The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss - Latest Comments in The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Seonaid — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 06:02:16 -0000

Hi,

This is ridiculously pedantic - sorry - but I'm one of those people who can't help noticing typos. In this case it's 'inunciated' instead of 'enunciated' in part 3.

Just wanted to let you know,
Seonaid

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Mic-B — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 21:27:57 -0000

Great article... I don't necessarily write in an editorial style (i'm a programmer primarily), but the "genius on demand" idea still rings true. I find my optimal "grunt work" cycle (calling clients, meetings, customer service calls, e-mails, etc) is right when I wake up to about 4-5 hours later. After that, usually around 12pm - 3pm, I need a break for a few hours... go out, get a bagel or a sandwich, call some friends, etc. Then it's back to the desk around 7pm-9pm until about 3am. This is my primary creative time. I literally explode and find it easy to write methodical, error-free scripts and create intriguing designs.

As for stimuli, I usually play South Park episodes or stand-up comedy. For some reason they seem to stimulate me the most... this is just from trial and error throughout the last year or so. They are easy to block out, but still make me laugh and keep my spirits high. Coffee I usually only drink in the morning, with beer or wine (sometimes a spot of bubbly) and cheese during the night. I also find it very therapeutic to take at least a single break daily to cook. Regardless, I feel that holding myself against too strict a regimen will have the reverse effect from what I'm trying to accomplish, and make me feel like I'm chained to a desk again. I honestly think that not only feeling free, but having the flexibility to go along with it is very key to letting the creative run loose.

After reading this article, however, I am much more inclined to study myself on this... and try some Yerba Mate!

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Ryan — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:05:08 -0000

This is great, especially the first two recommendations. Finding the time when your mind is at its optimum creativity is essential, although in my experience this "window" as I think of it tends to undergo shifting from day to day. Sometimes I work best in the morning, but usually I feel the most inspired late in the evening. Occasionally though I will experience such windows in the middle of the day or when least expected, and that's when I have to scramble to make some free time for work.
As for biochemically fine-tuning, I think the biographies of many eminent writers would attest to its usefulness, whether its Balzac with endless cups of coffee, Byron with green tea, or Schiller with cocoa, coffee, and champagne late at night!
I actually wrote an article recently about 6 natural ways to increase creativity and had a couple of similar suggestions:
1. SAM-e
2. NADH
3. Diet (as in finding the optimal one for energy, mood, etc).
4. Stimulants (as in coffee, cocoa, green tea, red wine or whatever)
5. Circadian Rhythms (finding the daily creative window)
6. Embracing your desire

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Yak! — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:16:04 -0000

You people have to take the advice on the Mate! Since I am in Buenos Aires I just cant stop drinking mate here...its not just a drink, its a whole experience.

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

noelle — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 01:37:51 -0000

I blast static from the radio. I hate silence and im pretty much nocturnal. I wont be able to do work until after 1 in the morning or so...

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Robert V.S. Redick — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:42:31 -0000

Sound advice! Dark chocolate and yerba mate are my busom friends. I was recently so overcome with affection for the latter that I had to blog about it last night (when yes, I suppose I could have gotten another ten pages of novel revisions done...). --Robert V.S. Redick, author of The Red Wolf Conspiracy.

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Torstein — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:05:51 -0000

The "E. Guittard 72% cacao chocolate cooking chips" link is dead :)
Thanks for great work, tim.

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

SocialDynamite.com — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:51:40 -0000

Hell yes to all of this. I have the exact same productive hours (when my wife goes to sleep and is the only time I have to myself since I also have a 1 1/2 year old).

I have... intoxicants and rituals as well. :) We'll leave it at that. That, and music. But I listen to music all day long. So it's usually adult swim on the Cartoon Network. Good in-and-out type stuff (since I've seen most of the episodes).

Then I put on a horror movie or something else to selectively watch as I finish working, from 3 am (right now!) til my wife gets up.

Good stuff. Keep it up, man. My goal for a work week is something like 4. Yep sounds good.

