You sit on one side of the fence.
And you don't even know it.
On one end: experimenters.
On the other: finisher.
But focusing solely on one side for the majority of your life means ignoring an entire 1/2 of your existence.
Leaving you:
- Less likely to come up with great ideas
- Unable to see them to come to fruition
Here's 4 traits (taken via the great Rick Rubin himself) from both sides you can use to unlock your hidden creative potential:
Experimenters
Like to dream and play.
And usually find it more difficult to complete, and release, work.
How to benefit from the finisher mentality:
- Work on one thing until it's done
- Juggle less projects at a time
- Reduce your workload
- Narrow your focus
Finishers
Like to move quickly and have immediate clarity.
And are typically less interested in exploring possibilities or alternative solutions.
How to benefit from the experimenter mentality:
- Try using different mediums
- Dig deeper into other perspectives
- Create beyond a minimum requirement
- Take more time to explore in early ideation phases
How this is relevant for a:
Freelancer — You might dive into a project too quickly...or not quickly enough. Use a few tips from the buckets above to make each project more fluid.
Full-timer — Whether you fall into one camp or the other, some projects require your adaptation in order to execute on the necessary work. Use these to get un-stuck.
Dabbler — It's likely that you don't have too many established processes surrounding how you create. But being able to put these in place for yourself, and knowing how/when to break them, can make all the difference.
The Takeaway
We all tend to fall more heavily on one side of this fence.
But it doesn't have to be that way forever.
Take notes from other working styles.
And begin to incorporate them into your daily creative practice.
Over time you'll start to automatically use the necessary skillsets in projects and environments that need them most.
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