To Fuel Your Creativity, Keep Your ‘Mental Pantry’ Stocked
A strategy for when you’re feeling depleted
Lately, I have been almost completely out of ideas. To most people, this might not be such a big deal, but it’s my job as a writer and editor to synthesize what I notice about the world into narratives that are fresh and interesting.
I know I’m not alone here. Friends and colleagues tell me they feel like they’ve forgotten how to talk to other people, how to make connections. It’s not just that we’re out of practice—I think our mental pantries are depleted.
What’s a mental pantry? It’s the part of your brain you rummage through when you’re trying to connect your ideas and experiences and anecdotes into a message. You have various ingredients to draw from to create your own work, whether that’s an essay, a painting or a great conversation.
There’s some stuff that your pantry will never run out of — all your experiences up until now, your favorite books and movies, your personal touchstones. But it needs fresh items, too, for new combinations.
For me, this winter the pandemic flattened the contours of my life. I could barely even watch television, let alone read. I didn’t feel curious, I just felt the need to make it through each day to start the next. My pantry was about as…
