January 10, 2023

Collaboration is essential for creativity

It's often said that creativity thrives in solitary, peaceful time. And that boredom is necessary for creativity. Long uninterrupted hours are crucial for deep work and productivity though.

Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte mentions that sooner or later, you have to work with others. Designers working with PMs and Engineers, actors working with directors etc.

Intermediate Packets help in such kind of collaboration where you can share a smaller part of a larger project to get early feedback, and spark more ideas. It's easier to hear constructive criticism on a smaller aspect of the work than the entire project after months of work.

External feedback or collaborative creative work helps as it brings objectivity from another sets of eyes. Often, we are too close to the work we are doing to take a step back and look at it from a different perspective, question it, ideate.

References:

  • Building a Second Brain (Tiago Forte), Chapter 7: Express – Show Your Work
  • ReWork (DHH, Jason Fried), Chapter Productivity