Everybody says you must “think outside the box” to be successful today. They’re right to an extent, because you do have to be creative to make it in the idea economy that rules this century.
Okay, I got it. We have to be creative.
This is much easier if you’re starting a reinvention with a clean slate. But if, like many people at midlife or beyond, you’re starting some kind of professional or advisory business, you’re probably doing so in increments. You’re trying to create a new business while continuing in an old role.
Which means you still have to earn a living. And that involves performing, usually at some task or in some function.
Let’s call the second part, what’s required to keep up with the daily grind, “in the box thinking”.
Thinking inside the box isn’t given that much credence today, but much of the time – like when the car breaks down and needs an expensive repair job — it’s probably more important than creativity.
I recognize the irony here. I am a creativity consultant, and it’s a kind of heresy to say that sometimes creativity has to take a back seat to productivity.
But, let’s be practical. The bills still have to be paid.
This can mean that many people who are reinventing into entrepreneurial advisory businesses are finding themselves doubly stretched today. The demand to be in the box and out of the box thinkers at the same time is incessant and unrelenting.
If you try to do both at the same time, it can seem like you’re frantically juggling all the time. You’re afraid to stop, because everything will crash down around you.
I hear ya. I’ve been there and often. And, yes, I have given in to the inevitable yearning for an easier time.
I thought time management systems would be my salvation. They weren’t. I tried several and none of them ever really stuck.
Why? Because thinking in the box, and out of it, are two very different activities, requiring different parts of your brain. This is sometimes referred to as the right brain (creativity) and left brain (logic) divide, although that isn’t strictly correct.
So trying to think in and out of the box isn’t a time management problem. Juggling performance with creation is a mind problem.
When you’re being pulled by problems that require two different mind sets, you’re essentially trying to self– manage your mind. And that isn’t easy.
However, I’ve discovered from experience that there are ways to navigate this.
And I’ll explore some of them in further blogs. Stay tuned for tips in Part 2 and 3.
