on organization as an act of creativity.
To some, organization and creativity are diametrically opposed. Or at least, that was my takeaway throughout the years. One need only refer to notions of the creative genius to draw conclusions that their process is messy and cluttered, haphazard and ill-defined. The crazier the artist, the better the art. I believed the story that to be an artist one must live in chaos; that only through chaos could a masterpiece come into being.
But if that were true, then my organizational tendencies were at odds with my artistic aspirations. The fact that both art and organization took up so much space in my thoughts confused me. I didn’t see how they were, in fact, deeply intertwined.
(To be clear, my mind is utter chaos utterly all the time. That’s why my surroundings must be tidy. )
(To be clear, I’m also not some national treasure of a creative either. I have an imagination, I like expressing it, and I’m of the notion that we’re all creative in our unique ways. Moving on.)
One of my mom’s favorite stories of my early years involved a playdate where I completely organized the storage room in a friend’s basement. In fact, I organized it so well that her mother said I was welcome to come back whenever I wanted.
Never met a closet I couldn’t improve upon.
I’m beginning to see a direct link between that the physical act of organizing and my creative side. Sometimes, I find myself cleaning out a closet when it’s definitely the least pressing task of the day. I used to call this procrastination. I used to judge myself for my inability to prioritize. But something happens when I sift through stuff. Somewhere - somewhere my conscious mind can’t quite reach - The Creative in me is sorting, decluttering and organizing the next scene to write, the next project to create, the next class lesson to plan. The moment a project becomes too big for my brain to comprehend and I feel the flood of chaos enter in? That moment breeds fear. I’m no longer free inside my imagination; I’m afraid, and focused on not forgetting anything, not dropping one of the balls I’m juggling.
When chaos strikes my creative projects The Organizer enters. She starts gathering all information. She separates it out into groups. She declutters - the old drafts, the initial ideas, anything that no longer serves the project.
It’s like The Organizer and The Creative are teammates. They need each other. So, I’m learning to trust them. They know something my conscious rambling chaotic thoughts don’t know. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but I don’t want to get in the way of it (this is starting to sound a bit silly & woo-woo, no?). Perhaps The Organizer is The Creative’s assistant. Perhaps they are co-workers. Perhaps it doesn’t matter. Perhaps all creatives have their systems in place that help them turn chaos into art. Maybe not sorting stuff, sure. But whatever it is, to the unknowing eye it certainly doesn’t look like a highly designed system.
Yesterday morning I cleaned my bathroom (miracle). My thoughts were swirling about a new project coming this spring (stay tuned!). I’d already written a list of tasks to accomplish. But with the toilet cleaned, I found myself diving into the cabinet drawers. The last thing they needed was an update. And yet, I sorted and re-organized for a good 30 minutes.
Later than day, I blasted through the list of items for the project as if the wind was at my back, as if there was a kick in my step. As if something had sorted itself out in the recesses of my mind as my hands sorted my toiletries.
