How do you deal with creative blocks and challenges?

Our minds are fascinating! Listening to music can help spark creativity. It can mentally teleport you to a different place and time. As an example, if you’re a graphic designer and working on creating a design for a beach resort, listen to something that mentally takes you to the beach… maybe Jimmy Buffet, Bob Marley, Hawaiian music, or even peaceful ocean waves. You’ll be amazed at how this impacts the creative connections in your brain.

In particular, collaborate with someone from a different culture or discipline. The more diverse the better. One of the key benefits of collaborating with someone from a different culture is the exposure to new perspectives and ideas. When two individuals with different cultural backgrounds come together, they bring with them unique experiences and worldviews. This can lead to the development of ideas that may not have been possible otherwise, as each person can offer a fresh take on a given topic. (Such as when Paul Smith was asked to curate a rehang of the Picasso Museum in Paris. An example I mentioned in one of my recent posts). Good collaborators bring each other’s differences together to find new ways of combining. It's a win-win.

Seeking out guidance in the form of listening, watching, and reading from other people who have been there done that is a great way to take your mind off of your project in a productive way. For example, listening to podcasts like Guy Raz's "How I Built This" or Jay Shetty's "On Purpose" are great ways to learn from people who have built something from nothing. You'll learn, get inspired, and hopefully get motivated to return to your project with a fresh perspective.

It’s always a great idea to step away, get some fresh air, and practice some deep breathing. This can calm your mind and unlock creative thinking. Also, most of us have “personal peak hours” during the day where we are most productive, able to focus, or come up with great ideas. Use those hours to come up with creative ideas then use the rest of your hours to do all the other tasks on your to do list (check emails, sit in on meetings and webinars, return calls, etc.)

"Creative block" as a bit of a misnomer. To me, it's when the mind gets ahead of itself, not moving through the creative process. Resist the urge to jump into "big ideas." Take time, read through strategies and any background. Take a few notes (usually just notions stemming from what I'm reading). Jot down partial thoughts, interesting words relating to the topic. Put a few things together, even if they don't seem to fit (experimentation). Just go forward, one creative step at a time. Doesn't matter whether what is being written down or scribbled in the margins is good or not. It's simply progress. If you want to get to the top of a ladder, you don't jump all the way there, you take one step at a time. And you always get there.