Being creative is a daily struggle for some. Even though they might be professional designers, there are often times when we also walk into a creative block. 2014 is predicted to be a great year, but how will you as a designer stay creative in 2014 and make sure that you don’t run into any blocks? You can follow my advice described below? That’s an option.
I’m not going to give you the do or die of being creative, but I sure can give you some advice that has been for me over the past few years. I have been able to stay creative without any creative blocks and grow my businesses. Sure, to some extent Creativeoverflow suffered under the management that was supposed to look after it, but I decided to take it back for me. Why? Simply because I miss outputting daily creative content and because design is still a hobby of mine. Enough about that for now, let’s focus on the topic at hand.
Five ways that you can stay creative in 2014 has been outlined below. Let’s see if you agree with me.
1. Calculate your Peak Performance Hours
Some of you might have 9-5 jobs and will have to perform within those margins, but those that are fortunate enough to work for themselves through freelance design or remote working will benefit from this. Take one week and calculate your peak performance hours in a day. Are you a morning person or an evening person? Do you work better with the lights on or off? Should there be music in the background or quietness? Every person is unique and only you will be able to find out exactly when and how you output the most work.
Be honest with yourself and make sure to document your findings so that you can setup a work schedule for yourself. Ex. I know that I get most of my work done between 10PM and 4AM. No distractions, no other commitments and no beach weather outside. Every person does have a different schedule though so make sure to customize yours to fit your lifestyle.
2. Have an Idea List with You
I have a big black book(Old school + Evernote) that stays with me wherever I go. It is my idea book. I have pages and pages full of ideas, article topics, course titles, resources etc. Whenever I feel that I am short on any ideas I turn to my book. It is MY go to resource for whenever I am under the weather. I encourage you to get yourself a book or get Evernote and start making lists of ideas that you have. Better yet. Take one day and title 20 articles that you want to write in the future or drawings that you want to do…or whatever it is that you want to do. It’s up to you. Just do it.
3. Inspiration Site List
Whether you are a medium artist, digital designers, web designer, UI expert or just a new guy on the blog getting starting, I cannot begin to explain how important inspiration is. I want you to make a list of inspirational websites where you can garner daily inspiration from. There are thousands of websites out there, but I have made a small 10 website list for you to get started with below. Don’t see these as the best of the best, every person has their own taste surrounding their work.
Abduzeedo
From Up North
Siimple
CSSMania
Favourite Website Awards
Ads of the World
Deviantart
Behance
Creattica
Unmatched Style
4. Join a Gym
I can’t stress to tell you how important your physical fitness is as a designer or creative person. Being physically fit keeps your brain relaxed and ready for action too. Looking at top CEO’s in the world, what do they all have in common? They belong to a gym. They workout daily. They are committed to staying fit. Why? Well simply because your body cannot function on sitting alone. Sitting creates problems further down the line for your “current healthy body.”
Working out everyday will not only guaranteed give you new and fresh ideas, but give you some time to yourself to think about the day and revitalize yourself.
5. Side Projects
Being held up with client work daily is no walk in the park. It drains you if you aren’t able to let your creative juices flow. Therefore I insist that you focus on some side projects too. They will not only allow you to let loose your creative abilities, but encourage you to come up with unique work and challenge your current knowledge in certain areas pertaining to design. Side projects have saved me countless times. Whenever I got stuck on a client project, I would move away for an hour or two and work on something totally opposite. I would then take a break and after a brief period resume the task at hand with a new, fresh approach. Believe me. Side projects save your life.
Conclusion
Even though this isn’t the ultimate guide to breaking a creative block, it is a simple guided way to stay creative in 2014. If you follow these steps to the T, I promise you that you won’t walk into any non-creative walls. If you do. Email me. Tweet me, or send me a horrible note. I’m that trusting of my points above. I hope that you enjoyed this article and can make use of these points mentioned above.
Featured Image: Little girl and water colors on Shutterstock