Tag: productivity

For those who create content with zeal,

A round of applause to seal the deal.

Innovation isn’t a cakewalk,

Elusive inspiration, it may stalk,

Remember, creativity dwells within,

In every soul, a spark waiting to begin.

 

The creative process is a grueling journey and demands time, effort, and a constant flow of ideas. Just like crafting this poem above! So creative slumps are a natural part of that process.

In short, let’s address this question: why are we lacking fresh ideas for creative projects?

Creative Burnout?
Lack of new perspective?
Nothing exciting out of the box?

Why are we lacking fresh ideas? How do we resolve it?

The above poem was a humble attempt at something outside our general writing style!

Is it unconventional? Yes.
Is it out of our comfort zone? Yes
Is it risky? Yes.

So let’s discuss how we can help counter your creativity block because we tried to do the same too!

 

#1: Find Inspiration

Conversations

Meet people and have conversations. This can aid in discovering an alternative point of view.

Listen proactively. Ask questions. You don’t need to speak only to creative people to ignite your creativity!

Explore online forums, social media platforms, and chat groups to experience diverse opinions and perspectives.

 

Look for Novel Experiences

Stay curious and allow yourself to find inspiration everywhere.

Experience new things by stepping out of your comfort zone. The activities can mean getting bored and not doing anything at all! Which may be something other than your subject area of interest!

Engage in physical sports, listen to unfamiliar music, or visit an unusual place. Observe and listen to your environment, and be present.

You don’t need to force yourself and keep looking for ideas. Just have an open mind, and inspiration will find you.

 

Enjoy Boredom

To support our claim above, studies prove that a highly structured environment dampens spontaneity and curiosity in children, which impedes idea generation. Boredom helps children develop soft skills like adaptability, flexibility, and resourcefulness, thus increasing creativity!

This may sound counterintuitive, but as adults, it’s best to take a break from creating and generating ideas sometimes. Keeping still and staying quiet forces you to tune in to your imagination and helps unlock your creative flow.

Boredom realigns the creative system and allows your brain to combat the lack of stimulation. Without a structure, your brain begins creating plans, organizing activities, and solving problems. These skills are crucial for developing creativity and executing creative projects.

Go for a walk, or just stare at the fly on the wall; inspiration will enlighten you!

 

#2: Idea Generation

Journal Your Thoughts

Gather your ideas, no matter how far-fetched or irrelevant they seem. Document them in a written, audio, or video format so you can retrieve them.

 

Embrace Imperfection

Perfectionism hampers the creative process, so allow yourself to ideate without the fear of messing up!  Adopt a non-judgemental stance towards your thoughts, and explore concepts without being prejudiced towards the outcome.

 

Reflect

Let your mind wander freely to restore your creative flow. Explore an idea, reflect, and resist the urge to have an end goal.

Mind mapping is an excellent tool for idea generation because it records your train of thought and helps you collect and connect disparate concepts.

 

Consume more content

Consume more content to gain new knowledge and revisit familiar concepts.

Read a book, watch a fun show, or listen to your favorite songs and podcasts. Along the way, you’ll find novel patterns between seemingly unrelated things.

Don’t worry if the knowledge you learn seems trivial or unimportant. All these pieces of information help the creative mind generate fresh ideas.

 

#3: Experimenting with Concepts

Create content

Before starting your new project, dump your thoughts on a paper notepad on your trustworthy devices. Make unapologetically lousy content to get it out of your system before gathering input.

Sometimes, you must cleanse your creative mind of mental clutter and start afresh to get back into the groove.

 

Side Projects

Creatives work on several different projects simultaneously, so avoid allowing yourself to be stuck on one project!

Moving on to another project gives you downtime and expands your idle energy productively. It may be surprising, but while completing other tasks, you may create a mind-blowing concept for another ongoing project.

Working on multiple projects or concepts helps maximize your inspiration, ideas, and experiment!

 

Alternate Mediums

Creative people don’t restrict themselves to a single medium of expression. If you’re a visual artist, try writing about your images. Try acting out or drawing your written work if your dominant medium is writing.

Interchange your mode of expression to experience your creative process in a different light.

In fact, with the dawn of  AI tools, you might develop unconventional opinions, ideas, and approaches at work. Artificial Intelligence is becoming an accessible reality of the present. As the name suggests, it is a medium to elevate your creative processes in diverse ways.

 

Share

Finally, share your stories, failures, opinions, hacks, tips, and progress with others. Learning is a two-way street; you may garner more ideas from peoples’ reactions to your work.

 

Why Do We Need Fresh Ideas?

The answer is simple. Creativity must be nurtured, and we must work on our right brain rather than pressuring our logical left brain. This opens space for fresh ideas and viral concepts!

Did these tips inspire you to keep creating and exploring?

Take a breather and look around you for innovation. Let your imagination and innate instincts guide you. Remember, gather your ideas to refer to them later and shout “Eureka!” when they come in use.

Most importantly, express, process, enjoy the journey, and good luck!