Less is more: Structuring the entrepreneur's day to boost creative performance

Abstract

Addressing a gap in our understanding of entrepreneurial behavior, this conceptual paper explores the link between the entrepreneur's daily activities and their creative performance. A series of propositions are thus presented which answer the research question: How does the entrepreneur's daily schedule of activities impact their creativity? The paper argues that moments of creativity and insight are facilitated, and enhanced, through unconscious thought processes triggered during off-task breaks. It is argued that taking breaks from work and engaging in non-work-related activity, that involves low cognitive demand, can lead to instances of mind wandering, during which entrepreneurs become more creative. It is therefore proposed that by incorporating off-task breaks within the entrepreneur's daily schedule, and altering the nature, duration, frequency and timing of these breaks, entrepreneurial creativity is enhanced. The paper seeks to unpack the black box of entrepreneurial cognition by exploring the link between behaviors and divergent creative performance. Through the propositions presented, this paper points to the salience of off-task breaks in the entrepreneur's daily schedules, and puts forward the counterintuitive proposition that entrepreneurial creativity can be enhanced by scheduling the day to include routine non-work-related activities.