3 WAYS TO OVERCOME CREATIVE BLOCKS
Creative blocks are detrimental to elevating any brand, both personal and organizational. Every creative has experienced these brain pauses that make us feel temporary creative inadequacy. Trust me I’ve been there. I’ve had ideas that have formed, then all of a sudden I'm stuck in creative purgatory. Here are my three recommended ways to overcome creative blocks.
Stop multitasking.
I used to be a firm believer of multitasking. I believe that we confuse having the capability to switch between multiple things at the same time as an effective way of successfully completing tasks. NO! It is a way to drive yourself nuts! The Aspen Institute states that whenever the brain switches to another thing, it uses part of the brain’s fuel – a glucose, so multitasking actually depletes the supply of brain energy quickly. Who needs that type of brain overload!
If we work in a stressful or busy environment, often times we are checking emails, switching between projects, or communicating with team members. Our brain becomes overworked. We start to experience fatigue or confusion. I recommend FOCUSING completely on the problem at hand. Dedicate that energy to solving your creative problem. If you don’t, it is quite easy to loose your train of thought and fall into creative purgatory.
Collaborate with other creatives and undiscovered creative people.
Collaborate! Collaborate! Collaborate! If you work with or have access to creative people that you trust (you may have an innovative concept that requires intellectual protection, so be careful with whom you share your thoughts), talk with them to gain inspiration and some direction. It’s also a good idea to collaborate with undiscovered creatives as well. I call them undiscovered, because I believe everyone is creative, most just haven’t owned it or accepted their gift.
Creativity is a mental process, which utilizes the entire brain. Let's say you are a big picture thinker and super imaginative, but you just can’t get pass the beginning of that great idea. What do you do? Collaborate with someone who can help bring some logic and reasoning to your idea, so that you can successfully solve that creative problem or birth that life-changing concept. Other creatives and undiscovered creative people serve as great sounding boards. They may ask questions or even oppose your idea, which can not only get your brain wheels back spinning, but potentially help you to explore something new that can be impactful.
Take a Break.
Take a break to gain inspiration from your daily surroundings or a little entertainment. Take a break and go for a walk, listen to a podcast, converse with someone about something unrelated to work, or read a good book. In an interview with Fast Company, Marco Bizzari, President and CEO of Gucci, said, “When I run. My mind is free. I try to run for an hour three or four times a week.” I'll take advice from him. I would think as the CEO of a brand valued at over $12 billion, you have got to be pretty darn creative to sustain such success.
I’m no Marco Bizzari…yet (wink, wink), BUT my mind is free when I turn on a good inspirational or gospel song, a lyrics often times inspire me. It frees my mind and my focus is shifted momentarily. My husband laughs at me because I watch reality shows. When I was freelancing, one of my favorites was Bravo’s Tabitha’s Salon Take-Over. I loved watching her challenge salon owners to be their best selves. I watched these brave souls (business owners) challenge their teams (or be challenged by their teams) to creatively execute these hairstyles, elevate their work environment, and meet the needs of their clients. Everything always comes back to creativity. Watching their creative processes and transformation was interesting. Not only was it intriguing, but their creative problem took my mind off of my own creative problems momentarily. I gave my brain a break, but in the interim gained inspiration.
Now that I’ve shared with you what I believe are three successful ways to overcome Creative Blocks. Tell me how you overcome yours!