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I’ll start this off by saying that I don’t think I’m a creative person.
Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve been some variation of a logical bulldozer when it comes to creativity in personality tests - MBTI, Enneagram, BuzzFeed quizzes, you name it haha. Of course, these aren’t the answer to all personality traits, and we all have different layers to our thought processes, different parts of our personalities, and different things that our everyday lives demand of us depending on what job we’re in, what our family and friends are like, where we live, and a countless number of other variables.
So, why is a non-creative, logical person running a creative studio where feedback on projects is sometimes “it’s too creative” or “it’s too fun” and we have to pull it back now.
Good question.
I don’t think creativity is something that belongs to one person more than another. All of us, as humans, have to be creative innately - because evolution, survival, blah blah blah. I have people tell me all the time that they would love to do what I do, but they’re “not creative enough.”
I just think that a lot of people will sit down and say that they’re not a creative person because they don’t exercise their creative muscles that much. And sometimes that is the obvious answer - go sit down and write a poem, sketch a still life, or take some pictures. But sometimes, it’s about finding what helps us be creative that’s not actually a creative practice.
I really think that everyone is a creative, but sometimes our jobs, personalities, or other external factors make us think that creativity is something reserved for the select few who have a creative job title.
We’re all using creativity daily in problem-solving and decision-making. I mean, each micro-decision we make every day is a creative process in itself.
That said, it can also be really easy to get burnt out and tired creatively, especially when you have a lot going on or feel a lot of external pressure to be creative.
I’m definitely not any kind of brain scientist - I almost failed a lot of my high school science classes, so take all of this with a grain of salt. But I wanted to outline the ways that I’ve found help me be more creative, and see if there might be some that overlap that you guys can try out, or if this sparks an idea for a solution that works for you.
Because half of being creative is just doing the damn thing and figuring out how to get yourself out of creative slumps.
I’m not a scientist. I know nothing about brains. This is just what works for me.
A controversial statement. One of the best ways to be creative is to stop being creative.
I’m sure we’ve all had those moments where we’ve been working on something for hours and hours on end, and it begins to get frustrating because no matter what you try, it isn’t working.
So that’s it. Stop being creative.
Go outside. Go to bed. Go for a run. Take a shower. Go for a frolick in the woods. Go anywhere that you’re not going to think about the issue.
Getting away from the problem can sometimes spark the most creative ideas for problem-solving and creativity. And let’s be real, it’s always better to look at a problem with fresh eyes, even if you don’t crack the code to life while you’re away.
You’ll see new things and find ways to solve the issue that you were too close to before. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for your creative brain is give it a break.
I think everyone should travel if they can. There’s nothing more mind-expanding, eye-opening, experience-based learning than travel. But that doesn’t mean you need to hop away to Europe for three months, because obviously we can’t all do that. Even exploring the town next to your hometown works.
If you’re feeling creatively blocked, you should always introduce your brain to something new.
Whether that’s switching to a new coffee shop that you work from remotely, trying charcoal drawing for the first time, or adding a new extracurricular activity to your life like taking a dance class or going rock climbing - doing and experiencing new things gives us new perspectives and introduces us to more people with different perspectives than anything else.
You don’t necessarily need to make something new. Sometimes you just need to experience something new.
I think another thing that us “creative types” can worry about sometimes is not sounding smart when we talk or present.
I mean, we’re not out here building rocket ships or solving medical mysteries. Most of the time, we’re just here to draw pictures and make it make sense. But I think there’s a power in not worrying about being intelligent.
Not only does it take a whole load off your shoulders when you’re talking to people, it also encourages you to ask dumb questions.
I love asking a dumb or obvious question. No one wants to sound stupid (myself included), so we have a tendency to pretend we know things even if we’re a beginner. But by intentionally asking dumb questions, it opens us up to answers that may not have been said before.
It also helps you be more present in the moment if you’re not worried about your image and being “the most intelligent person in the room,” and half the time, people want your personality over your thinking in conversation. They can do the thinking themselves a lot of the time.
