For many, the core of the artificial intelligence debate comes down to who or what is doing the actual creation.

For years I thought that being creative required poor mental health. I embraced my depression because I produced good work. But, I’m learning how that is a false equivalency. If I’m talented, it’s not because I’m in pain. It’s because I have a bit of natural talent that a massive amount of repetition has nurtured.

I have spent a lot of time chasing the quick dopamine hit of a viral moment. I’ve had a lot of small viral moments and one or two big ones. The one thing I can tell you is that they are sugar highs. Quick spikes with prolonged lows. Chasing virality doesn’t lead to growth. At least not for me.

We are taught that this time in our heads is procrastination. Imagination is not work shown, so how do we quantify its value? Without that quantifying, how do we determine the value of your work? How do we determine your value as a person without knowing the value of that work?

I am the worst combination of two things. I’m a procrastinator and a maximalist. I can have a hard time getting going on tasks and projects. Worse still, I tend to accumulate stuff along the path to productivity. I keep trying to build the perfect environment for productivity and creativity. Until a couple of weeks ago I had a third screen installed on my computer. One for writing, one for media, and one for social media and reading. It was pretty dope. It was also completely ineffective.