3 Tips to Reignite Your Creativity
2020.03.09
Striving to better ourselves and pushing to accomplish our goals can be a very good thing but when there is a lack of balance it can become problematic and stifle our creativity. We can become so focused on design that our creative flame starts to run out of wax to burn. I think every person who creates for a living, experiences a creative block at some point or another.
After I graduated from college, I became so focused on my career that my creativity started to suffer. All my energy was spent on design work that I quickly burned through my creative wax. It was easy to fall into an always-on, always working mentality and I felt burned out and bored. I realized something had to change, I had to change.
You Need a Hobby
As children, most of us had interests outside of our school work and through some self-evaluation, I have come to realize the importance of having interests outside of my career in my adult life. I started writing again and I started teaching myself Japanese both activities that challenge my mind in a different way than design work. Maybe I’ll actually finish that novel that I’ve always dreamed of writing and maybe someday soon I’ll be ready to take and pass the first level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. The importance of having interests outside of your career cannot be overstated and I believe it is a key component to replenish our creativity.
Focus on You
These days we often hear others talk about the need for self-care. When you become so focused on your career that you devote all your time and energy to it, there is nothing left for self-care and you will eventually burn out. Nearly everyone knows the importance of getting a good night's rest and a little daily exercise but when your career consumes all your energy it can feel like an impossible challenge to make it a priority. This is a lack of balance that needs to be corrected in order to recharge our creativity.
As a student, I always had some sort of athletic extracurricular activity which disappeared once I started working. I bought an exercise bike and started devoting more time to my health in general. I am still working on it, but even the little I’ve done had made a huge difference and I am making progress.
Outside the Box Professional Skills
Finally, it may seem counter-intuitive but taking time to learn more about a subject matter that can benefit your career can also be apart of your strategy to spark your creativity. I’ve chosen to increase my knowledge of social media marketing. I chose this because of my experience as working as an in the house design team of one social media is often part of the designer's job and if I’m going to do something I want to do it well. I have found gaining professional skills that may not be typical helps my creativity to flourish.
Reigniting your creativity comes down to finding a balance to your life that works for you. The exact formula will look different for each individual. Non design goals, self-care, and additional skills have helped me gain a better balance and restore my creative candle to burn brightly again.
