The Input & Output of Great Creative Work
As a creative type, conjuring up new ideas will always be a challenge. I frequently find myself in scenarios where I want to draw but I don’t know what, or I want to write and cannot decide what to write about. Rather than having this obstacle crush any aspiration within the moment, I took it upon myself to look further into this challenge and try to find a strategy to overcome it. After further thought and a lot of journaling here is where I have landed. Our output is dependent on our input, or rather, our work is dependent on what we invest. Our time, attention, focus, habits, interests, and practice influence the output that is produced. Without having an understanding of how we can leverage our input, our output is left to the unpredictability of inspiration.
A Lesson Worth Learning
The first time I realized the importance of input was when I was a college student studying graphic design. One morning, I came to a studio course super under-prepared. I stayed up late with my friends and did not give the appropriate amount of time to the project to ensure it was of good quality. That morning when we were instructed to hang our work up for critique, my professor asked me about my work, I thought giving an honest answer would smooth over the obvious lack of effort. I said, “To be transparent, I did not give this project enough time it needed to be what I wanted.” She replied, “Well if you didn’t give it enough time, I won’t spend my time critiquing it.” Clearly, I didn’t earn any brownie points with my honesty but that morning allowed me to learn the importance of input. After that experience, I realized that I was only going to get out what I put in. Why should I expect others to care about my work if I don’t take the time and effort to make it the best it can be. That professor quickly became my mentor and I would go on to learn many good and hard lessons throughout my four years (Professor Gaul if you are reading this, thank you for pushing me and being a hard-ass when you needed to be). In hindsight, I obviously did not put in the proper input to have a great output.
Later on, I would have the opportunity to teach graphic design as an adjunct instructor. I made the input/output concept very clear within my classes. Opening up every semester with a “You get as much out as you put in” talk. This sentiment was not only setting the expectation but the reality of working within the creative field. Some students received it well and some thought I was just a young instructor trying to play hard-ass but I can assure you, as I did to them, I meant it with the utmost respect and support for their academic journey. You couldn’t expect to come to class do the minimum work required and assume to easily nail a job post-graduation. Working within the creative field is all about portfolios and what work you have to show for yourself. Great input was the key to having great output.
What is Input?
Input itself can take on many different forms. To creative types input is mainly the creative process. The steps we take to get to our final product. The time we dedicate to the craft and the commitment to making that work better and better. Input can also be manifested in other forms. It’s our mental focus, what we decide to subject our minds to. Who we converse with, what accounts we follow on social media, the news we watch, and the work environments we inhabit. Input can be physical. What our diet consists of and what kind of energy it provides us. The amount of exercise we get and the number of endorphins we receive. Input is our education. What we decide to study and expand our knowledge in. Input is our habits and responses. Input is how we decide to spend our time. Input is our outlook on people, places, and situations. You can’t live a day without having some kind of input that further establishes your perception and story. This especially rings true living within a digital age. Our minds are constantly stimulated with a wide array of information. Input is anything we invest our attention to. These investments will later subconsciously influence the way we process old, existing, or new information.
What is Output?
Output is the resulting combination of our inputs. Output is the final painting we hang on our wall, the edited and revised article we publish, or the final render of an animation we have been working on. Output is the final product. Output is usually what we show people when sharing our work. The main challenge that comes with output is not rushing the input process. Rushing as in, trying to make our inputs act as outputs. Executing on projects but trying to skip steps of the process. Steps like sketching, proofreading, and prototyping are crucial to the creative process but can be very messy and time-consuming. Knowing that we are surrounded by others who are also sharing their outputs with the world, we must take note that we are not seeing all the input they made in order to get to their output. This is an apples and oranges scenario. If you compare your input with someone’s output, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.
The Relationship between Input and Output
The interaction between input and output is very peculiar. Output can only exist when input is present but input is not dependent on output and can survive on its own. Think of it like a cake, the ingredients a.k.a. the input, don’t necessarily have to be mixed together, you can keep them separated and they will just keep on keeping on. But when you do find the perfect combination of the ingredients the output becomes cake, something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Just like our creativity, our input contributes to a unique and personal output of work. This scratches the surface in explaining why people tend to find their style or voice within their work. Considering all the inputs we interact with influence our decisions within projects, which in turn starts defining certain parameters our output follows. Our style becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
Reestablishing Our Relationship with Inspiration
Something we haven’t addressed yet is where inspiration falls into place within input and output. If inspiration was a person it would be someone who is the life of the party but never answers their phone. It’s always a good time when they show up but can’t count that they will always be in attendance. I have a firm belief that we shouldn’t wait around for inspiration to show up. It’s not that I don’t think inspiration is good, it’s because of its unpredictable behavior. It’s difficult to understand what sparks inspiration when it randomly hits us. We may be able to recognize the patterns that contribute to making us feel inspired but I would argue that is due to the inputs we are subjecting ourselves to.
Leveraging Input
So how can we go about solving the problem of having a mental block, and not knowing what to draw or write? In order to curb this, it comes down to a very deceivingly simple action. We just need to start. Focus on making input and exploring subjects, techniques, and ideas. Don’t get caught up with what you think the output needs to be. Focusing on input enables us to be comfortable when our ideas take unintentional twists and turns. This allows our creative process to uncover new concepts and ideas. On the other hand, when we focus on the output, we start to box in our thinking and run the risk of not allowing ourselves to fully explore creative opportunities that could emerge. This restricted way of thinking causes friction within our creative process and may even motivate us to stop the project altogether. Shifting to an input focus frees up our minds and expectations of ourselves. Once making input becomes a habit we tend to enjoy the work more since we feel more of a sense of ownership of discovery. The bottom line, if you want to draw start drawing, if you want to write, start writing.
Input is the Key to Great Output
As we work towards a habit of making consistent input towards our creative practice, we start to gain visibility on the amount of effort certain projects would take. This can be encouraging in giving us the knowledge on how we can start working towards lofty goals, but this can also be humbling seeing the amount of work and practice we still have to do. Just remind yourself that the work that you decide to do doesn’t have to amount to anything other than your enjoyment. Focusing on your input is not meant to be polished. It’s meant to be messy, unorganized, playful, and explorative. Your input doesn’t need to be finalized output. Once you gain traction on an idea or concept and you want to pursue it, then you can go on making parameters for your output to follow. The creative process is a vastly complicated system that differs for everyone but the common denominator amongst everyone is you have to put in the same amount of work as you expect to get out of it. If you want to put on an art show in a year, you can’t only put 10 minutes into it here and there. Your input needs to be intentional and consistent. This disciplined behavior will allow you to discover new ideas that will give back and feel more rewarding. You get as much out as you put in, there is no other way around it.
