, Writing
ISBN: 1621061604
Book Description
Creating art (whether film, books, art, theatre etc…) is one of the most fulfilling parts of our lives. But devoting your life to creating art is difficult. Especially when so many immediate things demand your attention every day in life. This pressure creates chaos, and that chaos makes it hard to organize your thoughts and get into a clear mindset to create art.
From Chaos to Creativity will help guide you through the clutter and teach you how to focus on the good ideas, manage your project, make time in your life, and execute your passions to completion.
My Thoughts
As someone who works for myself, I understand the importance of being able to boost your personal productivity. In my world, if I’m not working or being productive then I’m not getting paid, which means I’m not paying the bills. Over the years, I’ve continuously sought out ways to improve my productivity. From using apps, project management tools, to reading books and binging self-improvement videos on YouTube. Sometimes I pick up effective tips that I can put into practice, but nothing ever sticks. In the end, I began to understand my own workflow as well as the things that distract me, and I found ways to work around that.
So what made me really trust From Chaos to Creativity is when the author said that you should forget a productivity system and instead put in place a creativity system. Those words let me know that this was the book I should be reading.
But by no means is Kwak trying to undermine any productivity hack you might have picked up beforehand, instead she makes you understand that there’s no easy one-size fits all hack that will make you a productive creative genius. This is all situational, and it’s up to you to identify the best plan that will lead you to success.
To figure out your unique plan, the book encourages you to do a few exercises at the end of each chapter. Some of these tasks are aimed at pulling the chaos out of your mind that often leads to disruption when it’s time to create. The idea is that when you write down all of the pent up thoughts, anxieties, chores that need doing, events, and regrets, you make them real and actionable. Kwak refers to these as corrals. With these corrals outside of your head, you can schedule time to deal with them at your convenience, and go back to creating in the meantime.
As I said earlier, it often felt like Jessie Kwak had read my mind as I consumed this book. She was already aware of all of my pitfalls and weaknesses, and she’d come up with practical ways to deal with them. One of the many gems I got from this book was creating a No List. There have been times when I’ve accepted troublesome projects where the client ends up sucking the life out of me and all of my creativity, with me not being payed nearly as much as I should have. And what ends up happening in these cases is that my own personal projects (be it books, or a piece of content) fall by the wayside. All because I have no creative energy left by the time I’ve spent time with the client.
The No List is a way to address this. The No List is basically a list of the jobs and tasks that you’ll absolutely refuse to do. Over time, the more you end up refusing the things on your No List, the more energy you’ll gain to focus on the projects that really need your creative energy. I can tell you from experience that following this No List won’t be easy. Sometimes you just need the money. But think of this as a long game. The intention is putting yourself in a position where you can easily follow this No List without worrying about the money you’re missing out on.
Another great gem in this book is when Kwak explains that instead of adding things to your calendar that say “write 1,500 words a day,” you should instead put “work on my book for 1 hour.” Setting a goal of 1,500 words and then failing will make you feel like you’re not accomplishing your goals, and it will leave you with negative thoughts about your writing. But saying you’ll spend an hour working on your book, without setting a word goal, means that you get to make progress on your book for a whole hour without putting any pressure on your creativity. Because the worst thing you can do is put expectations on your creativity at a time when it might be limited.
And perhaps the most incredible part of From Chaos to Creativity is the fact that there are entire chapters aimed at encouraging you to to slack off and have fun. As humans, we’re conditioned to want to play, so why not schedule in some fun downtime for ourselves in the same way that we schedule our work? When you allow yourself to do the things you enjoy it naturally boosts your creative juices. And some of my best creative thinking comes when I’m reading, playing video games, watching anime or binging YouTube videos. Kwak reassures that it’s okay to have this time as long as you don’t let it creep into your scheduled creative time.
Verdict
This is without a doubt one of the best books I’ve had the pleasure of reading that focuses on productivity and creativity. It’s a book for writers, artists and anyone in a creative field. The problems and solutions that Jessie Kwak lays out show that she understands the creative process and has dealt with all of the same problematic occurrences that stifle creative productivity.
This is a book I would 100% recommend as I feel like all creatives will finish the book and have something new to add to their process.
