04 Jun How can we call creative people creative?
How can we call creative people creative, based on scholars? Although studies on time management are not new, research or discussion connecting the topic to creativity has not yet been explored. This is what makes time management for creative people worth exploring. However, before discussing creative people at length, we need an unbiased definition of the term. As they mainly handle creativity-based tasks, creative people have some attributes that allow them to be creative. Yet, the description of creative people is broader than is typically understood among non-scholarly groups. When we hear about creative people, we may have limited images in our minds: designers, artists, composers, or simply those who create stuff. These are not wrong, but if we reframe the range a little bit with the right boundaries, it can be much more than what we thought. In this short article, I listed how scholars define creative people, or how you can brag about how creative you are, just in case you really have to :).
1. They do significant efforts in gaining expertise
One of the most vital characteristics of creative people is their willingness to make significant efforts to gain expertise (Mumford et al., 2002). Besides, creative efforts often override other life tasks (Weisberg, 1999). So you are a creative person if you spend hours each day improving your skills in, let’s say, designing, writing, drawing, painting, crafting, singing, dancing, cooking, hunting, or gardening. You name it. Especially if you do those more often or more intensely than you do your daily chores or jobs.
Souce: Leading creative people: Orchestrating expertise and relationships, 12 – Creativity and knowledge: A challenge to theories.
2. They link their identity to their works and achievements
If you put a lot of time and effort into gaining your creative skills, you may want other people to notice your hard work. This is why creative people like you link your work and achievements to your identity (Rostan, 1998). In this case, it may not be widely known that creative people share similar attributes with scientists regarding achievement motivation. So, scientists or researchers are creative people, too.
Source: A study of the development of young artists: The emergence of on artistic and creative identity.
3. They seek autonomy in doing their tasks
Besides making a strong effort and linking it to their identity, creative people have other unique attributes in their creative work. They seek autonomy, the condition of self-government, in their creative tasks (Greenberg, 1992). In other words, you may feel irritated if your boundaries about your way of working are “violated” either by your co-workers, boss, or even your family members. You think you know yourself better than others, especially in order to become productive. And you don’t need anyone to dictate your workflow, as it limits your creativity.
Source: Creativity, autonomy, and evaluation of creative work: Artistic workers in organizations.
4. They are tolerant to uncertainty and ambiguity
People who are tolerant of ambiguity have been shown to be more creative (Zenasni et al., 2008). This notion is further supported by the fact that creative job tasks are surrounded by ambiguity and uncertainty (Daalhuizen et al., 2009). You know you are a creative person when you use your intuition more than data to create your creative work. No one can imagine, except yourself, that your effort will turn out well in the end. You believe your gut tells you that you are in the right direction and that you have well-calculated any risk that may appear later on.
Source: Creativity and tolerance of ambiguity: An empirical study, Dealing with uncertainty in design practice: issues for designer-centered methodology.
At the very least, these four characteristics may help broaden and prompt a reconsideration of how we define creative people. Creativity is not limited to designers, artists, musicians, or other conventionally recognized creative professionals; researchers and scientists may also demonstrate characteristics associated with creativity. Based on these definitions, this thesis frames design practitioners as creative people, including professionals across general design fields such as employees, self-employed designers (e.g., freelancers and entrepreneurs), and experienced designers who lead design teams. Design students are also included to examine the potential relationship between their current professional behaviors and the academic cultures and experiences that preceded them.
For a more comprehensive discussion of creativity, time management, and the experiences of creative practitioners, the full thesis and its research findings are available in the Aalto repository. Readers are encouraged to consult the complete study for a detailed account of its theoretical foundations, methodology, findings, and implications.
A human-centered designer, art director & lecturer experienced in the agile culture of design and startup environment
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