Striking a Balance: Creativity vs. Productivity
The Creativity-Productivity Spectrum
Creativity and productivity are oppositional forces.
The more creative you are, the less productive you are.
If you are highly creative, you might be productive by the standards of creative people, but you will absolutely not be productive compared to someone working in a non-creative realm.
If you are highly productive and you can crank out lots of work all day every day, there is little to no creativity to your work. This is not a dig – creative work is not better than productive work.
In creative work, sometimes you drive down long and winding roads only to discover they’re dead-ends.
Sometimes you slowly come to realize you just drove in a big circle.
And yet other times, you get lost in a maze of crisscrossing roads and eventually run out of gas.
Creativity is inefficient by design. It requires experimentation. That means failing a lot. But these setbacks are part of what leads to innovation and new ideas.
Also: creativity needs slack. It needs mind-wandering and daydreaming. It needs playtime. It is play. Creativity is play.
There’s a reason lots of creative people have toys around the office and love playing with their kids and still seem to be kids. That childlike sense of play is the origin of creativity.
If you phase out the play, you kill the golden goose.
And to be clear, it’s easy to go too far with playing. It’s easy to wander too much, to have your head in the clouds too much. I’m certainly guilty on all charges.
But even more often, the forces of modern work will slowly but surely push you to the productive end of the spectrum.
It’s up to you to keep that flaky, frivolous, impractical, unproductive part of yourself alive. If you push your creative work too far toward productive work, creativity dies.
Creativity is play. You gotta work hard, you gotta ship, but protect that core of play because it’s the heart and soul of creativity.
I’m building a system for creativity.
What you’ve just read is a work-in-progress excerpt from my upcoming on-demand video course, The Remix Method.
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The gentle way to kill your darlings
The phrase “kill your darlings” is widely attributed to the author William Faulkner, but it’s actual origins are more complicated
"Kill all your darlings" is another oft-repeated quotation of complicated origin. It’s gone viral in recent decades because it concisely relates the ruthless edge you need in order to finish high-quality projects. You need to cut, crush, and mutilate your own beloved work.
The most vital area where we all need to get ruthless is with our ideas. In particular, which ideas do we choose to develop into complete projects? Which do we consign to oblivion? And how do we avoid losing material that might prove useful later?
Let’s start with the obvious.
File and flag your great ideas
Duh, file your great ideas. Tag them as “great”. These are your top draft picks.
But beware: ideas can give a great first impression and actually be mediocre. This happens a lot.
The best sign that an idea really is great is that it will immediately start growing and take on a life of its own. If that happens, ride the wave and see if it will carry you through to a small completed project. If you still see more potential in that material, turn it into a new or bigger project.
File the good ideas… and the okay ones… actually, file anything not horrible
You not only file your good ideas and your okay ideas, you file all not-terrible ideas.
You don’t do this because you want a massive pile of okay ideas, but because okay ideas can turn into great ones. They do this in three ways.
An okay idea later can be transformed into a great idea.
An okay idea can lead to a great idea.
A series of okay ideas can combine into a single great idea
Be generous. If an idea’s not garbage, it goes into the system.
But if an idea is garbage delete it. It’s obvious when an idea is junk. You know these when you see them.
Arrange your ideas into tiers
How do you tame your notes so that the best material stays in focus and the lowest quality stuff stays in the margins?
I arrange notes into a simple 3-tier system.
A Grade
This is where top candidates for new projects live. I tag these ideas as #A and keep them at the top of my list of notes. Anything that hangs around for a while without turning into a project gets demoted to B Grade. These will be a tiny minority of your ideas.
B Grade (Default)
B is the default grade for every note in my system. Everything that is good or alright or better-than-bad is automatically assigned a B. These notes are not tagged. B grade notes will likely be over 90% of your notes.
C Grade
These are the not-terrible ideas that could somehow later prove useful. I keep these notes at the bottom of my file list and tag them as #C. Very little of this material actually will develop into anything, but very occasionally, it does, and that justifies keeping this stuff. Like A grade, these will be a small minority of your notes.
