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It sounds weird but some bad habits can influence the creativity of people. It is not like the bad habit would become somehow creative, rather it helps to enhance the creativity.
Some bad habits usually destroy creativity. Although there are certain bad habits that can spark it in many ways. Well, if you want to alter it, then you can say - creative people may have certain bad habits.
Keeping late night
The most noticeable bad habit of creative people is keeping it late at night. As they have other work to do, they only get free time at night.
The time of night is also calm and quiet, which helps them concentrate on their creativity more. Another reason behind this is that at night our brain can filter out distraction and focus on one thing.
Farzana Tabassum, a 3rd-year-student of Pharmacy at BRAC University, loves to experiment with spices. Her creativity reflects in her cooking.
“During the lockdown, I was obsessed with Turkish dramas and used to stay up late at night. I saw them cooking. Like I saw a Turkish drama where they used to cook a dish named ‘Menmen’ made with egg. It looked new to me; so I tried that.”
“Since then I started to play with spices from different origins. My mom inspired me a lot as she doesn't use any ready-made spices, rather, goes to ‘Kaftan Bazar’ in search of unique and good spices. That's why I make the dishes quite unique from others,” she added.
Farzana shared her backstory of how she took her passion to another level by keeping it as her side profession.
“As I had a habit of staying up late at night, I often found myself hungry at midnight. If I didn't get anything, I would make brownies. Most interesting thing is that I named my homemade food page 'midnight snack' after my midnight cravings and brownie is one of my highest selling items.”
Procrastination
“My creativity gained its acceleration in poetry and making video content on social awareness. I have bad habits like laziness which gives me enough time to think about random topics. Many ideas pop into my mind when I sit idly and do nothing. This happens mostly at night,” said Seamul Islam, a 2nd-year-student of Chemical Engineering from Jashore University of Science and Technology.
Psychologists appear to agree, with solid evidence suggesting creative breakthroughs are considerably more likely to emerge after a time of ‘incubation.’
There are a variety of reasons why a lazy time could result in fresh and imaginative ideas. It all depends on the unconscious mind's power. When we abandon a task, the brain continues to hunt for solutions below our conscious awareness until one appears.
Anti-socialism
Some occupations or hobbies necessitate a lot of time spent alone. Artists and writers, in particular, require a significant amount of alone time. A creative person may be socially anxious, preferring to avoid all human contact.
Because antisocial people do not expect others to meet their needs and instead, prefer to meet them through solo activities.
In this regard, Seam expressed his view and said, “Sometimes I do overthink, so being absent-minded is not a surprising fact. And when a person keeps himself too busy in thinking, he often fails to enjoy together with friends which also makes him antisocial.”
Daydreaming
Daydreaming is a means of privately reflecting on the world and visualising the future by dipping into own stream of thought. It's often misunderstood as carelessness, and we criticise individuals with wandering minds as ‘space cadets’ who can't seem to get their heads out of the clouds.
However, daydreaming is a sign of tremendous mental capacity. People who daydream more have stronger intellectual and creative talents, according to a 2017 study by Eric Schumacher and colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA.
Lamia Zabin Tisha is a Pharmacy undergrad student at BRAC University. She is a wonderful singer with a magical voice. Guess what, being absent-minded appears to be a blessing for her.
“I have a bad habit of daydreaming or being absent-minded that keeps me busy in practising songs. For instance, when I’m studying and suddenly think of a song, I quickly get up and start finding chords for that specific song.”
Even, for this reason, she faces trouble.
“Sometimes I can’t focus properly on my studies. I just think of how I should stop imagining things and start working. That’s how I try to keep myself on track.”
Being messy
Don't worry if your workplace or desk is always crowded, chaotic or in a terrible state. Disorganised notebooks, the crumb-strewn keyboard, and week-old coffee mugs are only signs of the creative talent within!
Kathleen Vohs and her colleagues at the University of Minnesota, USA explored that persons who worked in disorganised or even untidy environments were better at coming up with unusual ideas.
“Disorderly environments seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights. Orderly environments, in contrast, encourage convention and playing it safe,” stated Vohs in the research paper, presenting the findings.
Keeping important work aside and being late
Sometimes, people who are serious about their passion or hobby give more priority to it. They often face time management issues and cannot balance both at the same time. As a result, they delay their educational or professional work to make time for their passion.
But even though they are late sometimes, creative ones can get the pending work done more rapidly than others.
Faria Rahman Rattry is one of those who is creative in various fields. She studies at a private university in Dhaka and does mehndi art, nail art, draws sketches and designs, and also makes miniature dollhouse models.
“I am a night owl. I personally think my creativity sparks at late night because at that time I get time only for myself. It’s a part of self-care and I find happiness within it.”
In the process, she often manages to complete her regular job like academic tasks in the eleventh hour, mentioned Rattry.
Being asked about how she deals with the issues, she confidently replied, “To be honest, I don’t feel worried about it or regret it. I know I can work without interruption, it will be finished. I take advantage of my creative mind here as well.”
Bad habits do not always show negativity, rather sometimes they may aid to spark the light of creativity more brightly.