Ask HN: Exploring ways of living the creative and intellectual life

I've always been fascinated by the creative process and how it intertwines with intellectual life (or, some would say they are one and the same). From seemingly simple activities like observing nature, to writing notes, to collecting stuff, to actually producing something, to conversations that spark our mind, etc.

I'm fascinated not only because they are to me intrinsically interesting, but also because many of these activities seem so "regular" or sometimes even regarded as "unproductive" (eg collecting stuff). I think there's so much potential in these things that we do, so much potential in ourselves, if only we could explore them more and understand the process better.

Anyway, this fascination led me to dream up two things:

1. To interview a bunch of creative/intellectual people and ask them about their process (ie their various activities and habits and how these influence the creative process).

2. To dig into books and articles and archives to find out the creative and intellectual processes of historical figures (e.g., Charles Darwin).

Unsurprisingly, I didn't do either as the tasks were just too overwhelming. But then I thought, could we possibly "crowdsource" this, here on HN?

And so, for whoever's interested:

1. I would love to hear about your own specific intellectual and creative process, all the details from input to output and everything in between (I think there are insights to be gained from studying the specifics).

And/or:

2. You could share resources (books, articles etc) that describe the processes of historical figures. And maybe give us some highlights for taste.

:D