Creative blocks in creative jobs.
The creative folks are a ‘moody’ bunch. When we’re passionate with a project, and the creative juices are flowing, the days, the nights, the lunches and the dinners become one. There’s is no looking back. But, when our muse is lost, there are days in despair, in search of inspiration, and a sinking feeling for not creating constantly. I think these days are as important as the productive ones, they create balance in our imbalanced adrenaline-run lifestyle and careers. Here’s a few ways to deal with these blues in your creative careers to keep you on the ground and moving.
Release the pressure : Creative success isn’t overnight, but often acknowledged at a moment from where your life changes. When you see those heights, you’ve set those standards for yourself. That’s the worst we can do. We cannot risk to stop experimenting with the fear of failure and judgement. No one ever knows what’s going to work for who, it is a subjective world, and you cannot please everyone. So stop trying to replicate your prior success, learn from it. Understand what your method was — and try exploring new processes.
Inputs from anything are valid : Keep consuming content while you’re not creating it. Don’t go into a dark hole of passive dejection, instead consume content — for learning, for entertainment for plain fun, who knows where your next creative instinct comes from! There are stories, narratives and ideas everywhere, what it takes for a creative is to spot them, internalize them and implement them where they find a fit. Don’t force anything, just let it flow. Keep reading, looking, watching, feeling or whatever it is that your audience does.
Do the mundane tasks : Mundane tasks make you calm down. They also make you human. Keep your creative projects aside, and start with clearing your clutter — from closets to sinks, let your space be the clean slate you’re looking for. Do the dishes, put out the garbage, pick your kid from school — whatever it takes to help you not force things out but to start from within.
Journal! Keep this as a constant diary for your career’s sake. Maintaining a journal during when you’re not active, helps you come back with ideas in your next phase of inactivity. Even if it is just a word, an instant, a story you read, heard, observed — write it down, even a syllable works. These are those prompts you’d need when you finally kick start the creative process.
Set a time aside for pushing forward : Set a goal everyday with a specific time period, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, whatever your heart desires, to create anything at all. To produce something, even if it isn’t what your project is about, just keep pushing. Put yourself out there, be vulnerable — use the internet, probably even go anonymous if you’re scared of the judgement- but eventually, read between the lines of the feedback. Segregate feedback into what they’re wrong about and what can be really worked on. Work on these parts, get better at your skill, every day. This is an ongoing process. Push forward, not for this project, but for your career!
Learning to be the best version of myself, there is always a fear of missing out on something. Almost everything intrigues and interests me. I have a perpetual need for living many realities, but I consider time a blessing. Every moment counts. Get better at your craft, and there’s nothing and no one who can stop you. And during the blue periods, free yourself from self doubt and self sabotage, move ahead with humility. Undergoing the creative process is far more fulfilling than the results it creates!
Signing off.
- Hank Moody hysteria and personal insomnia triggered blog post.
