You know that saying “everyone’s an athlete, some people just practice more than others”? Well, that same sentiment rings true for creativity, believe it or not. It’s easy to become distracted by self-doubt, critics, and the pressures of maintaining a job or social life. But from one creative to another, I can tell you it is possible to stay creative: here are a few ways that I flex my creative muscles.
These are some of the ways that I stay creative, everyone is different. Find the combination that works for you.
Passion Projects
When you’re focused on one thing during the workday, whether or not it’s creative, it’s easy to become bored with what you’re doing if you work on it too much. To stay interested in what I’m doing, I love to change things up by creating a passion project for myself. Having another outlet to practice my craft in a way that breaks up the monotony and keeps me excited to stay creative every day.
Change of Work Space
When you’re stuck working in the same place all the time, you can’t help but feel stuck sometimes. Changing up my workspace does wonders for me. I love to work in different coffee shops in my city. Not only do I get to sip on something tasty, but being around new sights and sounds while working is inspiring.
Travel
Changing your work space is one thing, but changing your whole environment is another. Getting lost in a new city and immersing yourself in a new culture is the way to do it. Visiting museums, seeing new artwork, viewing new architecture, hearing new languages, or traditional music, eating foods that I haven’t been exposed to, and just overall experiencing new things always gets me thinking in different ways and invigorated to create.
This may not be practical for everyone, but travelling doesn’t necessarily mean going far or spending much money. Grab a bus to an in-state bed and breakfast and see how even that change of environment reignites your creativity.
Experimentation
Changing your tools could change the way you create. In turn, it may change the look/feel/sound/meaning of your message. Since I’m an illustrator, I like to change the media that I use every once in a while to keep my look fresh; but also, I like to learn how to work with new materials.
Stay Updated with Other
People’s Work This is crucial. Read books, browse blogs, research target hashtags, visit art shows. You not only stay updated with what’s happening in your creative community, but you’ll stay tuned in to how your field evolves which enables you to stay on the top of your own game.
Disconnect
Sometimes social media and technology get in the way. We worry about followers, likes, and our digital presence far too often. Unplug, give yourself some uninterrupted time to create, and put work out there without any of those aforementioned worries.
Share
This is akin to staying updated, but you can’t just sit in your dark studio or workspace all the time. Talk with other creatives. Talk with your friends. Talk to anyone! Gauge people’s interest about your ideas. Get people excited about your work. Once you start a dialogue around your project, new ideas could be brought to light and your project could transform into something better. You may even find someone to collaborate with! You never know what to expect once you share your ideas with the world.
Make
Don’t stress whether you’re good or experienced enough. Just be confident and never let hang-ups stop you from creating!
