Over the past few weeks, I have become interested in creativity in the world of research and have come across the books of an author I really love: Austin Kleon.
Austin Kleon is an author who writes about creativity and artistic life. I really like his writing and, the ideas he shares in his books, although quite classic, are always super well brought up and imaged with stories and drawings and Hire the best Resume writers.
This week, I would like to share with you 6 tips from these three little books ( Steal Like An Artist , Show Your Work and Keep Going ). Basically, these are advice for artists (writers, painters, etc.) but I found a lot of similarities with what the life of a researcher can be, I hope you like it!
1) Don't try to be original at all costs, be inspired by others
In his first book (Steal Like An Artist), the author explains that it is complicated to be really original and that one should first try to copy what already exists, not by copying the work of others. but by finding their sources of inspiration.
As part of the doctorate, the goal is then to discover literature, to go deep into the subjects that interest you, to imbibe yourself with ideas that you like to make them your own and continue the path that other researchers had started. to open. You then continue a story while bringing your touch of individuality!
“Seeing yourself as part of a creative lineage will help you feel less alone as you start making your own stuff.” (Steal Like An Artist)
It also helps reassure you about the accuracy and consistency of your research , on the fact that what you write makes sense (especially at the doctorate level). You are then less blocked when you have to send your work to a conference or to a journal because you know that other researchers have already published on this problem or on this methodology.
In his second book, Austin Kleon also explains that at first it's okay to be an amateur in your field , to make mistakes and to call on people to move forward.
You can then contact other researchers to ask them for explanations on their papers and to be able to advance more quickly in your research. At the doctoral level, as in many other fields, the real difference then is not between doing things moderately well or very well, but rather between doing something or not doing anything.
“Amateurs know that contributing something is better than contributing nothing.” (Show your work)
Finally, he recommends that you always have a small notebook with you so you can write down ideas on the fly. It could just be a note on your phone that you fill out and go over once a week, for example.
2) move away from your screen
At the doctorate level, we can sometimes tend to spend our days in front of our screen reading or writing papers, doing statistical analyzes, etc.
Austin Kleon explains that to gain creativity, it is essential to sometimes step away from your screen and for example take a pencil and a blank sheet of paper to write down all your ideas and start drawing possible links between them.
I remember during my internship in Pittsburgh, I worked in a building where in each of the classrooms, the walls were giant white boards that you could write on. So I spent whole afternoons thinking in front of a wall and it was really cool!
Working on a whiteboard allows you to have unstructured ideas , to make connections and to have an overview of all your ideas . If you don't already have one at home, buy yourself a whiteboard and take some time to think about it by writing on it!
“You're often most creative when you're the least productive” (Keep Going)
Getting away from your screen also means thinking about something other than your doctorate. For this, it is important to keep your hobbies and your other activities to breathe , but also to sometimes create new links and have new ideas and Affordable Resume Writing Services.
For my part, I know that for my second thesis project, I had the idea of my methodology during an 8h journey by minibus in the depths of Guatemala… So get some fresh air, go play sports and maybe you will have lots of new ideas! (personal note: Guatemala is really beautiful!)
3) “Do good work and share it to people”
With this sentence, the author wants to tell us two things.
First of all, the world of research (like the world of art) is big and like in many fields the competition is stiff. To distinguish yourself, you will have to develop innovative ideas , write beautiful papers and make good presentations of your work.
This involves setting clear goals and making the effort every day to move forward on your doctorate ( Using deep work for example! ). This idea of excelling at what you do is also an idea that comes up in the second book:
”If you just focus on getting really good, Martin says, people will come to you.” (Show your work)
Then it's going to be important for you to share your work as well . Try to share your work as much as possible with your colleagues but also and above all with people in your field.
This will allow you to make yourself known in the community, but also to have regular feedback on your research and thus open new doors and new ideas in your head.
Taking up space in the media is not really a common thing among researchers. Nevertheless, I think it is essential today that we share our research to make ourselves known and counter all the information / erroneous opinions that exist on the internet ...
It also reminds me of this interview with Etienne Klein who talks a little about this general tendency that people have to argue on subjects they do not master ...
“It sounds a little extreme, but in this day and age, if your work isn't online, it doesn't exist.” (Show Your Work)
4) Creativity is subtraction
With this idea of subtraction, Austin Kleon explains that to be really creative, you will have to set yourself a framework in which you will evolve.
This means, for example, choosing a research subject, a research hypothesis and not changing it for several months in order to have time to go around it and to be able to fully understand the problem and thus be able to have innovative ideas.
It also makes the connection with Cal Newport's book So Good They Can't Ignore You in which he explains that to have new ideas, you must first arrive at the edge of knowledge. Setting a frame allows you to reach this edge and thus be creative because you know your subject.
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
Subtracting things is also a good thing to do when writing your thesis or scientific article. The objective is then to remove all that is superfluous to keep only a clear and precise description of the essence of your work and your ideas.
5) The importance of storytelling
Whether you are 10 years old with a craving for new shoes or 25 years old and wanting to see your article published in the best newspaper in your field, the goal is the same, to tell a good story to get people to accept your request!
In the world of art as in the world of research, storytelling is essential . The goal is then for you to “sell” your research, not because it is bad, but because you want people to understand as much as possible and to enjoy reading you.
“If you want to be more effective when sharing yourself and your work, you need to become a better storyteller. You need to know what a good story is and how to tell one. ” (Show your work)
Despite everything, storytelling is a difficult skill to acquire (I myself try to develop it for the articles on this blog but it's really not easy…).
You should then be aware that this may take a while but as you go through your experiences things will get sorted out in your head and the whole “selling” process of your research will become more and more. limpid.
To improve yourself, try to draw inspiration from conference papers or presentations that you enjoy and take the time to ask your colleagues for feedback on your presentation to know what things need improvement.
6) Create a pleasant working environment
In order to be able to create, you need a calm and reflective environment.
For this, Austin Kleon advises you to isolate yourself, to find a place and / or a time of the day during which you can be alone and be able to give free rein to your creativity.
For example, during my thesis, when I went to work in the lab, I always tried to arrive around 7am so that I could have about two hours alone in my office and thus be able to think about calm and Resume Writing World.
“You must play a little hide-and-seek in order to produce something worth being found.” (Keep Going)
This isolation is also isolation from the information of the world around you. First, avoid reading the news or your emails when you wake up in the morning. This will allow you to keep your energy and your attention on the things that are important to you and not open 1000 questions in your head ...
“If you want to change your life, change what you pay attention to” (Keep Going)
Then, in general, try to pay attention to what you are focusing on . For example, I stopped reading the covid news, it frees my mind and I can just ask my friends for the important news of the week to be up to date if there is a major announcement.