How to get over creative block
Even the most creative of us get creatively constipated.
You sit down to solve that business challenge, or your fingers are poised expectantly over the keyboard to write that blog, or you stand on your head to create a blood-rush in an attempt to force some inspiration for your next marketing campaign… and nothing happens.
Don’t stand on your head. Well, at least not to get better ideas (what you fancy doing in your down time is your business).
So, how can you get over creative block?
Let’s sum it up in five verbs: walk, draw, build, write, laugh.
If just reading those verbs has inspired you, you can leave right now and crack on with some ideas. For everyone else, here is why those particular verbs will make you more creative.
WALK
This won’t be a surprise to most people, it is widely known that walking is great for creativity. Why? Because changing environments give you fresh stimulus, the physical act of walking enhances your thinking and putting one foot in front of the other creates a rhythm that helps you zone of some of the conscious thinking that gets in the way of ideas.
But level up your walking for creativity: before you put your coat on, write on a Post-It the challenge you are wanting to solve. One line, starting with ‘how to…’ How to get our new products in the hands of parents. How to write a blog that gets shared amongst business owners. How to keep my customers coming back for more. Then, stuff that Post-It in your back pocket, under your hat or behind the fridge. In doing this, you are in essence briefing your subconscious, the bit of your brain that does all the creative heavy lifting whilst you walk along marvelling at the colour of that leaf.
DRAW
This is the bit where you might say ‘but I can’t draw,’ and I say: ‘it matters not a jot’.
Drawing is a great way to boost your creative thinking. You can doodle aimlessly, filling a page with your noodle doodles. If that makes you nervous, scrunch up your piece of paper first, flatten it back out and use the creases to help you create patterns, people or whatever takes your fancy.
Or use a more structured creative warm up – like drawing a lemon and then turning it into something completely different – to make your thinking more zesty (ahem).
The act of physically drawing, of putting felt tip pen to paper, helps shift your thinking from rational, logical and controlled to open, creative and curious.
BUILD
Lego, paper clips, paper cups, stones, leaves… pretty much anything can be a building material and building something is a fantastic way to free up your thinking and get those creative muscles stretching.
Do some free-form building - so don’t follow Lego instructions to create a Star Wars craft, grab a few fistfuls of bricks and just start creating something.
Your build might not end up looking like anything recognisable, but filing it under ‘abstract impressionist’, ‘work in progress’ or ‘random things interconnecting in a weird way’ is more than okay. Using your hands, having that tactile building experience and doing some low-risk problem solving about how you are going to get that leaf to balance on that paper clip will all help you overcome your creative block.
WRITE
You know they say dance like no one is watching? Forget that. When it comes to creative unblocking, you should write like no one will ever read it.
Write a story. If the blank page is off-putting, write 10 random words on small bits of paper, throw them into a bowl and pull them out one at a time and create your story featuring each word in turn.
I you prefer your creative work outs a little shorter, write a 6 word story.
Or write a one page story featuring some aspect of your business challenge, but make it bonkers. So it’s a story about a newsletter, but one that turns people into three-inch, cocktail-stick-wielding zombies that really want to eat Jelly Babies if they read it.
Writing is a great way to get your mind shifted toward creativity.
LAUGH
Creative block is a serious concern, getting past it shouldn’t be.
Laughter is a fantastic way to move your mindset toward creativity. Humour and creativity are happy bedfellows, and not just because neither of them snore. Humour involves creating or understanding juxtapositions that are unexpected, as does creativity – something funny can often change the way we are thinking, helping us adopt new perspectives.
If you are coming up with ideas in a group, try a creative work out to provoke laughter, such as drawing a mash up between a piece of fruit and a mode of transport (what is not to find funny in someone’s attempt to draw a carnana, or a part of roller grapes?). Or get everyone to draw a Post-It self portrait, it never fails to get people laughing.
There you have it. Five verbs and loads of ways to get over your creative block. If you manage to do all five simultaneously and can provide photographic proof, do let me know.
And why not download Your Daily Creative Lucky Dip workout to really strengthen your creative muscles? You’ll find it in the Tool Shed, our free online membership area.