Does creativity require "a room of one's own"?
Does creativity require "a room of one's own"?
Maybe. Maybe not.
I adore my office. It was the first space I fully decorated when we bought our house. I chose everything — the paint, the furniture, the art on the walls (well, everything except the cat because cats make their own choices) — with the intention of creating a vibrant, peaceful space. It’s the very definition of “a room of one’s own.”
I love my office so much, yet I almost never use it for creative work. I designed the space with a specific purpose — to facilitate the calm, focus, and mental clarity I need for paid work, including the more transactional aspects of my creative side business. It works beautifully for that.
My deep creative work, on the other hand, mostly happens on the couch in my living room, where the light is softer, I can put up my feet, and the energy just feels different. Gentler. More conducive to play and flow.
I’m very lucky. Lots of people don’t have a dedicated office, or even a quiet living room. Maybe your creative space is a table at the local coffeeshop, a desk crammed into your bedroom, or five minutes on the toilet with a notepad and noise-canceling headphones.
Those are all worthy places. Every creative space is a good space. Wherever your best work currently happens, I invite you to consider:
What conditions does your creativity need to flourish? How can you invite more of those conditions into your space, and your life?