"I often work by avoidance"

Brian Eno’s statement, “I often work by avoidance,” encapsulates an unconventional but refreshingly honest approach to creativity and productivity. Rather than facing tasks or challenges directly, Eno suggests that avoiding certain elements can paradoxically lead to productive outcomes. This approach runs counter to traditional wisdom, which valorizes tackling problems head-on and persistently striving toward clear goals. Instead, Eno acknowledges the peculiar nature of creative work, where progress often happens laterally, not linearly.

Avoidance, in this context, is not synonymous with laziness or procrastination. Instead, it’s a strategy for sidestepping the pressures, constraints, or anxieties that can stifle imagination. By steering clear of familiar paths or deliberately neglecting tasks that feel obligatory, one creates the psychic space necessary for new connections and ideas to emerge. This process allows a kind of “productive detour,” where avoidance becomes a tool that opens alternate routes toward completion.

For a composer or artist like Eno, such detours might mean setting aside a piece of music that isn’t working and tinkering with something unrelated, only to circle back later with fresh ears and insight. Avoidance becomes a mechanism for refreshing perspective, facilitating innovation, and preserving curiosity. It reveals the generative potential in leaving questions unanswered or projects unfinished, at least temporarily. Creative individuals often find themselves incubating ideas by shifting attention or immersing in tangential activities that feed the subconscious mind.

There’s a humility in recognizing that breakthroughs sometimes arise not from relentless forward motion, but from allowing oneself to get a little lost. Eno’s embrace of avoidance celebrates the non-linear qualities of the creative process and acknowledges that guidance, inspiration, and invention may flourish in the spaces where direct attention is momentarily suspended. It suggests that wisdom sometimes lies in knowing when to step away, let go, or avoid the well-trodden path, trusting that the work will ultimately find its way forward.