A few days ago, I ran out of space on my Dropbox account. It wasn't intentional but I received a pleasant reminder from the service to upgrade. While the service is exceptional (one can access files from any connected computer, iPad or iPhone), it's much too easy to simply throw all kinds of data up to it and then forget about it.
So, I looked at the upgrade options and felt that the 50gb at $99/year would make most sense. Then I wondered what I had “dropped” into that box. Most of the files were old – images I had shared with family or friends and were no longer needed. So, I went on a mission to simply prioritize and delete those large files one by one. Well, believe it or not, by the time I was done, I was back down to using only 1gb of space.
Did I now feel like I needed 50gb of space? Unlikely. So, that's how I saved myself $99.
All of this was inspired by a blog post and video that Musea posted called “29 Ways To Stay Creative.” Check it out.
29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.
One of the ways the video suggests one can stay in the creative zone is to have a clutter free desktop. More easily said than done but when I also read that studies have shown how a cluttered lifestyle can increase blood pressure, I got to really thinking about how I can pare things down around me and in the cloud.
So, the first thing I did was to deal with my Dropbox account. If I had sprung for the $99 upgrade and had 50gb to play with, I would have likely just stuffed that server with more data files. Was my approach creative or just practical? I think a little bit of both.
By the way, if you don't have a free Drobox account already and want one, click here. That 2gb of space may just be all that you need.
How do you stay creative? Do you have a process that you can share with us that works for you? Is exorcising clutter your goal too? Share your comments below. I am attacking my email inbox next.
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Scott Webb says
Cleaning my desktop, my physical desk, and the entire space will boost thought and creative development for me. Another important aspect for creativity has been exercise. There are a lot of things I do. Saw this video a while back and enjoyed it. I actually enjoyed it for the video vs the content within it.
Shuva Rahim says
All good things! Another I would add is exercise – a bike ride, yoga, jogging.. any physical activity… creative ideas come when you’re least expecting it.
Rosh Sillars says
You are right on. When I need to re-energize I clean my environment (including my desktop and computer files). I just did this last week for my space at Synectics Media. It had turned into a dumping ground. In the end I had so much room I bought a new big comfy chair to think and write in.
Sadly though, I did buy the extra Dropbox space.
Rosh
Don Giannatti says
LOL… I thought I was the only one who got creative by getting organized (or organizing/cleaning my workspace). Yeah… Last time I was cleaning my office, my wife came in and said “feeling a little un-creative are we”? Well… yeah, but after I got it looking pretty snappy, I was energized and ready to go.
Doug Armstrong says
I’m a neat freak by nature so my inspiration comes from xm radio. I go off into a trance and scribble ideas on the pad sitting on the passenger seat. I drive a lot =)