I find this system quick and easy to use. Three tiers are plenty and the vast majority of notes don’t get labeled at all.
The AI Lawsuits Will Fail
This week the RIAA, a trade organization representing the recording industry, unloaded two whopper copyright infringement cases targeting AI music generators, Suno and Udio. (And yes, those names are preposterous.)
Let me be clear right away: I am not a lawyer. But I have extensive experience with fair use and copyright issues over the past fifteen years. This opinion is based on intuition and practical knowledge rather than detailed legal theory.
It seems pretty clear these AI music cases, along with most generative AI cases, are going to fail for one simple reason: they’re not showing us the infringement.
This stuff ain’t that complicated
Copyright infringement is pretty straightforward. It’s either:
This is the same as that. That’s piracy.
Or…
This is too much like that. This is more ambiguous to decide, but the claims still cite specific works. For example, “Blurred Lines” was claimed to sound too much like “Got to Give It Up.” “Thinking Out Loud” was claimed to sound too much like “Let’s Get It On.”
Examples of specific and widespread infringement by generative AI software would be a game-changer for these cases, but it seems the evidence simply is not there.
The highly theoretical cases against Suno and Udio
The plaintiffs in the RIAA cases explicitly concede they’re not making claims of specific infringement, although they do provide a shockingly meager list of examples of “copying of iconic music.” They provide 3 songs from each platform. And two out of three of the Suno tracks don’t even cite particular songs. So really, there’s just one example, a Jerry Lee Lewis-like track, which yes, I would say is infringement. (Udio made the dubious move of removing the three tracks the RIAA cites.)
If generative AI consistently spat out works that infringed copyright then the law would step in. It doesn’t appear to me that it does this. Instead, the claims being made are abstract and theoretical and focus on training. My guess is that without clearer claims, cases against generative AI companies will fail.
We’ll decide, not the courts
The more likely scenario is this hornet’s nest will gradually be tamed by norms, not by law. Companies will willingly create limits because of social pressure.
For instance, a consensus has emerged that generating works in the style of specific living artists is wrong (even if it is mostly not illegal.) Neither Suno nor Udio permit this.
Using lyrics from copyrighted songs is also wrong, and further, I think it is copyright infringement. Udio does not allow this, but Suno does. I was able to generate this track using the complete lyrics from The Beatles’ “Yesterday.”
Suno had better close this door before they get legally stomped.
Overall, I don’t expect the law to settle this issue. Instead, it’ll be settled by all of us – as much as possible anyway.
(There are a lot of moving parts in these cases. If anything here is incorrect, let me know and I'll fix it.)
Where My Big Idea Came From
I’ve often been asked where the idea for Everything is a Remix came from. But I’ve never given a detailed answer because it came from such a wide and wild melee of sources.
For my upcoming creativity course, The Remix Method, I will answer this question once and for all. But here’s some of the explanation.
Everything is a Remix came unbidden
Everything is a Remix emerged. There was no plan and I wasn’t pursuing anything in particular. This was the process in a nutshell:
I discovered interesting segments
I saw a connection between them
I merged those into a narrative
I gave that narrative a theme
The individual breakdown sections came first: Apple Macintosh, Quentin Tarantino, Star Wars, and Led Zeppelin, along with William Burrough’s cut-ups. I’d likely known about the Mac’s origins for years but realized it could be a good video. Kill Bill came out a few years earlier and I was film nerdy enough to know that it was packed with copying. The Mac and Kill Bill were the bits that got the ball rolling.
All I intended to do with these segments was release them as separate short videos. I didn’t even know they had any relation other than being examples of creative work. But once I had a few of them, I saw a deeper theme, although I couldn’t quite name it.
Along comes remixing
Mash-ups were exploding at the time and I saw the connection between that and these older, classic works. But I didn’t like that term mash-up and it seemed too specific to music. I never considered using it as the framing.
The term remix came from Larry Lessig’s 2008 book Remix. That book was the biggest single influence on Everything is a Remix. This was the first time I’d ever seen the word remix used to mean anything more than a music remix. I remixed Lessig’s use of the remixing concept.
