Avoid the blank sheet syndrome
Use templates, routines and rules to be creative
What is the blank sheet syndrome
Starting is always the most difficult part of a project. In the creative world we call this the “blank sheet syndrome”. When you have to start a creation in front of a blank sheet you feel stressed and can’t start. Because you want to do something great you can’t start. Because we want success as soon as possible we are afraid to do wrong, finally we do nothing.
The research syndrome
There is a more common version of the blank sheet syndrome that I would call the “research syndrome”. Because we are afraid of starting, because we think we haven’t everything ready yet we over research things. I see this happening too often in design studios or in design schools. People just read, do interviews, collect inspiration, but don’t start creating. Don’t get me wrong, research is great. But when research starts to be an excuse to not do the work and create, then research sucks. That’s when you should say to yourself:
“Stop thinking. Start designing.”
I believe that research and design are not two different phases of the creative process. I rather believe that you should design and research in parrallel. I believe that design makes us ask new question that we have to answer through research. That’s why we should start doing the work, we should design as soon as possible. Because at the end of the day what the client, the user and your colleagues evaluate is what you produced, not what you thought of.
How to overcome it
Creativity needs constraints. It’s something I repeat very often. And I hope you are now convinced about that. Constraints help us not to loose our mind in question that are not relevant for now. Here are some tips to use constraints that can help you get started. These few tips help you put the first line on your blank sheet. They help you to build on this simple line to then create great work.
Use templates, frameworks and methods
During the idea generation workshops and sketching workshops that I give, I usually share this advice we people who can’t start:
“Draw a line. It’s done? Ok, now do something with that.”
I borrowed this method from my first drawing course I had in secondary school. Fono, our teacher and the artist leading the course told us in the first lesson to close our eyes and to scribble during one minute on a sheet of paper. He then asked us to open our eyes. What we saw was just a bunch of lines, rounds without sense. It looked like a drawing of a 2 year old child. Fono then told us that this was the base for a drawing we had to work on for the next month. We were quiet astonished by what he asked us. But he was the teacher, so we did what he asked. While trying to create something out of this children drawing I discovered that this helped to be more creative. I have to admit that I’m not good a drawing. But this was the first time where I was able to draw something that was powerful. Just because I had a template. I had a starting point.
What this experience teaches us is that the template, the framework or the model that we use is not important. What is important is to just have one, so to be able to build on that.
Use routines
Starting something new is like asking a child to go to bed. There is a kind of ceremony that helps the child to go to bed. It’s the same for creativity and getting work done.
Routines, ceremonies, habits are useful because they set an atmosphere or a mood. They help us understand what this new situation is about. They help us enter in this new phase quicker. I always remember, that when I was child, I couldn’t sleep before I said goodnight to both my parents. Once this was done, I felt asleep quiet instantly. Another example is this habit that parent read a story to children before they go to sleep.
“Because children don’t want to go to bed, they need a preparation.
Creatives don’t want to work. They need a preparation too.”
Here again, the habit that you use is not important. If you look the different routines that parents use (some sing, others pray with children, others read a story) you see that it’s not about what you do but about how you do it. A good habit is something that is simple to do, that you enjoy to do and that is accessible at any time. It’s like when parent forget the pacifier at home when they are on holidays. They just have to buy another, or the child we get crazy.
Use rules
All games are based on a set of rules. It’s kind of strange to think that the most fun moments of our lifes use boring and serious rules.
“Games are fun because they have rules.”
In fact, a game that has no rule can be fun in the first minutes, but then you get bored. If you don’t want to get bored while working you can setup some rules for what you are doing. In other articles I presented some of the rules that I use in my workflow: like setting a timer, using big numbered goals or using the Shit Ideas Method.
Don’t focus on what, but on how
I already mentioned it in the previous chapter, but I think it’s something essential to have in mind as conclusion. It is not about what method, what routine or what rules you use. You need some of these to set a mood for good work, but what these methods are is not important. The important thing is how you keep them live. A good habit is only good when it is done each time you need it, be it daily or weekly. But you need to repeat it, again and again. Of course you can use tools and methods from others as an inspiration. But I would recommend you to always adapt everything to want you need, to who you are and to your personal workflow.
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