What is Incubation?
Incubation happens in your mind when you’re not actively working on a project.
It is “unconscious processing” that goes on in your mind automatically. As Kadavy explains in his book Mind Management Not Time Management, “Even when you aren’t consciously thinking about something, your brain is incredibly active – something scientists call the “default mode network.”
Incubation Needs Time
Many people try to power through the creative process. They attempt to sit down, research, organize, and create something in one sitting.
That’s a mistake.
Creation best happens when we allow time for incubation.
The Creative Process Includes Incubation
Author David Kadavy includes incubation as one of the critical parts of his “Four Stages of the creative process.”
Well-known writer and writing coach Anne Janzer also highlights the importance of incubation in the creative process. In her book, The Writer’s Process: Getting Your Brain in Gear, she includes incubation as an essential part of the creative process. “One secret of productivity is learning how to use not-writing time to advance the work. Remember that incubation is a critical precursor to creative insight.”
How to Use Incubation in Your Creative Process
• Start your project early! If you wait to start a creative project right before it is due, you won’t have time for incubation.
Some argue they do their “best work under pressure,” but I don’t believe they do. Time pressure motivates them to focus and finish work, but that doesn’t equal “best work.” That’s rushed work with no time for incubation.
• Plan backward and plan time for incubation. Anne Janzer suggests, “Once you have the ending date, work backward through the seven steps to set up interim deadlines. Leave adequate time for incubation and rest between key phases.”
• Prepare the soil with research. Your subconscious isn’t going to have anything to process if you don’t first give it some raw material to work on.
Research your topic and then move on to something entirely different. While you’re not consciously working on the material, your mind will continue to process it.
During incubation, your mind will do some heavy lifting for you. When you return to the project, you’ll likely find that you already have some ideas for organizing your topic and have some insights about how your research materials fit together.
• Work on two or more projects at the same time. Author David Kadavy uses what he calls the Alternating Incubation Method. “With this method, you can complete two projects in parallel, while harnessing the power of Incubation.”
By alternating your work on two projects, you allow one project to incubate while you consciously work on the other. Even though you focus on one project, your subconscious mind works on the other.
Using an alternating method allows you to get more and better creative work done in less time.
An Example — How I Use Incubation in My Creative System
1. I record ideas for potential blog posts as I read and go through my day. I have an Apple Shortcut I use to record a tentative title and my initial thoughts about the topic.
Because I’ve planted the seeds of a topic early, my subconscious thinks about it before I consciously work on it. When I have thoughts about one of these topics, I record my thoughts on the subject.
2. At least a week before I write about a topic, I draft a mind map in MindNode. If I have recorded thoughts about the topic, I transfer them to the mind map and start organizing them. I research the topic and record quotes or ideas I might use in the post. Then, I back off and let it all incubate.
The mind map’s graphical layout helps me visualize my ideas and see how they are connected.
3. I return to the mind map numerous times as the idea continues to incubate. Once I’ve done my primary research and created a mind map, my mind looks for additional relevant materials and connections. When I become aware of these thoughts, I go back to the mind map and record them.
4. I finalize the mind map the day before I intend to write the first draft of the blog post. It’s not unusual for me to make significant changes to the organization of the blog post or identify an area I’ve overlooked that needs to be addressed. I’ll do any necessary research and fill in the absent areas.
5. I transform the mind map into a draft narrative blog post in one sitting. I set up my laptop with my word processor, Ulysses, on the left side of the screen and my mind map on the right side.
I use my mind map to guide writing and ensure I don’t leave anything out. I use the revision mode in Ulysses and the Grammarly app to check my spelling and grammar.
6. I leave the draft post in Ulysses for at least a week to incubate more. I typically return to the post several times to make revisions or add ideas.
7. The day before I intend to publish the post, I revisit it to make final revisions and publish it to WordPress.
8. On publishing day, I reread the post and make any final changes, then publish it to the web.
By spreading out the potential blog post topic, topic selection and research, mind mapping, and writing and revision process over at least a week and often many weeks, I give the material numerous opportunities to incubate.
Try Planning Incubation Time in Your Creative Process
You’ll undoubtedly do better work if you allow for incubation in your creative process.
Look at your current process and see where you can let incubation work for you.
Do you start projects too close to their due date? Start them earlier to allow for incubation.
Do you try to go through all the creative steps in one sitting? Split up the functions to allow incubation time between them. Work backward from your due date and schedule the separate processes for adequate time.
Set up a system for incubation that works best for you. Everyone is different, and my way of allowing for incubation may not work for you. Find what works for you and implement it.