From remixing to hip hop
Music seemed the best way to start telling this story. Hip-hop was the clear way to bridge mash-ups and my first break-down, Led Zeppelin. Hip-hop required almost no research. I’d lived through its rise and knew its history.
The actual phrase Everything is a Remix was one of the last things I did. It was conceived quickly and I ran with it. It just seemed a succinct way to sum up the video.
The source of the style
Mash-up culture and hip-hop were the major stylistic influences on Everything is a Remix, but a couple early video essays took root in my imagination.
The primary influence was The Substance of Style by Matt Zoller Seitz, which was about the stylistic influences of Wes Anderson. Seitz’s breakdowns and split screens strongly influenced me. (That video seems to be offline. If anyone can find it, please send it to me!)
Another big influence was Red Letter Media’s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Review. I didn’t especially like the Plinkett character or the gross comedy, but I liked the analysis and the format. That series also showed me that you could make a video about older stuff and people might care. (The Phantom Menace had been out for nine years.) Aside from mash-ups, there was nothing topical in Everything is a Remix.
Those two series were major, early innovations in the evolution of the video essay format.
The Everything is a Remix concept had been brewing for many months, but the first Everything is a Remix video was made quickly. There wasn’t much editing or even research. The Led Zeppelin segment came together fast and was mostly sourced from this.
There’s way more to the origin of Everything is a Remix and it’s taken some time to unravel it. Pre-order The Remix Method to get the full deep-dive.
Apple knows AI is for gruntwork
Apple’s presentation of their upcoming AI implementation
If you’ve followed me for a while, I’ve spoken plenty about how Apple’s genius is not invention.
Apple didn’t invent the graphical user interface or MP3 players or smartphones or wireless earbuds or smartwatches or VR headsets. They created extraordinary versions of these products.
Apple’s superpower is integration. They control software and hardware so they can integrate new technologies in unique ways and create superior experiences.
Apple’s entry into AI follows its standard template. They’ve remained on the sidelines for a while watching things develop, now they’re stepping in to do something exceptional.
This AI integration is major and will affect much of your experience on Apple devices. Here are the features that struck me.
A whole new brain for Siri
Apple has actually been in the AI game since 2011 when they introduced Siri. Alas, Siri has always been pretty bad. Most of my requests just resulted in Siri sending me to a web page. Siri has improved over the years, but I only trust it for very basic stuff like setting alarms.
Modern AI could enable Siri to work the way it was always supposed to work. Execution is everything and we’ll see how well the new Siri functions in action. The margin for error will be quite small. A few nonsensical replies and a messed-up calendar appointment will be enough for plenty of users to bail.
AI is for gruntwork
A major theme of my ChatGPT course is that generative AI is for gruntwork. It’s best at tedious chores, the sort of stuff you would hand off to an intern if you could. If you’re creating something important, you cannot trust AI alone to do it.
Apple appears to be positioning text generation features in a modest way suitable to their real-world use.
The major upcoming features are summaries, proofreading, and rewriting. Summaries have long been one of the most solid features of text generators, and proofreading and rewriting are both effective as long as you also use your judgement. Having these features available everywhere on your device is a big win and this part of Apple’s plan should be a lay-up.
Curb your enthusiasm about Apple image gen
Apple is also integrating image generation into the operating system. Image gen is not very useful and I don’t expect that to change here. I mean, check out this image from their presentation.
An example of Apple’s image generation
That is a brain in the middle, that much is clear. But surrounding it is a bunch warped, mangled musical paraphernalia that looks like somebody drew it with their off-hand.
Apple’s highly-skilled marketing professionals got those results. Ours will be worse.
Apple actually demonstrated how you can use image generation in a slidedeck. People, presentations are important. Our ideas live or die in presentations. Do not put AI images in your slides.
Overall, though, Apple’s image gen emphasis seems to be on personal uses like emojis, avatars, and personal messages. This is where image gen can work, when the images are just for you and your friends and don’t have to withstand public scrutiny.
