Forced creating every day, especially with narrow limits on the creation, can lead you to surprisingly creative results.
I’ve been putting daily notes in lunches for a couple of years now – every day, a sentence, reminder, doodle, or other.
Recently, I’ve started experimenting with the rather limited form, and have had some fun results and discovered new possibilities.
It’s only because I had a deadline to meet, every single day, that I discovered new creative avenues. If I had stuck to doing notes occasionally rather than daily, I never would have been forced into a creative corner.
Surely this can apply to any kind of creativity. Witness Austin Kleon’s blackout poems. Witness the remarkable output of Rodgers & Hart songs, within the narrow popular song form. Witness Shakespeare’s Sonnets or Annie Lebovitz’s photographic profiles.
Applied together, strict form and strict consistency can lead to powerful results.