Courtney’s Reviews > Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide > Status Update
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Most adults, by contrast, find it hard to be playful-no doubt because they have to take care of all the responsibilities that come with an adult's life. Creative adults, however, have not forgotten how to play.
— May 23, 2026 05:35PM
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Courtney
is on page 46 of 112
The greatest killer of creativity is interruption. It pulls your mind away from what you want to be thinking about. Research has shown that, after an interruption, it can take eight minutes for you to return to your previous state of consciousness, and up to twenty minutes to get back to a state of deep focus.
— May 23, 2026 05:38PM
Courtney
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I borrowed this from the library because comedian Kellen Erskine said it was his favourite book about creativity, and Kellen is one of my favourite comics. He also had a podcast with Dave Vance called The Book Pile. It’s the best.
— May 23, 2026 04:37PM
Most people are very surprised to learn that this involves deferring decisions for as long as possible. Doesn't this mean that creative architects are, by definition, indecisive? Isn't that a bit impractical and unrealistic?
No!
It simply means they are able to tolerate that vague sense of discomfort that we all feel, when some important decision is left open, because they know that an answer will eventually present itself.
Let me elaborate.
I once wrote a script for a training film about decision-making, and talked to various experts on the subject. They explained to me that if you have a decision to make, the first question you must ask is: "When does this decision have to be made?" You live
in the real world, so there is always a cut-off point.
But once it's been agreed when that real-world decision has to happen, why make it before the deadline arrives?
Why
Well, it would be foolish, because if you can wait longer, two incredibly important things may happen.
1. You may get new information.
2. You may get new ideas.
So why would you make a decision when you don't need to?
Because you're uncomfortable, that's why!
You see, leaving a question unre-solved, just leaving it open, makes some people anxious. They worry.
And if they can't tolerate that mild discomfort, they go ahead and rush the decision. They probably fool themselves that they're being decisive.
But creative people are much better at tolerating the vague sense of worry that we all get when we leave something unresolved.