-Jake

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Yerba Mate Mike — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 16:36:43 -0000

I've tried Yerba Mate Tea and I can't quite describe the taste but I like it. I'd rather drink it than a beer while sitting out by the pool. It's more refreshing!

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

niteyes ghauri — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:48:29 -0000

I am thrilled to be learning the creative processes of us all in reaching a satisfying feeling of productivity. Loved the conciseness of "4HWW,"(read a part each day, 4 days finished--found that it flowed in this manner) particularly the tip for focused concentration--shorter deadlines.

It's a relief to find a blog that mentions the connection between the writing, creating process, exercise, nutrition, meditation, and sleeping patterns.

I find deep breathing closing my eyes while gently bouncing on my Rebounder (scientifically designed small trampoline) almost instantaneously invigorates me.

Some great trance, memorable soundtracks classical, and even foreign tunes complement my personal productivity.

Free writing (especially long hand) gets the blood flowing, thereby the mind and emotions.

Reading aloud excerpts of inspirational works of your favorite authors or what you previously written jumpstarts the motor as well.

A clutter-free desk--only place that which must be done and nothing more. A blank piece of paper (or type) for an intense heart/brain storming session.

And, most important, know WHY (family, $$$, passion, inner voice, skill-builder, whatever) are you doing what you choose to do.

A many great success to us all. Tim, thanks for your continued support and, such a relatable style.

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Linda Murdoch — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 11:50:46 -0000

Hi Tim, This is the book I've been waiting for. Always knew I never wanted to be pigeon holed. After working on cruise ships traveling everywhere, from Antarctica to Russia, lived in the Philippines for 6 months, then worked as an in-flight beauty therapist in first class for an airline. Then became a single mum, this year lived in Bali for 6 months, now in Canada (im Scottish). Your book has given me all the information I need to free up time to travel and more importantly spend time with my toddler, without the drudgery of 8hrs of mind bending boredom. Thanks again :)

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

MY — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:41:43 -0000

My most productive time is 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.- college days remnant from programming on the mainframe midnight to 6 am when I could get printouts at the same priorities as the professors. I used to love walking across the crisp campus in the middle of the night to the library basement with my Sony Walkman on with my Bowie tapes...Natch, the iPOD is a great improvement!

All-time best get-work-done soundtrack is Peter Gabriel's Passion of the Christ soundtrack.

Loved the book and now the blog...creative juices are flowing...keep up the good PLAY (not work!).

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Michael Stone — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:27:39 -0000

Tim:
Since you found 1am to 5am your most productive time,
What is your sleep pattern? How would you suggest one discover the sleep pattern that works best for them?
I want to make the most of my time, and take the most time I can.

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

$311151 — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:02:35 -0000

This is interesting because I think the strange thing about writing is that success depends upon cracking the code of one's own body/brain. I read a research study of children with "writing gifts" that suggested that they were particularly sensitive to time of day, amount of light exposure, sleep cycles, etc.

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

bec — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:53:05 -0000

what about the BrainQuicken we have just ordered and are eagerly anticipating - BQ sounds amazing...

I also used to drink a small amount of a spagyric herbal wine, either Arcanum VII or Red Salamander and musically Mozart for intelligent factual and Evanescence for gutsier work.. Calea tea which the shamen from Oaxaca take induces mild lucid dreaming and is very gentle on the adrenals..

great book and relevant blog..

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

MP Singh — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 01:31:57 -0000

For me, it is Mother Night. I usually enter the creative zone after reading a good book (e.g. Kurt Vonnegut)or listening to good music (e.g. Roxy Music) or watching a good (smart)movie (e.g. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels). Alcohol and romance (no sex please) in moderation help.

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

john carr — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 23:31:23 -0000

Tim,

I totally understand I have myself been in the zone from 1-5 am more times than I can tell you. I also get in tuned in for me from 4-8 pm after our office staff has left for the day quite a few times I tune in on saturday mornings from 8am till around 1 pm. I think the moral is I work better alone without distractions I turn everything off except the music, that how I tune in.

John Carr
The Payroll Guys
Phoenix, Arizona

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Nate — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:04:18 -0000

Van Gogh used absinthe!

