Having grown up on the edge of the internet becoming a staple in households, it's hard to miss how impactful social media and digital connectivity has become in everything we do as a society, and how different life now is because of it. Retaining memories that predate an online-as-standard life, I have seen myself and many others exist in an almost convoluted realm of two worlds, as we strive for the holy grail of work/life balance.

Decompressing with Monty Python box-sets is now a staple in navigating my daily expeditions, as three national lockdowns have variously spurred deeper descents into states of emotional isolation. Being able to take time to rest, and engage in wholesome experiences that nurture creativity, has really helped sustain me over the recent months. But despite all of the obvious, globally-shared reasons to cut myself some slack, one thing still rails against the notion of striking that balance. And that’s a long-standing mantra I have inside me that, regardless of everything else that’s been going on, still says “Just work hard”.

Looking back on my professional journey so far, I’ve found myself drifting into the role of a multidisciplinary arts producer, having been fortunate enough to have collaborated with incredible creatives across companies such as Netflix and the BBC. Over my early years though, my mind was plastered with that ‘Just work hard’ mentality. Growing up in rural Ireland for 15 years initially saw me develop the mindset that I had to work hard to progress from that environment. That was backed by my Nigerian heritage, which applied similar principles of working hard to get out of tough situations. Those early approaches have taken me far in my career - they’ve actually been good to me, and certainly allowed me to get where I am now – but over the long-term, they’ve also been detrimental to my mental health and limited my true openness to social connections.

Blurry Balances

So many of us now working from home means we’ve merged doorbell dings with messenger pings. Some days the only collaboration is with the postman, as we mutually sign to complete another lockdown purchase. Who could have predicted that isolation burnout would be a facet of our new norm? With so much else to process and manage in the day-to-day fabric of life right now when I just work hard, a second pair of eyes and ears is now a real mutual benefit in all creative projects we work on. It’s taken the advent of the current situation to really bring that old philosophy into question. 

The power of an individual in these previously unseen and surreal digital times is actually greater than ever, especially when a new participant comes to a project or problem cold. They see things from a different perspective. They see things I can’t see. Being able to digitally collaborate despite lockdown - as would have been impossible if this had happened during previous generations - has really helped me step out of a mental rut.

A creative collaboration gives me access to different perspectives on how I present myself, enabling me to constantly improve components of how I write, direct, and produce ideas. It’s made me able to really focus my attention on key areas, backed with the trust and emotional understanding of my counterparts in their own feats. However much value you put on the brute-force power of ‘Just work hard’, don’t underestimate the power of open conversation to get you to the same place more intact.

Taking Collaboration ONLINE

Digital collaboration has manifested itself through vast and influential global movements over the recent years, from progressive social marches, to emergency services, and Reddit bankers. It gives us an open-world ability to connect with hundreds of thousands of millions of people, in any location, in real-time. Quite humbling in its reaffirmation of human universality, yet still intriguingly unfathomable in its scale.

I’ve found myself being open to many new avenues toward a balanced, co-creative life, pulling inspiration from a few different places.  Jung might have said I needed a metamorphosis of transitioning through unlearning pre-conditioned traditional processes in favour of a more socio-healthy sustainable approach. Or in short: Work smarter, not harder. To actively solve problems, I need a mixture of working inward with myself as well as externally with others. A shared process, yet one whose exact process is unique to us all. I’m not quite moving through this as graciously as this paragraph makes it sound, but nonetheless, the wheels are in motion!

You need to be strong, though. Amidst an online but organic realm of endless opinions and ideas coding their way through, having the courage to openly affirm your agreement or disagreement while sustaining the desire for shared progress inevitably poses questions of how best to prioritise your energies. But getting it right is worth it, in the long run.

Collaboration is tried and tested. History shows that when brilliant and challenging minds come together in a shared space, bringing with them big ambitions towards a common goal, amazing things happen – offline and on. This is especially pertinent now, as we all are locked into a different, distinctly modern daily challenge, each trying to survive, achieve career goals, and build relationships in a world where all spheres of life are increasingly connected, whether we want them to be or not. 

Sticking out, to fit in

One of my most successful methods of building relationships has been taking the time to truly accept people for who they are, instead of moulding them into my images of who I feel they should be. Our preferred ideals oftentimes aren’t what our environments present. Again, it takes work. But trying too hard to fit in hasn't always been the best solution anyway, when working in an industry that usually requires you to stick out.

This was hard for me to grasp at first. But in my life and work, just fitting in has sometimes been the least important skill I’ve needed, while effective networking, understanding, taking time to breathe, and trusting my own process and abilities, seemed way more important. Outdated working philosophies take genuine care to swap for working smarter.

Creative collaboration is a force of unlimited magnitude now. From the rise of TikTok Duets as an art form, to revered professionals and public figures like Brene Brown and Jordan Peterson, Russell Howard and Jameela Jamil turning YouTube gurus and podcast evangelists, the digital world seems increasingly set on facilitating new works through new partnerships and accessibility.

SHAPING OUR CREATIVE PROCESS (and ourselves)

Creative collaboration is the enlightening path we should all endeavour to take. Learning all the relevant interpersonal and logistical skills to do it well - alongside, inherently, finding out who you really are along the way - is a challenging task. But while the groundwork is demanding, the final product is worth it. 

I don’t blame people for wanting to work in their own corners, to simply knuckle down and get the job done. In a 40-hour-week world, I am still not immune to serenading the four walls that surround me with frustrated cries of “Just finish this and get it done”. I imagine the ‘Just Work Hard’ mindset will live rent-free in my mind for a little while longer, regardless of how much more I now know. 

But I do know that taking time to align and collaborate with the correct people is probably just as important as the creative result itself, if not more so. Collaboration is certainly a powerful route to a more enriched, dynamic, and fruitful end product, of course. But the value of the process itself also has deep and profound, personal and long-lasting benefits for every individual involved.