How to Get Your Creative Groove On is an original series by Perch. This week we discuss the obstacles that can block creativity and innovation and how to overcome them.
Week 7: Overcome Obstacles
Problems can create opportunity for creativity, but they can also gang up to form a creative block. Here are a few tips on how to overcome the most common obstacles to creativity, fear and distraction.
Fear
Staring at a blank canvas or a blank page is intimidating. We can doubt our creative talent, our skill, or our ability to create the image or story we see in our mind. Beginning at the beginning is as frightening as it is exciting, because we are beginning a new journey, one that we are unsure of, and one whose success we cannot guarantee. The anticipation of an uncreated work is great; anticipation is accompanied by the heavy weight of potential, which acts to restrain creativity more than enhance it. This combination of excitement, anticipation, and fear can form a giant roadblock that prevents us from moving forward.
Overcoming fear is no easy task, but seeing it for what it is can help. Tom Monahan, president of Before & After, explains it this way:
“If something is truly creative then it isn’t proven or known, and we usually fear the unknown. If you have no fear when you design something because you know it will work, it’s a sign that your design isn’t truly creative.”
In a special article for HOW Design’s website, Monahan addresses the primary sources of fear: time, stress, and judgement. Follow this jump for more tips on beating fear in the creative process.
Distraction
For me, being creative requires focus, and distractions can quickly dispel a creative mood or disrupt a productive train of thought. When you’re in a creative flow, distractions can be frustrating, costing time and money. Trent Hamm, author of the Simple Dollar blog, has a great article where he identifies seven excellent tips for helping increase focus.
“Today is a great day to get ahead of the “competition” because so many people are focused on other things.”
My two favorites are clearing a workspace and cutting off external communication. A place of my own to work makes a tremendous difference in my creative process, and I have found that turning of Twitter and minimizing my email can really free up my mind for creative thought. Read more of Trent’s article here.
Identify the Problem
Overcoming creative obstacles is easier said than done. If you’re facing a creative block, try a few of the tips listed above. Look at the fear pressures of time, deadlines, and judgement. Try a few of Trent’s tips to eliminate and prevent distractions. Identifying the source of the block is the first step in overcoming it.
Have a few tips for overcoming a creative block that you’d like to share? Post them in the comments!
Thanks for the inspiration for this post goes to Elena Parashko, contributing writer at Art Calendar. Check out the specific article that inspired this post here.
Related posts:
- How to Get Your Creative Groove On. Week 10: Starting Over
- How to Get Your Creative Groove On. Week 8: Change Your Perspective
- Get Your Creative Groove On. Week 15: Ask an Expert
- Get Your Creative Groove On. Week 19: Zero In
- Get Your Creative Groove On. Week 16: Ask a Novice
Social poster
Downloads
- No documents for download.
Track comments via RSS 2.0 feed. Feel free to post the comment, or trackback from your web site.
Currently there are no comments related to article "How to Get Your Creative Groove On. Week 7: Overcome Obstacles".