When do you feel at your most creative?

Creativity doesn’t always follow schedules. A reflection on understanding when and how your thinking works best, and why working with your cognitive state matters at senior levels.

I hadn’t given this much thought until recently, after reading Sleepless: Discovering the Power of the Night Self. The stories are predominantly told from a female perspective, but I suspect the underlying insight applies across genders.

What struck me most was how much it encouraged acceptance of the environmental and internal conditions that shape our thinking. Previously, on days when my energy didn’t suit analytical or linear tasks, I would push through regardless. I’d stack up the to-do list and force focus, often with diminishing returns.

Now, I approach those days differently.

There are moments when my mind resists a linear journey through the day. The thinking becomes less structured, more fluid, occasionally messy. When I resist that state, errors are more likely to creep in. The executive part of the brain wants accuracy, efficiency, and control, while another part becomes restless and disruptive. That tension is not ideal when running budgets, making payments, or responding thoughtfully to complex emails.

Instead, accepting that shift in mental state, and leaning into what it naturally supports, can be surprisingly productive. Those same conditions can be ideal for strategic thinking and creativity. It becomes a useful time to revisit ideas or projects that have been sitting quietly in the background, often emerging with more energy than when they were first parked.

Understanding how and when our brains work best can be a powerful source of productivity. Of course, the freedom to act on this depends on the constraints of one’s role. Not everyone has full autonomy over how they structure their day. But the principle still holds.

As the author describes, her most creative work emerged at night, influenced by shifts in brain chemistry and cortisol levels. The specifics may differ for each of us, but the broader lesson remains the same.

Knowing yourself well enough to recognise when, and under what conditions, creativity is most accessible is a quiet but valuable leadership skill.