Apple AI arrives this fall
Apple Intelligence launches this fall as part of their system upgrades. Again, execution will be everything. A major frustration with AI is its sizable failure rate. It won’t take many bad replies for typical users to simply give up on it.
The operating system is the natural habitat for AI. Having AI available to you everywhere, rather than just in an app, is potentially a game-changer and I look forward to this upgrade.
By the way, Apple dubbed its foray into AI, Apple Intelligence. So in Apple-speak, AI now means Apple Intelligence. That is so Apple.
AI music just made the leap. Here's my take.
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As generative AI’s various forms have evolved, they’ve mostly made a sudden leap from bad to good – or at least alright.
Text generation did it. Code generation did it. Image generation did it. And AI music just did it.
I checked out AI music late last year and then wrote this.
I’ve not ventured deep into AI-generated music. Why? Because. It’s. Awful.
Well, that was then. AI music made the leap to good.
The breakthrough is Suno, which is the GPT of music. You can hear a variety of samples at the site.
There are still many issues, but overall, its results are good enough, especially for instrumental tracks. Most importantly, it’s useful.
I actually see a clearer path forward for AI music than AI images, which I still struggle to find a purpose for. AI music could be one of the most impactful forms of generative AI. Here’s why.
Music is very flexible, very plastic
Music is the most abstract of arts. It doesn’t necessarily need to sound entirely right in order to sound good to us.
Images are different. Images have to look right. If that hand has 6 fingers, ya blew it. The weird artifacts of AI music can become a style, just like record scratches and autotune and digital glitches did.
Music can also be remixed with incredible flexibility. Working around its quirks is straightforward with the established software tools.
Generic music is useful
Generic is what AI is good at. Generative AI’s superpower is mediocrity. It can do fine, excellently.
Music is often a support player, not the star. For instance, most video content has music in the background. Unless you’re producing high-end projects, good enough music can work fine in your mix.
Stock music is gonna take a hit. If your business is based on making generic music, it gives me no pleasure to say that I think your business will need to fundamentally change.
A word of caution
I think something that many of us get wrong is this: we assume this velocity is normal.
We think leaps like the one AI music just made will happen again and again until AI’s are human level. But we’ve not seen these leaps recur yet. After that initial jump, development seems much more incremental. Don’t be surprised if we see the same here.
Will video be next?
The final media form that has not made the leap is video. This will be the toughest challenge. Creating a long sequence of images that all look right and also look right playing one after another at high speed – that’s a lot that can go wrong. And working around the glitches is not possible with current software.
What about Sora? The demos of OpenAI’s upcoming video generator looked great, but we’ve now seen actual work getting done with Sora and the results look a lot more like the wonky AI video we already have. Don’t be surprised if AI video’s leap doesn’t arrive with the public release of Sora.
Best!
Kirby
P.S. We also have deep discounts on exclusive coaching and mentorship opportunities. Book a session or sessions with me and I will help you do better creative work. These prices are ending this Friday as well.
I'm Building a System for Creativity
I've been fascinated by systems since I was a teen.
The first system that captured my imagination was the Mac. Why did it feel so much better to use? And why did I feel so much better using it?
And why did Windows feel so dreary?
And then there was DOS! There were poor, wretched souls typing God-knows-what into DOS all day.
I couldn't articulate it but I knew systems were important. They didn't do your work for you, but they could make it way easier or way harder. With the right system, you were pedalling downhill.
What does a system do?
A system empowers you by providing not just tools, but a framework—a coherent and purposeful way of working, of solving problems, of imagining possibilities.
And systems aren't just software.
If you're into Getting Things Done or personal knowledge management or AGILE or bullet journalling or time blocking, these are systems. They’re mental interfaces that shape how you work.
I've told stories about systems, but I've never tried to make one myself and share it. I'm working on that now.
Introducing The Remix Method: A Creative Operating System
The Remix Method is built on the best thing I've ever done, Everything is a Remix. It's delivered in the form of a video course, along with plenty of supporting resources and tools. This is software for your mind.
The objective is to take the guesswork out of your creative process and help you consistently generate original ideas and bring your projects to life.
