Are Creative People Inherently Chaotic?
I went to school for international relations, and I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted to do with that. But when I graduated a few months into Trump's first term, I knew I didn't want to pursue foreign service under his administration. So naturally, I went the nonprofit route. After some time abroad, I ended up at an international charity as their Social Media Coordinator. The only experience I had in social media was being young and chronically online. That, and a natural knack for bringing fun new ideas to our marketing team. It was in that role that I realized: yes, I care about world hunger and climate change, but my true passion is bringing creativity to the impact space.
How could I spread the word about the amazing things this org is doing in the most engaging, fun way possible?
The possibilities were endless. And thankfully, my boss gave me free rein. He was full of ideas, too. But working with him, I realized someone could be a creative genius and still be shit at writing emails that made sense to anyone but himself. The man has written and produced hit singles. But submitting performance reviews on time, though? An uphill battle 🫠
And while it was kind of funny to observe, I knew I had no place to judge. I am the same word, just in a different font.
Like, why do my best ideas pop into my head at 2 AM when I'm desperately trying to fall asleep? Why are there 1,700 tabs open at any given moment? And why does getting dressed require pulling every article of clothing out of my closet????
You might be wondering why I'm putting my business out there and basically exposing myself as a hot-ass mess. But at my big age, I've learned to accept myself, recognize my shortcomings, and figure out how to make it work! (More on that last part soon.)
Because while your mind is racing in 10 different directions at once, some magic is happening in there. And the ideas and perspectives that come from my chaotic mind have gotten me praise time and time again. During my time as Social Media Coordinator at that nonprofit gig, my ideas helped grow our Instagram account from 17K to well over 100K followers. But even bigger than the follower count, I helped the org build a brand voice that made thousands of people actually enjoy keeping up with its work. And I had fun doing it!
Fast forward to now: I work on the agency side, helping similar nonprofits reach the masses through influencer partnerships. That means I get to chat with successful content creators every day. And once again, I'm reminded how incredibly chaotic creative people can be. [emoji] Emails come in at all hours of the night. Sometimes creators get excited and jump the gun by posting before they've been given the green light. And god forbid I give a creator my phone number. (This has only happened once, and I immediately regretted it, because why are you now CALLING me when we have a whole email chain going? [emoji])
But creators keep me young. They're incredibly talented, creative, intelligent, well-spoken, and sometimes all over the place!
I've learned to roll with it, because I know if I were in their shoes, I'd be no better, chile.
And ultimately, these creators get paid for their work because they've learned to channel their creativity while bringing some order to the chaos. Here are a few ways I've learned to do the same:
Let Claude sort your screenshots. If your camera roll doubles as a "bookmark for later" folder, ask Claude to organize it for you.
Make a home for half-baked ideas. Create a channel where you and your teammates can drop random ideas, even before you've figured out how to execute them.
Keep a 2 AM idea catcher. I keep notepads all over my home, including one on my nightstand, so I can jot down ideas that pop into my head. I’ve found the act of writing things by hand helps them stick.
Build a well-rounded team. Not everyone has an eye for bomb-ass graphic design. On the other hand, not everyone can keep a project timeline on track, and that's exactly why you need the person who can.
Final Thoughts
Your favorite artist is probably a little disorganized, too. That's because their mind is a beautiful mess, and that mess is where the magic comes from. I'll probably never be the girl with an empty inbox and a color-coded closet, and honestly? I've made peace with that. So if you relate to this blog at all, don't be too hard on yourself. Your chaotic mind is your superpower. You just have to learn how to steer it.
As for me, I'll be over here with my 1,700 tabs, living my best life.
Until next time, enjoy your feeds and scroll responsibly!
