Every now and again in the professional career of a creative, we find ourselves in a slump. The reason behind a lack of creative motivation can be attributed to a variety things like a shift in the organization, a stressful client, monotonous tasks, no new projects, or a hint of burnout. It’s important to refocus our efforts and make sure we continue to put our “best creative foot” forward and rejuvenate ourselves so we can get excited about our work and provide top-tier marketing, design, or strategy solutions! Here are a few of my personal favorite tips to revamp your creative force.
1. Change Your Scenery
For me, it’s important that my surroundings provide the optimal conditions for creative work. If I am expected to create innovative, appealing work for clients it’s easier to do so when my workspace is also innovative and appealing. Even though it’s not feasible to completely swap out or upgrade your workspace, small changes can make a big difference in upgrading your desk. Some of my favorites are adding a new plant, swapping out quotes on my letter board, or reorganizing my materials. Even these small adjustments make my workspace feel more like my own personal zone. It allows me to feel more comfortable, relax, and allow the creative juices to flow. Other options for switching up your workspace can be as simple as working from another part of the office or taking a day to work from home or a local coffee shop (if possible).
2. Get Moving
The best way to get creativity flowing to tackle your next big endeavor or liven up a current project is to get moving. I’m a huge proponent of a standing desk that allows you to sit or stand. I also take regular 5-minute breaks to walk a block downtown by the office to clear my head of any negativity and brainstorm new ideas. Any movement during the workday helps me feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle the next task. Your best creative work happens when your mind is clear and open to new ideas. Getting your body moving is a great way to make that happen.
3. Collaborate
Teams are amazing in the sense that everyone brings something new to the table. Metova’s creative team of design, marketing, and strategic professionals is a unique group of people with different backgrounds, goals, expertise, and ideas. Being able to converse and bounce ideas off my co-workers allows me to think of new solutions that I wouldn’t have thought of previously. Sometimes the easiest way to boost your creativity is to borrow the creativity of those around you and let them inspire you to produce better work, innovative solutions, and creative ideas.
4. R&R (read and research)
Sometimes when I’m in a creative slump and don’t know the best way to approach a problem or project, I hit pause and do some reading and research. As creative professionals, we aren’t alone. There are plenty of valuable resources in the forms of webinars, blogs, and podcasts for us to indulge in. By expanding our creative thinking with new cutting-edge ideas available at our fingertips we can ensure we don’t become complacent and are continuing to better our creative process and stay on trend.
5. Balance
When trying to boost creativity, we must keep in mind that it’s a balancing act. As creative professionals, we can’t pick and choose one singular focus to optimize our performance. For instance, you can’t JUST focus on learning new skills, meeting client deadlines, building relationships, churning out a new project, or zenning out at home. Instead, we must create our own unique balance of all of these things and more. Figure out what your perfect balance for maximum creativity is. Don’t get bogged down or solely focus on just one aspect of creative professionalism, make sure you’re taking the time to engage in a healthy balance of learning, performing, and taking time for yourself.
Whether you’re in marketing, graphic design, copywriting, strategy, or any other creative profession, it’s important to keep your creative juices flowing. Not only will it optimize your work experience and job performance, but also helps maintain your sanity. Everybody is different, but by just taking these few easy steps we can create the ideal creative work process and produce the best work possible.