Everything is a Remix was the story. The Remix Method is the system. It's like open-source software for your mind – a flexible, customizable framework you can hack to suit you.
I also have exclusive one-on-one coaching and mentorship opportunities. Book some time with me and I will raise your game. These prices end Friday as well.
The Two Phases of Creativity: Open and Closed
John Cleese: Comedy and Creativity Innovator
Have you ever felt like this when walking out of the theater after watching a great movie?
Your vision is sharper, sounds are more detailed, familiar smells are more vivid. It's like your senses are in overdrive, and the world around you has slowed down.
This is the feeling we get when we experience great art. But it's also the feeling that fuels the creation of great art.
This feeling is the open mode. You're not just thinking about mundane tasks like where you parked or whether you need a bathroom break. You're curious. You're interested in your surroundings. You're open.
This feeling is where creativity springs from. Your imagination is open.
But we can't be open all the time. Plenty of the time, you just need to get things done. When you're on a deadline, when you're doing something boring but important, when you're trying to finish a major project.
Sometimes, we need to go into closed mode. This is how we focus on specific tasks and complete them.
The creative process flows between these two phases: open and closed.
Initially, you're in the open mode—connecting disparate ideas, exploring tangents, and envisioning strange new possibilities. Creative thinkers don't limit their minds to the practical.
But if we stay in the open mode, we might travel in circles and never get anywhere. After a while, you've gotta do the work and make the thing. You need to go into the closed mode.
In the closed mode, we narrow down possibilities. Simply put, you're less creative. You focus on what's in front of you and how can improve it—or even just complete it. (Yes, sometimes you gotta just do the best you can and finish it.)
You don't just flip a switch from open to closed mode. It's a transition that takes place over the hours, weeks, months, or years that you work on a project.
The idea of open and closed modes isn't mine, nor was it devised by a theorist. This concept comes from a wildly creative person: John Cleese of the legendary comedy troupe, Monty Python. You can dive deeper into his insights here.
Best!
Kirby
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The Creative Upgrade (One-Time Consult)
Unlock Your Creative Potential with a One-Time Consult
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Let’s Make It (Mentor Meeting Series)
Bring Your Creative Project to Life with Expert Guidance
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What You Get
The Remix Method course: Plus the Everything is a Remix Toolkit Bundle FREE ($70 Value)
Six Video Conference Sessions: Receive tailored guidance and support over six sessions, scheduled at your convenience. The first and last meetings are 80 minutes each; the rest are 50.
Detailed Transcripts: Keep a record of our conversations to reference and build upon as you progress.
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Spaces are limited, so secure your spot today!
Looking for my video production workshop? That’s over here! That one is a cohort workshop entirely dedicated to video production.
Pre-order my next course, The Remix Method
I'm thrilled to announce that pre-orders are now open for my upcoming on-demand video course, The Remix Method!
This course is the culmination of my creative journey, distilling years of experience into an accessible and fun format. Think of it as "Everything is a Remix: The Course."
What You’ll Learn
The curriculum is still being developed but here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn.
How I Got My Big Idea: The origins of Everything is a Remix revealed
Mastering Copy, Transform, and Combine: Harness the basic elements of creativity
Case Studies in Remixing: See how giants like A24, Greta Gerwig, James Clear, and Eddie Van Halen achieved success through remixing.
The Truth About Inspiration: Uncover the real secrets behind inspiration
Finding Your Unique Style: Learn how to develop and hone your personal style
Navigating Copyright: Understand how to obey (and occasionally disobey) copyright law
10 Great Ideas in 10 Minutes: Quickly learn the greatest creative ideas from other thinkers
Essential Tools of the Trade: Equip yourself with the best tools for creativity
And much more! (Content may evolve as the course develops.)
Why Pre-Order?
Exclusive Early Bird Pricing: Save money by ordering now.
First Access: Be the first to experience the course upon release.
Special Bonus: Get the Everything is a Remix Toolkit Bundle FREE ($70 Value)
Mark Your Calendar: Launch Date – September 6, 2024
Get ready to boost your creativity this summer and start the fall with fresh, innovative ideas. While life might throw curveballs, I’m gunning to launch on schedule – just like my last course!
