Suffering From Creative Dissonance
On workflows of creatives now going awry, by Abraham Vargheese, Senior Copywriter
Watching a film without Mukesh popping up on the big screen is odd, and so is a creative person waking up at 9:50 a.m. and filling up a job sheet at 10:00 a.m.
The world is suffering, no denying that. But, can we all agree that the creative person has got the worst deal of them all. Really, think about it. This species is known for breaking the rules of time. A job can take anywhere between 1 min and 1 hour, it all depends on when the next smoke break is scheduled. But, all those acrobatics with time have come to stand still, with the lockdown. The creative person has become a sitting duck that the lightning of inspiration refuses to strike.
Now, relegated to manning WhatsApp, for the next update on the nth meeting of the day, there are so many things they miss. But, nothing more than the hallowed flow state. Not the flow of gossip. (But that is also high up there.)
The flow state is the ‘force’ that lets the creative person squeeze the brief into a shiny piece of communication. It’s also called getting into the zone, for the understanding of the janta a.k.a not our TG. But, it’s more than that. It’s a meditative state, where you lose track of time and space. It’s what monks practice for years. And, they’ve still not been able to outdo creative people. Some people make fun of this, and ask creative people to work according to timelines. Yes, such empathy-less freaks exist.
But thanks to WfH, this force has been neutralised.
How can a creative person operate without this or Red Bull, scientists are still trying to figure it out. Let’s give them their space. It’s no fun rushing people, it never leads to anything good. Ask any creative person, they’ll tell you.
So now, the raucous bunch have been forced into the 9–5 routine. Their day is ebbing and flowing at an unnatural pace. Coming to terms with it, is no easy feat. The wild animals have finally been caged with a schedule. They can only dream about strolling around the wild (i.e. office) and killing time like predators. Now, they’ve got to embrace discipline. And, it’s going to be a messy relationship, by the looks of it.
Imagine they’ve got to deal with this creative dissonance, every day. It’s like birds operating without wings, or Jordan without his signature moves, or Trump without his racism (too many examples, you get the idea right?).
And, this situation comes with constant flashbacks into the good ol’ times. The gossiping at the smoke breaks, the late night jamming sessions, and the venting time-outs. These mini-catharsis moments are something every creative person is missing dearly. And, no therapist can replace this massive hole in their hearts.
So, let’s take a step back and appreciate the real heroes. The creatives who’ve overcome such odds to still show up to every Zoom call on time, with a razzie-worthy fake smile.
But, creatives are fighters. They are hustlers. At the end of the day, they won’t shut up and let this problem win. They’ll do the obvious. Procrastinate on it, till they forget this problem exists. And they’ll find a new problem to bitch about. Till then, let’s give them the space they deserve. After all, they’re the ones that’ll change the world, but only after they’re done with the changes from the client.
