Harnessing Creativity During A Time of Self-Isolation

Written by Lenna Ahmed

Edited by Minna Chow

It took a pandemic and shutdown for many people to realize the effects of this fast-paced world on our creativity and curiosity. More often than not, we are busy tackling the tasks needed for us to get through life, like homework or tasks for a job, and not our creative endeavors. During these self-isolation times, it is normal to experience loneliness and feelings of being astray; however, recently, these feelings have led people to great discoveries.

Language learning companies have seen an influx of new users during the quarantine period, and participants in online classes and courses have increased dramatically. New initiatives led by students and adults have also made appearances in the online community alongside passion projects, made by people who want to share and expand their devotion for a certain activity or topic. Many individuals are just now pursuing interests that they never had the time before their routines were disrupted, and many are rekindling with old activities they once did lovingly. Bas Korsten of Adweek says, “..creativity thrives when control and routine go out the window. ​It’s completely counter-intuitive since surprise and not being in control used to get us in seriously dangerous situations. Human creativity is built on our brain’s diffuse attention, inefficiency, and lack of focus and can actually help get us out of this mess.”

Here we delve into some of the unique and interesting discoveries and accomplishments of those who have found new ventures to take on during quarantine, a time of increased curiosity and creativity.

RVs4MDs

When Emily Phillips, a woman whose husband works as a doctor, reached out to Facebook for an RV to house her husband to keep her family safe, Holly Haggard came to the rescue and allowed Emily’s husband to use the RV free-of-cost. Together, Holly and Emily realized this could help families across the nation who live with healthcare workers and founded RVs4MDs. With over 650 matches stemming from volunteers willing to lend a helping hand and healthcare workers who want to keep their families safe, RVs4MDs is just one example of the feats accomplished due to the pandemic.

Keep Your City Smiling

Social distancing rules forced a startup live-event photobooth provider company, The Snapbar, to picture a new strategy to gain sales. They came up with another branch of their business called Keep Your City Smiling. Keep Your City Smiling provides city-specific goody boxes filled with products, ranging from artwork to coffee, from local businesses.

The Decameron Project

Co-founders of The Decameron Project, Freddie Coffey and Lucas Gimbel, started the project to foster the different perspectives of those affected by the pandemic through story writing. The Decameron Project introduces different themes to which participants can write compelling works and win recognition. The current theme is justice, inspired by the recent tragic death of George Floyd.

JewelryByPixie

Pearl Pham, a 19-year-old fashionista from California, realized quarantine allowed her to start up a jewelry business to help her pay for school and express her love of fashion through dainty stylish jewelry. “I actually started it because for now, I don’t have a job, and I needed a way to help pay for school-- just at least a little bit. I also love fashion, and I wanted to start making the bracelets just because I like them, but if it weren’t for quarantine, I probably wouldn’t have done it either,” says Pearl.

TikTok

TikTok, the famous social media app everyone should be familiar with by now, has seen a substantial increase in users since a quarantine was put in place. If you want to see the pinnacle of COVID-creativity, head over to TikTok, where it's whopping 800 million active users contribute to the ever-growing creativity, especially during these times of isolation, self-reflection, and personal growth. Countless users are taking the time to expand their borders by trying out new hobbies and sharing them with the world. On TikTok, many broadcast their accomplishments or ways for their audiences to be more productive, more creative, or more thoughtful; the interaction between the creators and their audiences is one of the most effective ways to spark ideas that lead to impactful innovation. Teens and adults alike have found TikTok to be of utmost help to bring awareness to new ideas, crafts, and initiatives-- all feeding into individuals’ curiosity and expressiveness during the pandemic.

These are only a few out of a vast number of examples that demonstrate the innovation and discovery resulting from quarantine and the pandemic.

Research by individuals at the Harvard Business Review encompassed results from extensive research that proved individuals, teams, and organizations alike benefit from a healthy dose of constraints in the article Why Constraints Are Good for Innovation. Many other studies have also proven this to be true, arguing that constraints and restrictions provide individuals with an incentive to think outside-of-the-box.

A plethora of articles and videos have been made to urge individuals to harness their inner creativity during all this COVID-craziness. Now, it’s time for you to reflect on your passions, hobbies, and ideas and ask yourself if you will become the next COVID-creative. With a spike in overall downtime, you, too, can spike your creativity and curiosity.

Sources:

Creativity during Pandemic, ABC News, 2020, youtu.be/yRwsHPwz3mA.

NBC Connecticut. “The Power of the Pen: New Student-Led Initiative Gives Young Writers a Platform During the Pandemic.” NBC Connecticut, NBC Connecticut, 26 June 2020, www.nbcconnecticut.com/lx/the-power-of-the-pen-new-student-led-initiative-gives-young-writers-a-platform-during-the-pandemic/2293455/.

Oguz A. Acar, Murat Tarakci and Daan van Knippenberg. “Why Constraints Are Good for Innovation.” Harvard Business Review, 22 Nov. 2019, hbr.org/2019/11/why-constraints-are-good-for-innovation.