The Remix Method (The Video Course)
Over 2 hours of on-demand video content, plus worksheets, exercises, and other goodies.
Plus! Get the Everything is a Remix Toolkit Bundle FREE ($70 Value)
My Oddest Invention
I have a unique creative workflow trick. I call it The Odds System. It’s possible I copied it, but I think I invented it. Although “invent” might be a lofty term considering how simple this is.
The Odds System is a quick and easy way to file stray bits that don’t fit with what you’re working on but might be useful later.
Here’s how it works.
Let’s say you’ve got a good sentence, but it doesn’t fit your article. That sentence is “odd.” “Odd” as in “different.” “Odd” as in “odds and ends”.
Cut that good sentence
Scroll to the end of your doc
Add the heading “Odds”
Paste in the sentence
Other stray bits get pasted into Odds as you continue writing and editing the article.
Mostly what gets pasted into Odds is gone forever. But sometimes you miss that part you cut and decide it does belong. It’s now easy to put it back in.
The Odds System is less permanent than deleting text. It lets you move quickly with minimal friction.
Another trick I often do is this.
You’re not sure if a part needs to be in or out. Do this.
Cut the bit
Paste it in Odds
See if you miss it
If not, great, you just shortened and simplified the piece.
Turns out you need it, it’s in Odds.
And here’s The Odds Sytem's killer feature: sometimes a cut bit grows into a new piece. This happens for many creators – the next thing grows out of some misfit fragment from the last thing.
And you can use the Odds system in work other than writing. When I’m editing, I also create an “Odds” timeline where I paste in clips that don’t fit.
That’s The Odds Systems. Try it out.
And call it whatever you want, but “odds” is quick to type.
Finding Bliss in Creativity
Aftersun
One of my fixations throughout life has been finding bliss in creative works. My level of interest has ranged from pure obsession to minor hobby, which is about the level I’m at here in the toddler-parent, make-money era.
But I think my moderate interest level isn’t just because of a lack of free time or even because I’m middle-aged and seen a lot. We seem creatively stagnant right now. I do a deep dive on this topic in an upcoming video for The New York Times. However, as you’ll see, there’s still lots of amazing work being done.
Here’s my question for you: where are you finding bliss in creativity? Or are you not finding much?
I’ll start. Here’s some of the amazing things I’ve experienced in recent months.
Some of these are affiliate links where we earn a small commission.
Aftersun is a masterpiece
The Make Art Not Content YouTube channel is something bold and different
The Bizarro Elaine Dance is a seriously hot remix
I thought Dune 2 was just as great as everybody else
Sidenote: I saw Alex Garland’s Civil War and it was fine. Click the link to read more. (Get more articles like that via the Everything is a Remix newsletter, another weekly newsletter that focuses exclusively on creativity.)
Overall, and very oddly, I’m finding the aging medium of the novel the most exciting right now.
I recently read Nathan Hill’s The Nix, a sweeping, 2000s-style novel, what now gets called “white-guy fiction” (David Foster Wallace, Jonathan Franzen, Don Delillo, etc). I fit that demo! Hill’s book is a lighter, poppier version of that style, with a tight, propulsive plot.
Literary science fiction is the most stunning. I recently read and loved Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time, much of which is written from the perspective of highly intelligent spiders. You read that correctly.
But the 800-pound gorilla in sci fi is Liu Cixin’s Three Body Problem trilogy. I read the first book and was floored. I intended to savor the series and slowly make my way through it. Then I plowed through The Dark Forest, which is much more of an intense page-turner than the first book, and continued a fast pace through Death’s End, which I’m about a quarter of the way into.
The brilliant thing about the series is the way it creates utterly baffling mysteries and then resolves them in a fascinating and entirely satisfying way.
What about the Netflix series?
I’m sorry to say, but it’s weak tea. If you’ve read the books (all of them, because it does adapt sections of all three), then it’s a fun companion.
If you’re never gonna read the books for whatever reason, the series is good but doesn’t capture the magic of the books. Read the books, then watch the series.