Want to be creative? Lay down.
When I was first starting out as a writer and editor, I worked at a corporate communications consultancy. We all worked intensely hard, but, well, we also had shots of whiskey on Fridays and sometimes played frisbee during lunch. It was an ideal first real-job-with-benefits job.
And, once in a while, when I needed to work on something particularly involved, I would do what the bosses thankfully saw as charmingly quirky for one of their ‘creatives.’
I would get out the double beach towel I kept at my desk, spread it out in the corner of the office, and work laying down, flat on my belly.
I’ve doubled down; I now do a good 70-80% of my best writing and thinking this way. (Along with sticking my tongue out when I concentrate. We’re all still six years old inside in some way.) In fact, out of the ten places I could write, sitting up at a desk in front of a computer screen is maybe the 8th or 9th most productive.
Research has my, ahem, back on this one, too. David I. Shore of McMaster University in Canada says that when we lay on our side, our external perception makes way for more internal perception. Same thing happens with blindfolded participants. Shore says:
Like blindfolding, lying on the side reduced the influence of the external representation of the world and allowed participants to pay attention to their body-centred signals.
Our vestibular system — that tells us which way is up — quiets when we lay down. This research is focused on the implications of balance and perception, but Shore does posit what this means about consciousness and how we perceive our environment.
I’m most interested in what research like this means to our creativity, our sense of self, and how we find meaning. Until I read this article, I didn’t realize that I physically, tangibly need to lay down in order to write in my journal, or even process my thoughts.
I work at a desk because I have to, but this research has got me thinking. I know there are standing desks, but I’m now in search of a laying desk.