If you walk into the kitchen right before I’m done cooking, you will see items strewn across the counters.
It’s a mess of food scraps, spices and dishes. But in the chaos, there is a final product that’s pretty good. I can’t wait to dive in, so I do. When I’m done eating, I clean up.
Interestingly enough, watching me cook in the kitchen is an accurate representation of my creative work. I like to run fast, leave a little bit of chaos to organize later and dive into the work.
This works pretty well, but what works even better is to work with someone who has the opposite tendency. Some people, when they cook, put everything away as they use it. Some people, in their creative work, make sure everything is organized every step of the process.
Thinking about cleaning while creating sounds like work to me. It brings a minor sense of dread. But better still, to some people, the idea of organizing chaos brings them joy.
Find your complement and you will have two people finding joy in a deeply creative endeavor.