How to Get Your Creative Groove On is an original series by Perch. This week we discuss the value of feedback and establishing feedback loops in our creative process.
Week 11: Get in the Zone
Many times when I am working on a project, I find myself trudging along, plotting an outline, sketching in details, until I zone in, and the work just flows. The ideas and inspiration are there, and before I know it, paragraphs appear, the design elements are there, and I’m leaps and bounds closer to the finished project than I was just minutes (or hours) before.
If it were possible to capture my creative zone in a bottle, or record it in a macro, I’d always be in the zone. I’d never find myself in the trudging-along phase. I’d always be at my creative best. While that’s not possible, at least not yet, I can identify and return to my own creative best practices.
Channel Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a valuable tool, but it’s pointless unless the ideas can be captured and utilized later. Finding a way to capture brainstorming sessions into a usable format is essential. Using a Moleskine and mind-mapping are both helpful tools for capturing creative ideas.
I recently learned about an interesting new tool from Livescribe that I am excited to try. It’s a digital pen that works with a very normal-looking spiral paper notebook. Notes are captured digitally to your laptop, where you can edit them on screen. You can also record audio from meetings and play it back. I’ve seen Livescribe in action, and it’s an incredible tool for personal brainstorming sessions and client meetings, too. If you’re reluctant to give up your Moleskine, a black, very Moleskine-esque notebook is available, too. The pen is about $200 at Target, the spiral notesbooks are about $20/4-pack, and the black notebooks run about $25/2-pack. It’s an investment, for sure, but it a very strategic one.
Shut Out Distractions
Distraction is the thief of creative breakthrough. I can’t count how many times I’ve been on the verge of an important thought or idea, only to have it vanish into thin air with a telephone ring, knock on the door, or sudden round of barking from one of my two (beloved, of course) dogs.
Shutting out distraction is one of the most important things you can do to get into and stay in the zone. Pinpoint the major sources of distraction and your workflow and find a way to work around it or avoid it. If you need quiet or lack of interruption from colleagues, try working off-site. If it’s the phone, silence it for a set period of creative time. For the ultimate in eliminating distraction, consider scheduling a creative retreat completely dedicated to creative time away from the distractions of a typical work day.
Define Your Own Creative Process
We each have our own creative process that we work through when we tackle new projects. We don’t all follow the problem-brainstorming-incubation process. I personally sometimes have to let my mind mull over a problem for a while before I can begin to brainstorm it.
What creative process do you typically follow? When are your most analytical times? Your most creative? Does the time of day or location make the difference? If you can pinpoint when, where, and how you’re most productive, you can capitalize on those practices.
Best Creative Practices
What are your best creative practices? I’ve listed a few of my own. Share yours in the comments!
Related posts:
- Get Your Creative Groove On. Week 19: Zero In
- How to Get Your Creative Groove On: Week Three – Incubate
- How to Get Your Creative Groove On. Week 7: Overcome Obstacles
- How to Get Your Creative Groove On. Week Four: Run With a Team
- Get Your Creative Groove On Series Finale!
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