Procrastinatr

Nov 10/11, 2023

There's a reason people don't (usually) eat chocolate covered in pounds of sugar, jam, and honey all at once.

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It's too much.

Hey Reader,

For probably the first time since I started this newsletter, I am keeping my promise and sending it (somewhat) on time. Hey, it’s still Friday somewhere. Not here, but somewhere.

In sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy, writing this newsletter came with too many ideas. Because, as a self-respecting creative, I went down the rabbit hole. Academic paper abstracts, Harvard Business Review articles, the comments I got on my LinkedIn post when I asked what people think of “too much creativity.

Before I realized what was going on, I was nauseated with too much information.

Octavia’s brain = 🤯

I’m 100% sure I cannot contain the entirety of this topic in one newsletter. Especially since I want to avoid boring my 73 subscribers to death. (WOW! Seventy-three people actually signed up for this!)

So, in an attempt to try and compress everything, I’ll apply the shawarma method: I’ll wrap it all up and drip some sauces to make it… saucier.

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Loki is largely known as the Norse God of trickstery. Kind of like the primordial devious clown archetype — except he has super-powers, like changing his shape entirely.

Anyway. Bar from a couple of mischievous events he orchestrates, Norse mythology largely portrays him as a relatively nice guy. There aren’t too many of those in mythology, in general, but Loki somehow pendulates between either helping his fam or annoying them to the point they tie him up to a rock.

Oh, he also brings about the Apocalypse and his own wolf-son kills Odin (the God of Gods.)

Families, right? 🙄

Anyway, it all ends when Loki is killed by Heimdall (another important guy in the story), a moment that is said to represent the end of the cycle of chaos and unpredictability. Which Loki is the master of.

Somewhere between his adoption by Odin’s family and bringing about the totally insignificant moment which is the End of the World, Loki does a lot of cool stuff. A lot of stories portray him as having a whole lot of great ideas, many of which are either super cool and save people or cause horrible embarrassment for everyone.

You win some, you lose some.

Chaos, unpredictability, ideas, swift changes (of… everything, from gender to species) — if it sounds familiar, it’s probably because… it is.

Loki is the ultimate creative. Also, the genius behind fishnets (not the stockings, the actual fishnets.)

By both modern, and, apparently, ancient Norse standards, all the chaos Loki brings along is not. that. great. No one wants people who storm into their party uninvited and drink all the booze (which Loki does, btw.)

Here’s the thing.

Loki is a necessary explosion of chaos. For multiple reasons:

1. He sort of kickstarts Ragnarok (the Apocalypse.) Which is portrayed as an end — but it’s only the end of a cycle of pain and the beginning of a new era.
2. One of his sons is Jörmungandr, the Giant, Evil Snake That Somehow Encircles the World of Humans (Midgard), Biting His Own Tail (sort of an ouroboros surrounding the world of humans in an endless cirlce). Also a pretty evil monster who had a feud with Thor (who, in his turn, killed everything Jörmungandr loved.)
3. Loki has another son, Fenrir, a wolf who kills Odin. Which might also sound pretty bad — but keep in mind that in this entire story, The End of the World has to happen so a new one takes its place.
4. Loki also has a daughter. No, she’s not riding ponies in a field of fluff. She’s the fucking Goddess of the Underworld. Again, might seem horrible, but ya kinda need someone to rule the world of the dead, right? And, occasionally unleash them so you can bring about the Apocalypse, so it can create a better world?

Loki is a pretty solid guy. Great parenting skills, 5/5 would recommend. You’d expect the mate he has all these adorable babies with is, of course, charming. Which she totally is because her name literally means “The One Who Brings Sorrow.”

All of this is absolutely horrible. BUT. Do not miss the one piece of the puzzle that makes it all make sense: Ragnarok is supposed to happen, so a new, clean, flourishing world rises from its ashes. Loki is supposed to go absolutely berserk.

Plus, some of the gods (including Loki) very conveniently come back from the dead in the aftermath. So there’s that.

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Cray-cray Loki is the reason creativity has grown to be a rare gem, even in B2C.

We have tools and data and smart systems that predict how likely a subject line is to drive the open rate of the century, which is extremely cool.

Creativity, on the other hand, feels unpredictable. Like it would bring about the end of your business, if it goes wrong. So, little by little, we have constrained creative thinkers to little spreadsheet cells.

I’m a big fan of constraints in creativity — I think they give you direction, instead of allowing you to ramble aimlessly. But there’s a major difference between drawing lines (like dead lines, sensible financial limits, brand-related coloring lines, etc.) and shutting off the creative spark.

Too much creativity will kill you. It will drive you crazy — and it will splinter your business into a billion pieces. It can:

• Create monsters (like narcissists)
• Outcast you (because we do have to be functional members of a society)
• Make you too risk-tolerant
• Make you more likely to be a damn good liar

(You can read more about all these in this HBR article, by the way.)

Zero creative thinking, however, hampers evolution and innovation. It makes you a servant of the great tail-biting snake. And it’s, generally, a pretty colorless existence to live by.

Ironically, despite living in a world where creative thinking lives in smaller boxes by the day, we still glorify the great creative minds — and not just in entertainment, but business too (yes, this is where I mention Steve Jobs, please excuse the lack of originality.)

So — what then? Do we drop it with the fancy-schmancy creative oonga-boonga, or?

Too much of anything is bad. Literally anything. Carrots. Kale leaves. That song you’ve been listening to on repeat. You name it. Anything in excess will hurt you (and potentially others). But you don’t see many people protesting carrots.

My take?

If you’re a creative:

• Learn, more than anything, to be honest with yourself. Learn how to take feedback and how to trim out the embellishments. Learn to be humble. Learn to not lose sight of the goal — whatever it may be. And learn to put everything in balance.
• Also, create processes for yourself. I’m fairly certain we’re all different here and I know it sounds boring AF — but you need to follow a process to feed the creative mind correctly and ensure consistent output

If you’re on the other side of the fence:

• Learn to trust the creative process. I know it looks messy and unpredictable, but if you zoom out, it might not be that bad.
• And learn how to fuel your own creative thinking. I genuinely believe anyone can do it. Some say creativity is like humor (you either have it or you don’t). But as someone who uncovered her “Funny” later in life, I think that’s misleading. Sure, some may be more naturally inclined to wander. That doesn’t mean creativity is reserved solely for the “gifted”.

Pfew. This was a long one.

Let me know what you think! Special thanks go out to Aneszka, Amit, and Isabel, who commented on my LinkedIn post on this topic and helped me put (some sort of) order into my thoughts.

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Random Fuel

1. This super-dramatic song (a very fitting one, seeing it's 1:10 am right now.)

2. Ten tools to help your creativity, by Kumbaya.

3. There's a person in my TikTok live feed who jumps into water every time someone joins the live. What's going on with the world? Have I finally reached the age where new things just don't make sense anymore?

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Let's Play

Loki could shift shapes. He appears as a salmon, a mare, a fly, and an old lady.

Pick one. Whichever you like.

Think of a problem you had to face at work this week. How would your Loki solve the problem? Set your timer for three minutes and write down all your ideas, from this perspective.

Let me know what comes out of it! The best examples will be featured in the next issue of Procrastinatr. :)

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I'm humbled. Really.

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Yours foolishly,

Octavia

113 Cherry St #92768, Dumbravita, Timis 307160
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