5 Tips to Replenish your Creative Reserves and Do Meaningful Work
Musicians have songs, writers have words and painters have canvases — every creative professional has a medium of self-expression.
We all have different answers to what creative profession we are in but a common question that we all face is —
How to stay creative when we get stuck?
Getting breakthrough ideas on a conscious or subconscious level is difficult, especially in a world filled with noisy distractions that scream for your attention.
So, how do we get it done creatively?
Is there a magic way to remove the dust off your mind when you are chasing creative satisfaction at work and/or in life?
As a writer and marketer, I have dabbled with different creative tasks and activities in my career. All of that requires me to think and come up with innovative, engaging and creative solutions.
If you are like me (and if you need new ways to break the creative block) — here are 5 tips that have helped me re-think the art of creative thinking and doing meaningful work.
Go on, read and find what suits you best.
- Go for a Walk:
You might be thinking — “What good can come out of walking for few minutes when I just cannot think of something new sitting at my desk?”
Going for a walk to give your brain a creative push might sound a bit superficial on surface.
The scientific truth, however, is very different from our assumptions.
Walking is known to be one of the very few stimulating activities (the other ones are exercising and reading) that can stimulate your brain without the need of any external substances or situations.
Some of the most brilliant and creative minds from history including Darwin and Einstein were known to take long walks (they didn’t had access to internet back then) to get their creative juices flowing.
You don’t have to run a sprint everyday to spark creativity — simply take a quick stroll or a leisure walk whenever you feel stuck.
Going for a walk will not only help you think from a new perspective but it will also boost your long-term ability to stay creative.
Oh, and by walking everyday you will add about 7 years to your lifespan — more time and life to be creative and do what you love!
2. Get Entertained:
Picture this: you have an important creative task to complete and a critical client deadline to meet. Now what do you do? You start to panic a little, worry a lot and basically start visualizing everything going wrong in your head.
This is an internal play that starts whenever we have to get creative work done in short time. This inner voice in our head gets stronger as the deadline approaches, leaving us thinking about all work and no play as the only solution.
If this sounds familiar — you need to relax and take a break.
Spending time on entertainment won’t make much sense, especially when a deadline is impending and you are already running against the clock.
The point is — if you can get your mind of the work part for a short while, you give your brain the opportunity to rest and recharge.
Whether it is watching a movie, listening to music, reading a book or playing with your pet — any entertaining activity that gets your mind away from work for a while is a good thing to do.
When you resume work after a break, you will feel less frustrated and more inspired to think creatively.
For those who are working on long-term creative projects like writing a book, launching a brand or designing a product — learning a new hobby can also boost your creative output. If you already have a hobby, take time to hone your skills and get better at it.
Personally, I like to go back to my piano whenever the creative resources dry up — playing music simply helps me re-wire the neural pathways in my head. It is therapeutic and beneficial for thinking creatively.
Taking breaks often might seem counter-productive to creativity, but the fact is — breaks are an essential ingredient to creative thinking.
Talking of taking breaks, here’s the next step to re-fuel your creative resources.
3. Set Smart Deadlines:
Let me tell you how setting deadlines can help you get out of creative blocks.
Humans are creature of habits. When we work from 9 to 5 — our minds get tuned to the same loop (or habit) of thinking and acting in a specific time frame and context. This makes us feel monotonous and breeds procrastination.
A creative block doesn’t always come from a lack of ideas, sometimes, it is a result of too many loose ends in our head that don’t come together and connect nicely.
To break this mental loop — start by putting a deadline to smaller, simpler tasks in your schedule.
For example — if you were to write 3000 words every day, break down the entire task in three phases of 1000 words each and allocate a strict timeline for each phase.
This will force your brain to think within the constraint of time and come up with different and innovative ideas to get work done.
Dr. Richard Boyatzis, a professor of Organizational Behaviour and Psychology researched and shared his findings that “the more the stressful a deadline is, the less open you are to other ways of approaching the problem at hand.”
So, the next time you feel stuck or fixated on a creative task — try if you can break it into smaller, bite-sized tasks that can be done within a set schedule.
If you have a mountain of a creative task to climb, break it into phases and get it done under a deadline.
I like to use the ‘Pomodoro Technique’ to divide lengthy tasks into easy ones and work within the constraint of an immediate deadline. You can read more about this technique here.
4. Get Organized:
Staying organized is a superpower for anyone doing creative work.
Organizing yourself isn’t only limited to re-arranging your desk or work environment. It also implies keeping your thoughts structured and your mind free of clutter.
If you are in a creative profession, thoughts, ideas, revelations can come up anytime. That is both the beauty and the curse of living a creative life.
To tap into the power of these fleeting ideas, one must learn to focus better.
Creative people tend to get distracted easier than others, and that’s a fact.
The mind is a powerful muscle — to strengthen its creative power, we must put in effort to stay organised and train our mind in the right environment.
To get better at creative work, learn to keep yourself organized. If you don’t have a planner or a diary, get one. If you already have one — go through it and revisit old ideas or thoughts you had noted in the past.
Keep your desk clean, make a to-do list and take some minutes off at the end of the day to summarize what’s done and what’s left to be done.
Personally, I am a big fan of to-do lists and organizers that give me a sense of control and achievement for my day-to-day tasks.
As Steve Jobs said — “Creativity is just connecting the right dots.”
To use your creative power to its potential, give your mind the benefits of an organized routine and you’ll be amazed by the results.
5. Think Different:
Ask yourself — “What would a five year child do if given the same problem to solve as yours?”
Looking at a problem from the same perspective that it arose won’t give you any better (or creative) solutions.
If you are stuck in a creative block — try thinking from a different perspective.
Research has proven that when we combine different approaches to solve a problem, our brain starts thinking in a new pattern.
Look closer. Look broader. Think younger.
Do it differently than you have been doing it.
Behavioral science calls this ‘Divergent Thinking’ — a thought process or method of exploring different or non-obvious ways to come up with a unique solution.
According to science, a person’s ability to think creatively can be predicted by the strength of a inner network or neural circuits in their brain.
Enough science — my point here is — to get more of those ‘a-ha’ moments in life, you should try thinking from a unique perspective every once in a while.
Take some time out to ask yourself questions that help you get out of a vertical way of coming up with creative solutions.
If I was to recommend everyone a simple way to think different, I’d recommend checking out ‘Oblique Strategies’ — a card based method originated by Brian Eno for thinking creatively (they also have an Android app if you fancy).
Final Thoughts
Doing creative work is liberating and satisfying.
After all, in a world full of noise, making your voice heard through your creativity is a great achievement. Creativity is contagious, after all.
We all know getting creative ideas at the right time can be challenging — but with practice and the right approach, we can take control of our creative output in life and do meaningful work more often.
The next time you feel stuck in a creative rut, make it a point to try the above steps in life. And most importantly, don’t be afraid to make mistakes on your creative journey.
Hope these ideas help you find inspiration, creativity and joy in everything you do in life!
Psst! Before you leave — do you have a favorite trick or tip to find creative inspiration? I am eager to know your secret, let me know in the comments below.
