A few months ago I discovered Behance --a website/company devoted to enhancing the world of creative peeps--and now get regular email updates. I first fell in love with the Action Books, perfect for my way of tracking notes in a meeting. Today I took the time to check out the latest news, which led me to The 99%.com. I've already watched the 19 min. special on designer Michael Bierut: 5 Secrets from 86 Notebooks, and there are more on my list.

Today's article is Don't Be Afraid of the S-Word and it was a sharp little nugget about sales and self-promotion. Perfect for us entrepreneurs. Then I discovered this one, RSS Creativity: Routines, Systems, Spontaneity, by Mark McGuinness.

Covering the elements of the creative process, McGuinness breaks it down into the three categories shown here: Routines, Systems, Spontaneity. The author offers us "takeaways" for each category, beginning with

ROUTINES. Starting with the idea that "routine is a key that unlocks creativity," he suggests you  "Notice what time(s) of day you are most alert and creative. Dedicate that time to focused creative work. Use the same tools, in the same surroundings, even the same background music, so that they become triggers for your 'creative zone'."

For SYSTEMS, he writes, "A rock-solid productivity system performs a dual function for your creativity:

(1) It ensures that all ideas and action steps are captured, so that nothing slips through the cracks, in your own work and within your team, and

(2) When you are confident that everything important has been captured, you are free to focus fully on the task in hand."

For SPONTANEITY we begin to understand that our really, hard, nose-to-the-grindstone work should be rewarded with breaks from said routines and  hard work--as it is often during these breaks that we are  free to experience and generate the much desired "a-ha" moment.

How do you stay organized and motivated?