creativity and COVID-19

If necessity is the mother of invention, boredom during quarantine might be the stepmom of creativity. The uptick of goodies being created and shared on social media has been a welcome side effect to everyone staying at home.

If necessity is the mother of invention, boredom during quarantine might be the stepmom of creativity. The uptick of goodies being created and shared on social media has been a welcome side effect to everyone staying at home.

Two factors that inspire creativity have been foisted upon us, in spades, by the pandemic: constraints and boredom.

Studies have shown that providing constraints to problem-solving can fire up our brains in novel ways. We all know those people who need a looming deadline to get the creative juices flowing. And being in quarantine definitely constrains our access to resources.

Combine those constraints with boredom, which can goose the mind into searching for stimulation, and the seeds of creativity start to sprout.

Here are a few of our favorite exercises in creativity that have been making the rounds over the last couple of months:

Some Good News with John Krasinski. Our former Officemate does a newscast from home that features only good news from around the globe.

Sure, Steve Martin's a wild and crazy guy, but he's quite the banjo picker as well.

The J. Paul Getty Museum challenged quarantiners to recreate famous works of art from home. The results were amazing and hilarious.

Snow skiing and/or mountain climbing in your bedroom? Why not?

Socks eating cars? Of course!

And don't even get us started on the time-suck that is TikTok.