Creative environments
I decided to join the Indie Web Carnival and this month’s theme “Creative Environments”, hosted by Juha-Matti Santala.
Great topic! For me, the importance of the environment has changed radically over the years.
In the past, I always used a computer to write, and I wanted a quiet environment. Otherwise I could hardly do it. Very restrictive, to say the least.
These days the location isn't so important. I like to do it in coffee shops, but on the bus or at home works just as well. This text is written on my phone, sitting in the shade on a burger joint in my hometown of Stockholm, sipping a beer.
Quiet or not doesn't matter that much either. I find that background chatter can actually enhance creativity. But if it's too loud and noisy, I plug in my AirPods and put on some music. I usually listen to my personalized radio station on Apple Music.
Whether I write on the computer or my phone, I like to have a clean and distraction-free space. Since I use markdown in my blogging, I prefer an editor that supports it. I use iA Writer.
I've found that my creativity sparks most when I'm "living life" - working, meeting people, exercising, reading books and watching movies, discovering new places and faces. No environment in the world could ever compensate for that.
Whatever our preferences when it comes to environment, I think the most important thing is to stay curious.