Friendly Competition is Great Stimulation
August 4th, 2008
Published in
Miscellaneous
Tags: chamberlin/rasmussen, competition, creativity, motivation, music, productivity
This post isn’t directly photography related, although the general message applies to all forms of creative work. My friend Lee and I did an experiment last year, which turned out to be a success. I’d like to share the experience with you.
It starts with a statement: Competing on a small, friendly scale is an easy and entertaining way to improve creativity and productivity.
What we did, was to set up a bi-weekly challenge. Every other Sunday, we each had to present the other with a brand new, original, written and recorded song. Since we both write music on a hobby level, and needed that extra kick to get more of it finished, this seemed like a good way. At least a decent mix and some mastering was expected, and you couldn’t use old recordings, though older ideas were allowed, provided the actual writing and recording was fresh.
Every two weeks, we shared the results of our efforts, by playing our respective demos on the stereo of the coffeeshop, where Lee works. So, at the very least, it had to be good enough for the crowd of late night coffee drinkers of West Seattle. We kept it up for about six months, and I have never written as much music, as during this friendly competition.
One small, but important factor was, that there was a prize at stake. With each challenge came the wager of one lunch. If you failed to complete, you had to take your opponent out and pay for the meal. If both failed, we went out to lunch twice, taking turns paying. It’s a relatively mild punishment, but enough to act as both stick and carrot.
The effect was amazing. I got new ideas faster, than I knew what to do with them. There are still several written down as notes, that I have yet to get back to. For the most part, I managed to produce a new song for every challenge, and I dare say it’s some of the best music, I have ever written. It wouldn’t be too far fetched to assume, that a similar result could be expected, if the medium was switched from music to photography, writing or any other creative endeavor.
During the same period, Lee and I collaborated on a few songs. Here is probably the best one of the three, we actually managed to finish. Everything is done together, from writing the lyrics to mixing it down. We called it “Strangers“.
Photo credit: naphtalina
Related Posts
