Could quarantine be the ultimate way to boost your creativity? Pretty Slow’s Alessia Armenise says that constraints can be the best way to find new inspiration.
Like most people, I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the idea of being confined in my flat for months on end. At first, I convinced myself I quite liked the idea but really, what I liked was not having to take public transports every day. Unknowingly, I think the first months of quarantine back in March made me lose my mind slightly.
I went through the essential phases of baking banana bread, making pizza and trying to find new hobbies – I even bought a ukulele. But that didn’t stop the frustration that culminated in me kicking a door and consequently breaking my toe. Outstanding start of quarantine, if I say so myself.
We are now ten months into this crazy on-off quarantine status and, I have to say, I am starting to find my creative balance in the chaos.
When you are used to having your life dictated by someone else – it being your boss or various responsibilities one might have – you start slowly forgetting how to decide what to do with your time. For the last five years of my life, I have been in jobs that stripped my free time down to the bone, which meant that every spare moment I might have had was spent trying to have a social life, sorting out life admin or organising the very much longed for weekends away from the hectic city that is London.
Being stuck between four walls with my brain made me think about the things I missed, especially in the professional setting.
People tend to think that those of us with ‘creative’ jobs spend their days searching for inspiration and experiencing the joys of constant creation. That, my friends, is fake news. There is nothing more frustrating than being creative in today’s world. The budgets are laughable; the time is tight; the freedom is non-existent. Even creative jobs have to make money, therefore is just as soul-consuming as any other job, especially when you don’t have time for anything else.
I can’t say these last months have been ‘nice’ but the combination of constraint and time gave my battered creativity a well-needed boost. Having the time to go back to things that make my brain tickle made me realise how much the hectic city life and a monotonous job drained not only my creativity but even my will to cultivate that part of myself.
During these last months I have painted, I have written more, and with more meaning, than I had done in a long time, I had time to think and reflect on what I wanted to do. I have even created Christmas decorations!
I am not going to shy away from the fact that this year sucks. Sometimes, we just need to binge watch a silly show or sleep all day to get back on our feet. But don’t dwell in the idea that because you are stuck inside, you have to be in a state of pause. Not working in the classic sense – a.k.a. making money – doesn’t mean that you can’t focus on yourself and get out on the other side richer. The only thing you have to do is switch off your notifications, turn off your laptop and take your brain for a spin. You can’t quarantine creativity.
