How Giving Up on Productivity Can Help You Realize Your Creative Potential

Learn the difference between productive and generative energy, and how to use the latter to tap into your creative flow.

One of the most painful lessons of my adult life was accepting that I wasn’t going to achieve my dream of becoming a published fiction writer. My first novel was rejected multiple times and I haven’t (yet) been able to finish a second (update: I finally finished a novel in August 2021!). I got some interest in a couple short stories, but no bites. I became so disheartened by what I saw as my repeated failures that I decided I wasn’t going to submit anymore. Going through a heartbreaking submission process for each new piece of writing was too much emotional effort for too little payoff. So I began to focus on writing without any goal other than doing the writing. I took productivity and its rewards off the table. I gave up on my dream. It was crushing at the time, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made. Here’s what I discovered: productivity should never be the purpose of creativity, because the energy used in creative work is totally different from productive energy. Productive energy throws a wrench into the gears of creative flow.

Creative energy is generative. Generative energy is a renewable resource; it replenishes itself as it is used. So why does this matter for creative work, and how is it different from productive energy? Well, their focus is entirely different. Productive work is outcome-oriented: it is undertaken with a set goal in mind and its success is measured by how results compare to expectation. Generative work, on the other hand, is process-oriented. Its success is measured by…well, here’s where things get difficult.

Let’s take a closer look at the process of productive work. You’re probably familiar with the basic plot structure of a novel or movie. On a graph it looks like a rising line (the rising action) that peaks (the climax) and then falls back down to the baseline (falling action and denouement). This is the activity pattern of productive work. There’s an ending in mind, usually the culmination of the project, and the action leads up to that point. Once the action reaches its expected conclusion, there is a crash – it’s done, the experience is over, success and resolution have been achieved.

Generative work is difficult to plot on a graph because it isn’t linear but rather expansive; its hallmark is the flow state*, when a person is no longer aware of the passage of time. Rather than a singular climax, it is marked by iterated series of intensifications and repose, surges and release. While productive work is characterized by payoff, generative work is characterized by regeneration. You never want to reach a point of crashing with creative work, because then you’re blocked. Getting into that flow state is difficult; ideally you maintain a connection with it even when not actively involved in creating. There is no such thing as “finishing” within the realm of creativity. Whereas the energy of productive work is used up in completing the project, creative energy needs to be renewable because the creative process must be sustainable (as any artist who has to sit down every day and do art again will tell you).

The reason creative energy is (re)generative is because of another fundamental difference between creative and productive work. Productivity relies on a controlled process of achieving set goals, and generally does not welcome unplanned developments, but creativity depends on the spontaneous and unexpected. When I sit down to write, I do so with almost no plan: I’m what’s called a “pantser,” or discovery writer. This isn’t how every writer works – many do like to follow outlines, aka “plotters.” But all writers are familiar with unexpected detours, when the mind comes up with something totally new that alters the planned course. This is what inspiration is, and it’s what creatives live for because it energizes and excites us. It’s an essential component of the creative process.

It can be deeply challenging for creatives to tap into their creative flow because we live in a society that overwhelmingly favors productive work. We know all about how to do, and measure, productive work: lists, bullet journals, time management, goal-setting, optimization, profit, salary tiers, deliverables, evaluations, efficiency practices…need I go on? But when it comes generative work, we have no idea how to understand it, let alone measure its success. When I tell people I’m a writer, the most common question is, “Are you published?” Somehow it’s not enough to do writing just because it feeds my spirit and makes me feel fully alive. These things would be fine and good as byproducts of writing, as long as I’m producing results. But if I make outcome the focus of my creative work, I get kicked straight out of my creative flow. Productive and generative energies are just too different. Some people can learn to successfully integrate them, but creatives need to be wary of having productivity-centered values overtake their process.

I did finally end up getting some publications - but not through any submission process. The irony is, of course, that now publications don’t matter to me like they once did. I’ve rediscovered my joy in writing, and finally broken through the barriers that always blocked me from fully accessing my creative flow. Doing creative work now energizes rather than depletes me. We all have the capacity to realize our creative potential by channeling generative energy. By letting go of productive goals we can tap into our creative flow, and learn to love doing our art instead of having done it.

* The originator of the term “flow state” is Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (pronounced ME-high Cheek-SENT-me-high); I recommend checking out his books.