Create First, Manage Second: A Method to Boost your Creative Output

One thing I have tried to push myself on this year is being creative more often. Composing and arranging music as a daily habit, rather than as an activity that only gets my attention at random points throughout the year. As part of that effort, I have been consuming a lot of media from creatives who consistently produce high-quality work.

One simple but effective strategy I have taken from that deep dive is this rule: Create First, Manage Second.

Creating is exactly what it sounds like: the act of making something in your chosen art form. For me, that means composing at a computer, on paper, or in notation software. It is intensive deep work (Cal Newport’s book Deep Work is a great read if you haven’t checked it out) and it usually requires me to get into a flow state and work for at least an 30 minutes.

Managing is all of the logistical work that surrounds the creative work. For me, that can include:

• Answering emails
• Engraving
• Posting pieces on social media
• Knocking out small tasks on my to-do list
• Grading or planning lessons

The management side of this can easily consume a huge amount of deep work time, which is already hard to come by as a new dad who often has to fit work in during nap time.

The trap I kept falling into was managing first. I would trick myself into believing that I couldn’t create if I had a full inbox or unfinished tasks waiting for me. But that isn’t true! Ask any marching band arranger in July.

I also tend to overinflate the importance of those smaller tasks compared to creating. It helps to ask: Will managing or creating bring more value to the world?

For me, the answer is very clearly creating. Managing should be subservient to creating. Done correctly, managing should not hinder your creativity; it should help it thrive.

So here is an experiment you can try:

1. Find two free hours in your day.
2. Go to a space where you love working like a coffee shop, library, porch, or anywhere else that helps you focus.
3. Set an hour-long timer and start or continue a creative project.
4. When that hour is done, you can either keep creating or move on to whatever management tasks need your attention.

This method has been a huge boon for me. It helped me finish the first volume of multi-percussion etude book (currently getting workshopped with my wonderful Radford students) and start writing blog posts again!

Best of all, this experiment can be used for almost anything. All you need to do is identify the activity that brings the most value to yourself. If you are a student in music school, that might mean practicing your fundamental technique. If you are hoping to be a novelist, it might mean working on the next chapter of your manuscript.

Whatever your creative work is, try giving it your best energy first.

I hope this helps you in your creative journey.

All the best,

WCN

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