Our creative lives in quarantine
By Natalie Dawe
Back in April 2020, just a few weeks into our locked-down life, my husband’s birthday was approaching. I wanted to make his day special in those 500 square feet we were confined to. So I broke out the yoga mats, gathered household items, and created an indoor mini golf course for him to putt around. Limited space, limited objects, but a delightful exercise of whimsy and imagination.
For many of us, the pandemic initially limited our feelings of creativity — from the monotony of day-to-day life to the actual restrictions on where we could be and when. But as the pandemic went on, I noticed my creativity growing. It’s not all that surprising when we look at the role of constraints in creativity. A study called “The Green Eggs and Ham Hypothesis” found that constraints actually facilitate creativity. Blank canvases can be overwhelming in possibility, but limitations allow for focus — for more deeply processing and exploring, and creating something memorable and original within.
Eight months into the pandemic, my sister and I wanted to get out the vote ahead of the November election, but felt too nervous to knock on doors. Our physical constraints forced some creative thinking. We put together a Zoom party, where we gathered our friends for an hour virtually to all write letters to voters in North Carolina and Georgia. We planned an election-themed bingo, had our friend impersonate Hillary Clinton, and curated a playlist to motivate everyone as they hand wrote their letters on the Zoom call together. In this constrained environment, we found new ways to connect and see the possibilities that can arise when you can motivate a whole country of friends to act. Our 60 friends wrote 1200 letters in 1 hour!
During the pandemic, you may not have even realized it, but you likely exercised your creativity in ways both big and small. As you look back, when did you feel curious and imaginative? Was it a new hobby you picked up? A virtual birthday party you planned? A new way you saw your neighborhood after taking the 50th walk around the block? Maybe how you reorganized your living room so it could double as an office and movie theater.
Creativity is a muscle — and boy, did we stretch it during the pandemic as we were forced to work with many limitations. My guess is that feeling of creation and generating, of problem-solving and imagination, actually felt good. And that’s because that’s who you are! We expressed so much of who we really are and who we want to be with these quarantine actions and behaviors.
As we all take the time to consider what our post-pandemic lives will look like, I encourage you to commit to making your creativity part of this next stage of life. Protect an hour each week to stick to that craft that gives you joy. Or set a reminder on your calendar to continue to see the world through lenses you discovered during Covid. Let us know what you commit to and how your creativity powers up your life.
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