Creative | How To Defeat Your Creative Slump

By Joe Piper III

Blogger for Johnson & Wales School of Business

Most of us experience what we know as a creative slump that wall we all hit where we can’t seem to create anything or brainstorm any good ideas, the computer screen stares back at us blankly for hours, the sketchbook is empty, we sit there staring back at our mediums pulling our hour out trying to create but nothing happens. I know for a fact I hit this slump once or twice a year and it I hate it, it is the worst when you expect yourself to create and have these great ideas come out  and then you get nothing, I’ve always consulted other creatives like myself, writers, and entrepreneurs about how they always get past their own respective slumps and they all tell me the same thing KEEP AT IT, so if you’re designing something and you can’t seem to sketch it, keep sketching, if you’re thinking of a slogan and you can’t seem to find the write one , keep thinking  eventually it’ll come to you. Personally I hate that advice and I know there has to be more ways to help you at least ease back into your creative space here’s what I do that helps me the most

·         Go outside– that’s right your creative Hubble that you’ve built in your office or room could in fact be stifling your overall creativity, that fresh air or change of scenery could be just what you needed  to put certain things in perspective or open up that creative space in your mind that may have been cobwebbed.

·         Exercise– exercising not only keeps you healthy but it allows you to take the focus off of other things and concentrate on a task at hand, The creative slump could also come from the fact that you’re focusing on the fact that you can’t create anything . exercising will ultimately let you take the focus off of your creativity/ lack thereof and put it into something that actually works your body and mind and eventually you will return back to the creative space refreshed.

·         Sleep– Sleeping can help you recharge mentally and physically and if you’re in that creative slump sleep may be the best thing because you have the opportunity to dream up new ideas and concepts, the mental recharge of your brain that takes place during sleep can also help you get out of your slump because you could be overthinking and stressing your creative space.

·         Collaborate– Collaborate with other creatives through conversation , share ideas , brainstorm together. Chances are there will be several ideas exchanged through collaboration and at least one of them will be good enough to bring you back into your creative space .

·         Find inspiration– this one is hard to explain but finding inspiration is another way to find your way back to the creative space, the good thing about this is that you can find inspiration from almost anywhere, going outside can warrant you inspiration from your surroundings, reading a magazine can bring you inspiration from the content or advertisements within it, go online checking out other creative blogs, and websites can help put you back into the creative mind state because you’ll be inspired by the things that others are doing , Read books, Attend/Watch a video conference, interview or TED talk they always have great tips and topics that you may be able to incorporate into your own creative space, visit a museum or art gallery the museums and galleries are full of creative elements and ideas and are also made by people who have also experienced that creative slump that you’re going through so use their art  to put you back into the creative space.

·         Take Risk – Taking risks with your ideas can help bring you out of your creative slump by using new mediums to create or present your ideas, taking a risk in using a new design platform can have great results as well because you are getting out of your comfort zone for the effort to create.

·         Experiment-Experiment with new software, languages, fonts, colors, mediums , management systems, data collections, and development processes to help not only bring you out of your creative slump but also help you learn not only about yourself but the new mediums you’re using and which ones work best to help you create.

·         Make a deadline-Nothing can boost you right out of your creative slump than the threat of a deadline looming, especially if you work well under pressure creating a deadline for yourself can be that extra push needed to take you over the creative wall and help you create something brilliant. That deadline can also help you finish things which is something that also leads to creative slump we often have several creative ideas or projects running inside and outside of our head at once and it’s rare that their all finished, that deadline will force you to focus on the project that’s due and create.