Environmental Blocks
One aspect that we never really consider in the development of work is where and how we sit. Or more precisely the environment in which we sit. Firstly, our seated position is of utmost importance to our health and our state of mind. Sitting incorrectly for long periods of time without any degree of support or relaxation is not very productive. Making our back ache is resulting in doing harm to our main nervous channel. All the stems of our bodies extremities come from the many spinal cord. Hence, any aching and numbness caused by sitting incorrectly is a direct result to the prolonged angle at which your back is twisted. The simple fact of having these pains can distract you from working on the thought process at hand.
Or environmental concerns can be more simple. The simple physical area in which we sit for example. We could have a good chair and posture, but if we can't swing a dead cat in the space given then it can psychologically make us feel trapped and restrict our brain function. Also, on a more practical level, not having enough room to place our working tools down can develop negative behaviour and therefore loss of creativity. The incorrect lighting placed on your working space can also be detrimental to your eyes and cause strain and tiredness. All this can seem a little basic and obvious, but when you realise that to be creative you are in a constant battle with the right side of your brain to begin with, then the addition of other external influences is not the best plan of action to get work done.
Many of the issues described above are the result of how you go about setting up your work environment. In an alternative view, your working environment can be affected by external influences seemingly out of your control. This can be in many forms, but at the end of the day, having interference can affect your work flow. Some of these influences can be as simple as ambient music (or the lack of ambient music, if you like working to such things), ambient noise, objectionable personalities, bad machinery, environmental temperature, and so on. Some of these can be resolved very easily, some need some diplomacy. However, if ignored or even simply taken for granted, will over time start affecting the way in which you perform. The best approach to this understanding is to see how you work best. What times have you been the most productive and to see what the environment was like. Try to recreate this type of environment as and when you need to do your work.
One issue that has been a great concern to myself is the fact of connection to other people. One aspect of any good creative process is getting the idea out. Being an individual doing the process can be very difficult. One aspect that is taught is to work as a group and do what is known as 'brainstorming'. A collective, creative process by which a group of people work to getting the problem solved. This obviously only works when the project being worked on is a group project. However, having other creatives in the same environment as you can work to your advantage. Showing, and bouncing ideas of trustworthy people can help more that staring at a blank piece of paper trying hard to resolve an issue. Many students being taught have a concern of hiding their work and/or rushing off and feeling that the comfort of their own home is the best approach to being constructive toward their projects. It isn't! We have to remember that we are in fact social creatures and the fact of being around other humans, even if not directly concerned with our creative aspect, can help deliver a greater sense of working tranquility.
With all the other types of blocks that can stop us working effectively, the last ones we want to be the most prominent are the ones we seemingly have no control over. Making slight adjustments to the way in which we work and where we work is a crucial process in creative development.
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