How Quiet Works to Promote Creativity (In Four Steps)

I am a quiet person. Usually.

I'm introverted and introspective. I also enjoy observing people (although, interacting with folks on an intellectual level is also engaging for me). My thoughts are lengthy and often complete. If I feel as though I haven't thought through something long enough or in enough detail to be satisfying, I write it down to return to it later.

All of this, even in a crowd, at a concert, at a party, you name it.

My favorite and most productive quiet sessions are among trees and nature.

Naturally, I like quiet. But there is a difference between sensory void (like outer space, which honestly creeps me out) and a lack of high auditory stimulus. For me, "loud noises" range from fireworks to a flock of chirping birds to a marching band, to boats motoring back and forth on a lake.

I much prefer the quiet.

What I find is that some folks who are trying to make a habit out of meditation or working in silence become frustrated when a lack of high auditory stimulus doesn't provoke insight or creativity.

But silence does not beget insight. Silence is not always followed by creativity.

In fact, when I began my writing practice, and even my meditation practice, the silence that I loved so much began to frustrate me. Why, oh why, when I have these precious pockets of time when my brain and my body final relax can't I just pick up a pen and write the next Great American Novel?!?

Pavlov's dog provided the answer.

It wasn't enough to sit in silence waiting for creativity to happen. I had to tell my brain what I wanted from this moment, to channel the freedom and peace that came with silence into something creative and useful to my enterprise.

Here are the four steps I used to accomplish my Pavlov's response to quiet:

1) Create quiet moments every day starting out with only a fraction of what you are used to having available (For me, this was 20 minutes. For others, it may be more like 5 or 45 minutes).

2) During your designated quiet time, just begin to do the thing that it is you want to do during that quiet moment. If it's writing, just starting free-writing with no agenda. If it's meditation, focus on your favorite mantra or image. Set a timer, if you wish. Just keep doing whatever activity you choose for the entire allotted quiet time.

3) Before you throw yourself back into the world after your designated quiet working time, allow yourself to sit back, recognize your accomplishment, and enjoy a little unfocused quiet time. Sometimes, I'll go for a quiet walk for five or ten minutes after a quiet working session.

4) Do this every day (if you can) for 66 days in a row. (If you want to know why "66 days," check out this post on setting goals.)

While my partner is on the slopes of Vermont, I'm cozy in the cabin catching up on some writing projects.

Once you've gone through these steps, you should have developed a response to quiet that says, "Hey, not only do I feel more relaxed and revived in this quiet space, but I also have a strong desire to be creative, introspective, etc."

With this response, you will spend less time stressing over making the most of your quiet time and more time making the quiet work in your favor.