Does the change of season affect your creativity?
A friend of mine recently lamented about her creative slump. “All summer I was headstrong into my novel first thing in the morning. But come September, my energy tanked.”
There are studies to support that seasonal changes influence our creative minds and hearts. One suggests that the warmth of summer may make people more relationally creative and experimental.
The winter, on the other hand, may inspire more introspection and abstract thinking.
Artists are sensitive to the rhythms and cycles of nature. We pick up on sensory cues of the season—sounds, textures, smells, light. Notice how much of seasonal change involves light—its intensity, color, slant, and warmth?
Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons. ~Jim Bishop
It is not only the change in light and weather that impacts us, but the associations we carry with each season. Maybe you feel blue during the December holidays, while others are nostalgic or joyful.
Certain months of the year can stir bad memories or sadness around a particular loss. That’s November for me.
As a writer, I find I’m most creative in the summer time when I’m more relaxed. But because I want to be out doing summer-like things, I’m less productive.
In winter, I’m a hibernator, so this leads to more productivity as I spend more time inside at my desk.
Fall invites reflection and new beginnings with the start of school and the Jewish New Year.
Like the seasons, our creativity ebbs and flows.
The ways in which this change impacts your mind, body, and heart will be unique to you.
As someone who is very sensitive to the seasonal changes, I have developed strategies to align my creative work with these fluctuations. For example, since I suffer from *Seasonal Affective Disorder, Winter is the time I seek opportunities to commune with other creatives in a warmer climate. I’ve been fortunate to attend writing workshops in Key West and St. Petersburg, Florida.
We all have seasons in our life: new jobs, becoming parents, empty-nesting. Seasons of sickness. Seasons of relentless caregiving. Losing a parent. These times affect our productivity and our motivation.
Sometimes we have to surrender to the season and lower the bar for ourselves.
Consider the writer/editor Kendra Levin‘s sage advice:
In the life of any given writing project, we will go through seasons: Periods of germination, creativity, reaping…and lying fallow. We cycle through these phases of letting an idea bubble beneath the surface, drafting it onto the page, molding that first effort….and taking a break from it, to get the clarity and perspective that sometimes only distance can provide. ~The Hero Is You
Our creative output does not take a linear path. And that’s okay.
Recognizing your own response to seasonal changes, can help you work more efficiently in any of your pursuits. Planning around your ebbs and flows can help build creative resilience.
The Spanish-American philosopher and poet George Santayana (1863-1952) wrote:
“To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.”
Santayana invites us to view change with curiosity. To let go of our infatuations.
Buddhism echoes this through the concept of impermanence. We cling to the past, to youth, to a lost lover, to a happier time. Such attachments lead to suffering. By releasing our hold on transient times, and accepting inevitable change, we become more appreciative of the present.
We can then embrace the beauty, gifts, and lessons of each season.
Is there a time of year when you feel more driven to embark on creative projects?
*Check out my tips for Beating Winter Blues
Great article! I think I’m also affected by SAD most winters, or whenever the days get too dark. Thankfully, my creativity still flows in spite of it. I often channel a bit of that melancholy into my drama work—so in a way, it all balances out. ☺️
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Thank you. I can definitely relate to the melancholy. It’s hard for me to get myself out after dark which, unfortunately, is 4 pm in Boston December. I have a small Happy Lamp from Verilux ab out the size of a large Ipad. I use it first thing in the winter morning during breakfast. Highly recommend getting one.
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Welcome. Thanks for the tip. I shall look into it! 🙏
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This is definitely an interesting topic. I found autumn a good time to find inspiration in nature. I come up with ideas for character backstories during autumn hikes, even the gloomy and rainy ones.
On the otehr way, summer can be tough – especially in heatwave, which seems to drain me. Also, hammering away at the keyboard when I’m sweating just by existing isn’t that comfortable.
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I suppose a lot depends on where one lives. In New England, there is a clear delineation of the seasons, though winter can drag into spring. I also enjoy the beauty of autumn when I can still write outside on my patio. Once the trees are bare in late November, there is a gloom that sets in, at least for me. Wishing you continued inspiration, Tomas.
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Your blog entry here got me thinking about how my body reacts to different seasons. I love all four seasons, as they each have a beauty to appreciate experiencing and witnessing. However, I struggle with summer and winter the most – as both are on the extremes of too hot and too cold, respectively. My ME/CFS worsens during these particular seasons. Spring and Fall are my favorite months because I don’t suffer as much from ME/CFS, since the temps are just right for my energy needs.
In terms of creativity, I’m my most creative during Spring and Fall months. And I’m my most productive during Summer and Winter months. During the Spring and Fall months, I feel energized enough to explore outside the bounds of my studio apartment. However, during the Summer and Winter months, I’m primarily housebound and focus on organization and “deep cleaning”. I don’t like wasting “spring cleaning” during the springtime anymore. I would rather explore the great outdoors instead, which increases my creativity. Greenspaces below, skies above, and all its inhabitants beyond my neighbors help me explore more creative paths such as songwriting and artwork.
Thank you for this topic, Evelyn! I hope you are enjoying the summer – with more light to enjoy longer days. 🙂
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Thank you, Gayle for you thoughtful response. You seem to have a good handle on your rhythms of productivity and creativity. I can’t imagine staying inside during the summer, though I know not everyone likes the heat (and Boston just experienced a 4 day heat wave). Winter I do tend to hibernate but I am pushing myself more to get out in the early part of the day, especially when it is sunny. I’ve tried outfitting myself with proper winter gear. I also read that one can acclimate to the heat and cold but if you stay in just one temp, your body never adjusts.
I also don’t want to waste spring with cleaning! Though after a long winter, i like opening the windows and decluttering a bit.
So glad you are pursuing your artwork and songwriting.
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