So much this. To get real work done (creative or not), you want a desktop OS and a big screen, keyboard and mouse.
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Yeah, I want that, but if I’m standing in line at the grocery store, I’m not at my desk, I don’t have a monitor, keyboard, or mouse.
Those tools may be good for some situations. But what about all the other situations? Some of the best art is created under adversity.
To be clear, the grocery line isn’t an adverse situation. But being in prison, working a physical / manual job, poverty—these are all adverse situations people face every day that prevent them from accessing the tools you mentioned, but I simply don’t believe they cannot or should not make art.
If you're in line in the grocery store, not taking out your phone to fill those 30 seconds and just being there by yourself might be better for your creativity than opening an app and pretending that you have accomplished something in that time.
My opinion is that you’re wrong—30 seconds in the grocery line _is_ enough time to “accomplish something,” and Einstein / Toni Morrison / William Carlos Williams / etc were not merely “pretending” to be creative!
I agree with the GP that letting your mind wander in those situations is often better for creativity than trying to fill every minute with activity.
Agreed, though in such “adverse” situations I would probably stick to conventional nondigital art (drawing, painting, writing, playing music, woodworking, sculpting, origami, etc.), or maybe to photography. A phone is physically just not a very good (figurative) canvas to be creative on, and really not “frictionless” (as argued by another comment). You can still use it for inspiration, (minor) research, communication and distribution.