The bucket theory of creativity
OUT: lightbulb 'aha' moments • IN: buckets
Forget the myth of the 'Eureka!' moment, and allow me to suggest another way: the bucket theory of creativity.
Buckets are little homes for the things you want to explore deeper.
Maybe you’ll write or draw or build about them one day, but that’s not really the point.
All you gotta do is make some buckets.
Because making buckets creates a magnetic force that draws related ideas towards you.
This James Somers quote nails it:
Take , writer of .
After listening to an Ezra Klein podcast about Sabbath and the Art of Rest, Brandon created a bucket on Sublime called, simply, “Rest.”
Months later, an essay emerged: The story behind Post Malone’s face tat.
No 'aha' moment – just a bucket doing its job.
“Ok I wanna create some buckets”
First off, there is no wrong way to make a bucket.
The stakes are low. Have fun, get weird, surprise yourself.
What are the big questions you’re wrestling with right now? What topics are you wanting to dig deeper into? What project is top of mind? What’s the last word that popped into your head?
Any and all of the answers to these questions are great buckets to create collections around. Or it could be as simple as a word - “Rest.”
Or as weird as “ideas are like songs on a burned cd.”
What matters far more than the names of each bucket is simply that you create them. The medium is the message and here, the medium is buckets.
For example, here are some Sublime collections from my library and the community more broadly:
but are the machines really learning tho? (which I created when adding this highlight to my library)
Notice how the last three only have one card each? That means they’re baby buckets, in infancy, awaiting more related inspo to come as it inevitably, most likely, just maybe will. And if it doesn’t, that’s cool too!
That’s it. Don’t overthink it, in fact don’t think at all just make some buckets and live your life.
As recently wrote, “If your world is not enchanted, you’re not paying attention.”
The magic stuff of life falls down on us like rain, so let us create the buckets within which to catch them.
Your buckets await - an invitation
Sublime is built for buckets, and we’d love for you to join us.
Create an account today, make some collections (that’s what we call buckets), and add inspiration from anywhere (web, iOS, and now Raycast extension - more on that below).
You can also fill the bucket with related cards from the Sublime community. That part is honestly pretty magical:
In other news
Inspo while you flow — Raycast x Sublime
Today, we’re excited to launch the Sublime Raycast integration.
You can now save anything, search your library, find related ideas, and view your collections from anywhere on your Mac — all without interrupting your flow.
Here’s a GIF of me adding the quote below to this article without ever leaving Substack.
You can’t step into the same stream twice because it’s always flowing. Everything is.
R.R.
Instructions to get started w Sublime’s Raycast integration are here.
If you’re not already on Sublime, join us and get access today by becoming a Sublime Premium member or creating a free account here.
Humans of Sublime
on the proliferation and efficiency of writing circles and his 13-month long writing streak!
interviews Apple design Award winner and design/innovation leader Ian Wilson on selling the idea, making the thing, and the duty of care.
asks us to stop doing things we hate doing.
“We have people right in front of us - digitally, and in real life. Imagine if we spent our time and energy on them, instead of spinning our wheels on social media trying to impress everyone and no one?”
shares her not-icky, totally doable approach to personal branding.
Jimmy Cerone is building his own content discovery system outside of social media.
was interviewed by about his, uh, unusual approach to networking.
gives E.B. White’s 1949 essay Here Is New York an 8.0/10.0 rating.
"No 'aha' moment – just a bucket doing its job." --> I never thought of buckets as such magical and useful tools, but indeed they are! ;)
and love the video, especially the cave you're in 😎
Yes!! I love naming my weird lil buckets on sublime!