Having Varied Interests Leads To True Creativity
Adam Vicarel
Principal, Creative Director: Vicarel Studios | We connect Brands to their Audience through the Artful Implementation of Strategic Design
Effortlessly unleash your creativity and the flow state through doing things OTHER than your work.
Have you ever noticed that some of your best creative ideas come when you’re least expecting them? You all of the sudden have an amazing idea when you’re just taking a shower, walking the dog, cooking or running?
Working as a freelance graphic designer in Denver, I frequently find myself in a position where I need to “force creativity.” I’ll need to create some lettering for a packaging project when I’m feeling uninspired, or I’ll need to come up with new logos and branding concepts for a business when I have no idea what to do. As a graphic designer, being a creative problem solver is what I need to do for work, whether or not I’m feeling creative.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think creative block is a bad excuse. And, a bad one at that. Lawyers don’t have intelligence block and it sure would be a bummer if a doctor had anatomy block — “Hey sorry, I forgot if the ulna was an arm bone or a leg bone, so I accidentally amputated your leg instead. Sorry, anatomy block got the best of me this week!”
So, how do you get creative when you’re not feeling creative?
To constantly have a wealth of unique and creative ideas, I suggest you regularly indulge in the OTHER things in life that you enjoy outside of your creative entrepreneurial endeavors. Regardless of your profession: whether you’re a photographer in Ohio, a life or fitness coach in Florida or a freelance graphic designer in Denver, the intersections and overlap of your varied interests is where you will have truly unique ideas.
With a regular indulgence in theses varied interests and activities, you will become better and better at drawing parallels between disparate ideas, and thus, you will be a better creative problem solver.
Additionally, when you are doing something that you love, you’re able fall into more of a free-flowing, mental autonomy. During this time, your subconscious opens up and runs more freely. You’ll be thinking outside of the box, and your ideas will be truly unique and creative.
Making the time for things OTHER than your creative / business work is some of the best time you can spend. Not only are these other activities your own personal choice, and thus extremely fulfilling, but they ignite different parts of your brain and allow you tap into your true creativity, leaving the term creative block in the dust.
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3 年I realized that what I thought was "creative block" was more because of a lack of perspective. Sometimes I box myself into an idea too much, though some constraints are good and beneficial, that I don't go beyond that box even when it wasn't working out.
Changing the way the creative industry thinks about business | Designer | Educator | Author | International Speaker | Partner at @lincolndesignco
3 年Yup yup and yup
CHRIST Follower | Retired Pro Offshore Racer | Director of Strategic Partnerships at RTS | ?? Sales & Growth Strategist | #1 D2D Salesman on ?? | Entrepreneur |
3 年Excellent article Adam. You have a pretty good insights. Thanks for sharing.