Creative humps and blocks
Creative block can be one of the greatest opponents to someone in the creative field. Whether you’re writing a medium post or re-designing life insurance landing pages, creativity is often times one of the key ingredients to whatever solution you’re working on.
So what happens when you get stuck? As a product designer, this can be pretty frustrating, especially if you feel like your creative block is prohibiting you from completing a time sensitive task. There’s nothing worse than getting creatively stuck two hours before those last minute design change need to be handed off to the engineering team.
We all handle our problems in different ways and I think creative block is no different. Some people say experience is the best teacher, so I’ve decided to share my experiences of how I stay inspired and learned how to defeat our creative common enemy.
1. Take a walk
You’ve probably heard this line several times before. It’s so cliche to say, especially if you’re a person that wants to get something done right away. But no seriously, step away from your station and get some relaxation. There’s nothing better to get your mind off things than taking a walk, unless you live in NYC during the middle of winter and the high for the day is 20 degrees :/
2. Get inspired
This is probably one of my favorite ways to get unblocked creatively. The internet is so vast and I love using it to get inspiration from other creatives around the world. Obviously, we’ve got sites like Dribbble, but there’s so much more creative inspiration around the net. A few of my other favorite websites include Fubiz, Awwwards, 500px, and Niice. Digging deeper into the work of other creatives, even those outside your own industry, can unlock your creativity and allow you to approach your problem or obstacle in a different way. The more places you can pull this inspiration from, the better.
3. Push the boundaries
A lot of times, a project or a task might come with a set of constraints. Sometimes they’re flexible, other times they’re not. Regardless, I think it’s always a good idea to think outside of the box when it comes to your boundaries. Whether or not your unrestrained idea makes it into the final solution isn’t important. Sometimes what you need is a creative kick to get those juices flowing, so removing all barriers up to that point might be a route to success.
4. Sleep
Ah, yes. There’s nothing like a good nap. It’s the very thing I’m going to do once I finish this post. Taking a nap is like hitting the reset button on your body. It allows your brain to idle down and recoup the energy you’ve spent looking at Terrence Howard memes on Instagram. This also means that you can wake up feeling refreshed and ready to give your creative endeavor another go!
These are just a few of my favorite ways to unblock my creativity at times when I’m feeling stuck. Give them a try and see if they work for you. Also, feel free to comment and let me know how you guys get over your creative humps.
