The Forecast

Dry spells alternating with high pressure systems bringing storms and possible flooding. The following low pressure systems will help dry things out but may bring about additional dry spells.
Sounds like a long-term weather forecast, doesn’t it?

It’s really a prediction of how my creativity will flow this year.

How accurate a prediction is it? Well, it’s based on an analysis of 2007. While that doesn’t make it perfect, it does give it a realistic foundation for predicting 2008.

The weather comparison? Read on, and I’ll explain.

My creativity in 2007 was definitely not a steady thing. It ebbed and flowed. There were periods when I felt incredibly creative. There were also times when I felt incredibly uncreative.

When it Rains it Pours

Creative storms.
I had quite a few of them in 2007, which you’d think would be a good thing. And it was, for the most part. There was one drawback to having creativity rain down on me the way it did.

I didn’t have time to try all the new and creative ideas the storms produced. My “To-Do” list was flooded with ideas and concepts that I was enthusiastic about. If you’d ever seen my “To-Do” list, you’d understand why this was a problem.

Dry Spells

2007 wasn’t entirely taken up with creative storms. In fact, there were several periods where I experienced dry spells when it came to creativity. When I felt like nothing I came up with was creative and when my enthusiasm for the ideas on my “To-Do” flagged.

Low and High Pressure Systems

For me, creativity seemed almost like a weather system in the way it acted. I would feel very uncreative. The more uncreative I felt, the more pressure seemed to build to be creative.

Then, all of the sudden, something would burst, like a storm cloud.

The creative ideas would pour down on me until I had too many to put into action.

After a time, the creative pressure would drop and I’d be back where I started.

Preparing for the Weather of Creativity

Now that I have a prediction for how my creative weather will work in 2008, I can prepare for it.? If a weatherperson predicts cold or rain, you grab a jacket or umbrella.? Knowing your creative forecast, you can be prepared to make use of a creative storm or eek through a dry spell.

I know that creative storm systems will bring me more ideas than I know what to do with.? And I know that dry spells will leave me feeling uncreative.

My preparation? A “creativity rain barrel” or cistern.? All the ideas that come to me during a creative storm get funneled into the barrel, preventing them from being lost or cluttering up my “To-Do” list.

This gives me a store of ideas to work with.? As I have time, I pull one or more of those ideas out of the barrel and add them to my “To-Do” list.

When the storm fades and I find myself in a dry spell, I continue to pull ideas from the barrel.? Looking at my forecast, I know that there will be more creative storms, so I need to work on the ideas stored in my creativity rain barrel. If I don’t, it may overflow during the next storm.

I don’t know about you, but I get stressed when I have too many things to do - even when they’re supposed to be fun.? I don’t want my creativity rain barrel to overflow.

There’s another benefit to maintaining a creativity rain barrel. When your friends and family find themselves in a dry spell or rut, you have creative ideas to give to them.? And sharing creativity, increases the creative flow in both the giver and the receiver.

What’s your creative forecast for 2008?