Whether you’re just starting out in your job, or you have all the necessary experience you could possibly need, everyone can hit their “creative wall”. When you’re not immediately inspired with the idea you need, new projects can seem to stretch into the horizon without an end in sight. That anxiety can cause creative paralysis and leave you staring at a blank page while your time is slowly ticking away.
We’ve all been there and know how easy it is to be faced with the creative wall. So below are some helpful tips for chipping away to progress, succeed and turn that wall to dust.
Relax
This one may sound simple and a little patronising, but once you’ve begun to fall into a negative spiral, it is increasingly difficult to get out of the more you get stressed. The best solution is to set yourself up to succeed before you begin work – “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – make sure you have access to all the tools you need to complete the job, find a quiet and distraction free environment to be able to work, or if this is difficult, use some earphone/headphones to help you to block out the environment around you.
Avoid distractions
If you’re anything like us, we know this is easier said than done. Whether its chatting to a colleague about a problem they have or responding to emails that are separate from the project in question, focusing solely on one project can be hard. Avoid or turn off your notifications, tell your colleagues that you need to focus. This will help you to separate times of focus from your normal work routine and keep you on track. If you catch yourself getting distracted, try to fight it and keep yourself to the task you set, over time this will condition your mind and you will find yourself becoming less distracted. All those notifications and your colleagues will still be there when you resurface.
Start small
An entirely new project can be very daunting when you’re starting out, and when creative block rears it’s head at this point it can deter you from even looking at the project and to find any excuse to try and avoid it.
In this situation, you just need to start. And start small. Try to ignore the size of the overall project and break it all down into small manageable tasks, tasks that you can complete within an afternoon, or within an hour, or within 10 minutes, however small you want to work to start and get the ball rolling. Sometimes when you’re lost creatively, just starting on a small task and understanding your project better can get the cogs turning toward that all important inspiration.
Take inspiration
Humans have built society as you see it today by building off the work of those who came before them, this is no different in a creative capacity. Do research into work that is like the brief you have been given, even if it’s not directly relatable or isn’t produced in the same format or with the same medium that you plan to use, it might hold the key to cracking that creative block.
Lean on templates / pre-existing assets
This point is similar to the above, try to build on what others, or even your past self has created. Templates, wireframes and other projects you have completed previously can help to take the bulk weight of new projects. Through this logic you can fill out the blank parts of your project with pre-existing content that can be amended later to fit the project fully.
Be collaborative and welcome early feedback
At Wildfire, we thrive from feedback, whether it be positive, or especially negative, as it helps us to develop products and solutions that our clients want and value. This ethos is important in trying to overcome a creative block, anyone who has gone through creative blocks knows that you begin to doubt your ability which only exacerbates the situation. Seek feedback from peers, friends, family or even clients to reassure yourself in what you know. Even negative feedback will bring you closer to the desired outcome of the brief and keep you away from wasting time on unwanted solutions. Having someone to give feedback also allows for new solutions to come to light that you may not have reached as quickly on your own.
Avoid overworking the problem
Nothing helping your creative block? Move on to another project. Take your mind off the problem to do something else productive. We find the act of being productive in a project where you know what comes next, or even the mindless proactivity of even cleaning will often provide inspiration on how you can move forward or get started by decompressing from the creative block of the main project in question.
In the end, the most important thing to remember is to be kind to yourself and your ability. Everyone goes through creative block, and everyone struggles from time to time. Stay confident in what you can do and don’t be scared to lean on others to help you achieve that.