I’ve been thinking about creativity for many years and about collaboration for fewer years but still for quite a while. I never expected to learn deep lessons about these two subjects from Twyla Tharp! Because I never thought a brilliant choreographer and dancer would have the time to write for the rest of us. But she has, in her two books The Creative Habit and The Collaborative Habit. These wonderfully accessible books offer insights gained over many years of creative and collaborative work. I love these books! Tharp’s ability to convey the essence of her subject through illustrations (from the dance world and beyond), bring specific points and practices to life for me.

However, one thing I have learned from her books – especially from The Creative Habit – is that without self-discipline there will be no creative work. Although probably obvious to some, to the rest of us it seems inspiration or visits by muses should be enough. These are not enough! Just doing the work is the main creative habit that needs to be developed. There are many other ideas in these books but this one thought is fundamental.

In a world of multiplying distractions, having the self-discipline to focus on what you want to focus on and blocking other things out for a time is one of the hardest things to do. At least it is for me. Carving out time for things important to me has become an increasingly pressing issue. It is easy to bring work home, become fascinated by the television, get distracted by the richness of the internet, focusing on what’s going on outside the window, paying attention to telephones, etc. All of these things are pieces of life that add value, but to get creative work done sometimes all of these must be turned off.

Just doing is what gets creative work into the world. Doing for me means sketching, drawing in silverpoint, painting, even organizing my studio. There are other parts of my life where “just doing” is about other things (like creating new content for presentations), but right now I am thinking about how important “just doing” is to my artwork. Not a new thought in the creative world but something that requires self-discipline – hard won in a world of fascinating and shiny things!

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