Too bad it made so many artists crazy! I agree, staying focused for creative productivity can be tough. Anthony Robbins has a session on this Personal Power 2, he used NLP. I also agree that just after midnight, caffeine and sometimes a beverage or 2 works for me. The most important aspect is to stay concentrated with excited anticipation for what you are there to accomplish, what rather than staying too focused on creating the mood. Napoleon Hill says "work yourself into a white heat of desire".

Kudos

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Luca — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 11:02:28 -0000

Ciao Tim

thank you for your continuous challenge.
I'm trying to find out my way to be creative and I think what I miss more is your way to be focused.
Thank you for your big advises
Luca

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Ellis Benus — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:13:44 -0000

My entire life I've been a night/early morning person, until the past two weeks.

I like staying up late and doing fun stuff, but I cannot stand to "work" past 3:00 in the afternoon because that is "play" time in my mind. I blame all those years of school.

However, two weeks ago I went to bed at 10:00 (I'm so old!) and got up at 4:00 am. Between 4:00 and 7:00 I ate, showered, got dressed, and accomplished more work in the remaining time than I had in the past week.

Why am I more productive at 4:00 am?
Because the day has started for me, and I'm in a "get things done" mindset, instead of the "play" mindset. Also, the mornings are so peaceful with no one else awake and few distractions.

This is my method.

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Chicago Website Design — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 20:51:50 -0000

Great article Tim. I myself find that my most productive is not 9AM-5PM but between 10PM-2AM when everything is all quiet. I usually have the tv in the background but I get so much done it's incredible. And you're right about your burn rate being about 4hours. I am usually very unproductive after 3-4 hours of straight work.

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Robin — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 21:01:06 -0000

Thank you for the incredible information on creativity stimulation. I am actually moving to Buenos Aires in two months and plan on taking steps in writing my first book. I'm glad I found your blog!

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Adam — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:30:55 -0000

Nice post and comments, particularly on the physical rhythm stuff. Like at least one commentor above, I thought I might be the only person in the world who took espresso-fueled power naps. I also do the chakra thing when I nap, though I had never thought of it that way -- it's just how I've done it since I was a kid.

I have a few warm-ups that double as means of breaking the occasional creative block:

A quick reading fix I try to always have a few books on hand that I like so much I can't help but be ready to write after I've spent a little while reading one of them. Usually these don't include the book I'm reading for reading's sake, though if I'm into something particularly good I'll make an exception. The idea is to read only until my own thoughts start to coalesce into prose form -- 10-20 minutes is generally enough if I have the discipline to stop at that point.

A quick writing fix Prose begets prose, and while I've never been particularly into free writing (though I know it works very well for many), writing a very short focused piece on something that's on my mind is almost always enough to gets my lexical gears turning. If I've just woken up and my mind is a blank, finding an interesting blog post and commenting on it usually does the trick (guess who just got up from a nap).

Meta-writing If the problem is more one of direction than of simple momentum, I usually put my current piece aside for a few minutes and start writing about it -- where I Want to go with it, why I find it so interesting, etc. This usually gets me back on track in a hurry, and I often find myself with a better sense of the overall project to boot.

Going back to the source If I get seriously stuck, I revisit whatever inspired me in the first place. Maybe it was a conversation, a book, a film, but whatever it was I go back to it -- I read, listen or view it again if possible, or else I just think about it for a few minutes. If I don't remember exactly what I was doing when I got the idea for my project, I spend a few minutes trying to recall the moment it first came to me. This alone is usually enough to get me back on track in a few minutes.

The one caveat to all of these tricks is that they can easily become excuses not to write. I generally alot myself 10-20 minutes for warm-ups (but up to an hour if I know I'm really struggling), and then spend at least an hour trying to work before I do anything else.

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Steven — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:50:28 -0000

I'm interested in starting and automating a domain name selling business. Tim, can you advise me on how to get it started (cheaply, if possible) and keep it running on auto?
All marketing assistance welcome.

Re: The Creativity Elixir: Is Genius On-Demand Possible?

Johanna Lee — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:48:25 -0000

I'm going to try this method for writing my dissertation.....hope it works!