The blank page – whether you’re a designer, a writer or another kind of creator – is a dreaded feeling. The problem with a blank page is that it blinds your mind with its pure, white emptiness. It turns your ideas into jelly. So when this happens, when you feel like you are losing the fight against the empty page, you should know that you’re not on your own. Other creative people struggle with it from time to time. So we’ve listed below the top 5 favorite ways of getting over a creative block.
1. Stick to a safe routine
Stephen King advises those who want to become professional writers to sit down and write every day. He relies on mastering your skills as a platform for creation. Not your cup of tea? James Webb Young prefers a step-by-step technique to help creative people find new ideas. Sticking to a creative routine, either through practice or a step-by-step method can help you to get the creative machine going. Your mind is more likely to relax in front of a blank page if you have a strategy to approach it.
2. Build an inspiring space for ideas
If you read creative magazines, you’ve probably come across pictures of the desk of creative people. Yves Saint Laurent, for example, had behind his desk a wall covered in fashion drawings. Steve Jobs’s home office was a sleek room with an entire bookshelf covering a wall – very much like the design of the first iPhone. Paul Smith’s office is an arrangement of colors and shapes that keep the eyes wanting to look everywhere at the same time. Your working place needs to be equally inspiring. Investing in finding the perfect office, from hiring professional office movers to testing paint for the wall, is never a waste of time. Your surroundings influence your creative routine.
3. Let your subconscious do the work
You’ve probably heard the story of people who woke up with an amazing idea. These brain genius moments can happen to everyone, and they don’t need to happen only when you sleep. Your subconscious never stops working. Paul Gauguin used to say “I close my eyes in order to see.” What he meant what that he got rid of distractions to listen to his subconscious. Therefore, if you let your inner voice guide you, you might get that killer idea in the bathroom, while you’re traveling or even walking in nature.
4. Make unexpected connections
The mind works by association of ideas. Let’s say you see a duck, then you remember about cleaning the bath. Cultivating this process of mental association is especially important in the realm of creativity. What this means is that you need to allow in your working habits the room for unexpected connections. In other words, keeping an open mind and eye for new and exciting things around you is the solution to most creative problems.
5. Go for a jog
Physical activities influence your creativity. While organized games can be limiting on your creativity, practising informal sports helps to nourish the mind with fresh ideas. Studies that show a correlation between sports and creativity are often vague. But one fact remains: Sports increases blood flow to your brain and consequently helps it to think faster.
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