Plus, by asking the dumb questions, you may land on some interesting answers or solutions that others might have skipped over.
So yeah, be dumb.
Go out in the world and be dumb, guys. (Responsibly.)
Okay, maybe this is the logical side of my brain talking here, but having rules or set parameters for creativity really helps me be more creative.
I’ve found that without rules, I’ll get the same feeling as when I open to the first page of a new sketchbook. It’s all blank and shiny and clean and anything I do is going to mess it up now because it can’t possibly be perfect.
At least that’s what the creative block wants you to think.
So aside from telling you guys to just go scribble across the first few pages of your sketchbooks and say fuck it to all rules, I think it’s actually helpful to have specific rules and parameters in place. They don’t need to be super intense rules, either.
If you’re just creating something for fun, you might give yourself a rule of only using shades of blue. That could spur a whole room of ideas - What could you create that’s blue? What’s typically blue? And what if this other totally odd thing was suddenly blue? What would that feel like?
Or, if you’re problem-solving something for your job and you’ve been stuck on it, first give yourself some space and then do something like sit down and set a timer. Whether that’s for five minutes or three hours, giving yourself the rule that you’re in deep work on that issue until the timer goes off is a great parameter for your brain to work on the issue without other external stressors interrupting.
Set whatever rule works for you.
There are some instances where the rules are set for us, though - whether that’s a specific design brief that has a lot of restrictions, or a specific time of day that your brain just “works better.”
For me, I know that I’m most creative in the mornings when I haven’t overused all of my decision-making power for the day, so I’ll try to start on big creative projects first thing over a cup of coffee before moving into the more streamlined tasks in the afternoon.
You also don’t want to overload yourself.
As another example, if I have two big creative projects going at once (like a big brand design kickoff and concepts for an illustration project to start on), I won’t let myself do them on the same day. I’ve tried to do this in the past and it always results in me feeling super burnt out and not excited about a project that I was actually super stoked about.
For me, I only have a certain amount of creative energy that I can use each day before I need to switch to more admin-style tasks, so I try to use it wisely and often structure projects according to when they’ll get the best brain space for results. More on project management in a later article, though.
These are just some examples of rules that I’ve found I’ve had to set for myself based on how my brain works. They’re not the same for everyone. I know a lot of people whose brains work way better in the middle of the night instead of the morning, but I encourage you to find out what your rules are - and then set parameters around those to do your most creative work.
Don’t let creativity be a blank page.
I know, this is maybe the dumbest one here. But we’re not worried about sounding dumb, remember?
Sometimes the secret to getting over a creative slump really is just doing the damn thing.
And maybe you set yourself some rules to get that done, or maybe you just do it.
For example, I didn’t want to write this article. But I chose my topic and I set a timer for thirty minutes, and now I’m almost forty-five minutes into writing this article and I don’t really want to stop. You really do just have to get that momentum going sometimes and see where it takes you.
Even if you don’t land on an ultimate solution, having ideas down on paper that you can go in and revise later is always better than leaving them up in your head where they bounce around like a Windows screensaver (do they even still do those? Was that just in the early 2000s?).
Sometimes you just have to start before you feel ready, inspired, or particularly creative.
So, that’s it. That’s my five tips for getting out of a creative slump.
Take or leave whatever makes sense for you, but don’t forget that there’s no exact formula for being creative. What works to get you out of the slump this time may not work next time, and then maybe you come back and try something new.
For me, right now, I’ve found that going on runs, hiking, being in nature, and playing around with photography have been my favorite ways out of any creative slumps. Having time where your brain just gets to run free and do the things you like to do really helps you feel like you’ve had your playtime when you sit back down to work again.
And maybe that’s the biggest takeaway here.
Creativity doesn’t always come from sitting down and trying really hard to be creative. Sometimes it comes from stepping away, experiencing something new, asking a dumb question, giving yourself some rules, or just forcing yourself to start.
So I’ll leave you guys with this…Be dumb. Stop being creative. And go do things.
What are your favorite ways to get out of a creative slump? Shoot me an email at hello@freehouse-design.com if you want to chat about creativity!